Warwick Davis left BBC viewers in tears on Sunday night as he delivered an emotional tribute to his late wife while accepting a prestigious award at the 2025 BAFTAs.
Davis, who is known for appearing in Star Wars, fantasy film Willow and the Harry Potter movies, received Bafta’s highest honour on Sunday at the Royal Festival Hall, London for his "outstanding and exceptional" contributions to the screen. and advocacy work.
Fighting back tears, the 55-year-old dedicated the award to his wife, Samantha, who passed away last year, deeply moving both the star-studded audience and those watching at home.
Davis received the accolade from his former Harry Potter co-star Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, paid tribute to the actor, recalling that he played professor Filius Flitwick, and helped him pronounce the spell Wingardium Leviosa.
He added that he made “making it feel like fun, not work”, and inspired him, saying “in a world where you can be anything, be yourself”.
A film was shown of his collaborators including Star Wars stars Mark Hamill and George Lucas, and Willow director Ron Howard, along with his two children.
“He’s one of the hardest working men in showbiz,” Hamill said.
On accepting his award Davis said: “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I’ve been in Star Wars.”
He added that “life has been pretty tough” since losing his wife Samantha aged 53 last March.
Samantha, who was also an actor, was married to Warwick for 33 years, and together they had three children before her heartbreaking passing on March 24.
Their daughter Annabelle, 27, and son Harrison, 21, were visibly emotional in the audience as their father expressed his gratitude for their support during an incredibly difficult year.
“She was always so supportive of my career, encouraging me to grab every opportunity with both hands,” he said. “Since then life has been pretty tough for me.
“Thanks to the support of our wonderful children I’ve been able to continue working and engaging in life.”
Davis then broke down in tears, while thanking an unknown individual, known simply as ‘Sponge’ for “helping him to laugh and love again”.
“To anyone out there dreaming of telling their story or creating something meaningful, go for it, the world needs your vision,” he added.
His heartfelt speech moved fellow A-listers to tears in the audience, while viewers at home were equally emotional.
Many took to social media to praise Warwick’s remarkable talent, admitting they weren’t "emotionally prepared" for his speech, which left them "bawling."
One wrote: “I wasn't expecting to get teary whilst watching the BAFTAs, but Warwick Davis has set me off. It must be incredibly difficult to receive such an accolade without having that special loved one in your life anymore.”
“I was NOT emotionally prepared for Warwick Davis,” another shared. A third added: “Oh god love you Warwick you've got me in tears”.
I wasn't expecting to get teary whilst watching the BAFTAs, but Warwick Davis has set me off.
— Jerome (@JeromebIXIII) February 16, 2025
It must be incredibly difficult to receive such an accolade without having that special loved one in your life anymore. #BAFTAS
I absolutely sobbed during Warwick Davis’ speech. What a guy. His kids are lovely, a credit to him and his lovely wife. When he mentioned losing his wife that broke me 😭 absolutely deserves this recognition #EEBAFTAs
— Michelle Pryde (@michellepryde) February 16, 2025
A fourth added: “Warwick Davis and his kids have me BAWLING during the @BAFTA awards.”
“Oh golly Warwick Davis setting me off,” another echoed.
Before becoming one of Britain’s most in-demand actors, Davis got his first break playing a teddy bear-like creature, an Ewok in 1983’s Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi at the age of just 11.
This soon led him to take on the starring role in 1988 film Willow, as titular hero Willow Ufgood who takes on a series of adventurers with the help of a swordsman, played by Val Kilmer, to protect a child.
His other fantasy roles include Labyrinth, alongside the late David Bowie as the goblin king, BBC adaptations of CS Lewis’s Narnia books, and Channel 4’s Gulliver’s Travels and the more recent 2013’s Jack The Giant Slayer.
Davis has also been a staple of the horror comedy franchise, the Leprechaun movies, where he starred opposite Friends actress Jennifer Aniston in the first movie.
For more recent audiences, he is known for playing the fastidious charms Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter film franchise, as well as being in Ricky Gervais’s Extras and also working with Gervais on BBC mockumentary, Life’s Too Short.
He has also hosted game shows Tenable and Celebrity Squares, presented Comic Relief, voiced a character on the Moominvalley TV series, and been part of an hour-long special with adventurer Bear Grylls called Bear’s Mission With Warwick Davis.
Davis has continued to come back for a host of Star Wars movies, where he has played various characters including Wald and Weazel in The Phantom Menace (1999), Wollivan in The Force Awakens (2015), and Wodibin in The Last Jedi (2017).
The actor also runs the talent agency Willow Management, which represents actors under five feet and over seven feet tall, and in 2014 he founded the Reduced Height Theatre Company, to celebrate the talent in the short actor community.
Davis co-founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK with his late wife, Samantha, which offers “friendship and financial support and guidance to people with dwarfism, their families and friends, and helps build a positive future for those individuals”.
In 2017, he was added as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His children are Hollyoaks actress Annabelle and Harrison, who appeared as an Ewok in Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise Of Skywalker.
Previous recipients of the fellowship include: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, Ken Loach, Sir Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Lord Laurence Olivier and Dame Judi Dench.
