Warwick Davis

Warwick Davis's career really has been extraordinary. His very first acting gig was on Return of the Jedi at the age of eleven. He was hired just beause he fit into an Ewok suit -- he'd top out as an adult at three foot six and was even shorter then -- and impressed everybody so much they decided to have him play Wicket when the actor who was originally supposed to do it came down with food poisoning. He then went on to star in Willow when he was only seventeen, and has since done all kinds of interesting things, including playing Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter movies.

Davis talks a lot, in this memoir, about all the amazing projects he's worked on, and about palling around with the likes of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Val Kilmer, and Ricky Gervais, but he never comes across as egotistical or name-droppy. Instead, every page oozes with charming, forthright enthusiasm. This is a guy who can't believe how lucky he is and how much fun he's having -- except maybe when they're trying to drown him in a storm scene or suffocate him in hot foam costumes on 100-degree days -- and is happy to take his readers along for the ride. He comes across as marvelously likable, funny, down-to-earth, and, despite having suffered his share of personal tragedies, irrepressibly upbeat. It was an utter, utter delight to hang out with him for a few hundred pages, and I'm still grinning after finishing it.… (mais)