The one movie genre Warwick Davis will always avoid: “Rather unpleasant things to watch”
You’d think that an actor would be open to watching all kinds of movies, but being a Hollywood star won’t change the fact that we all have our preferences when it comes to the genres we enjoy.
For Warwick Davis, whose career began when he was just 11 years old, when he was cast in the Star Wars sequel Return of the Jedi as the Ewok Wicket W Warrick, there is one genre he stays away from, even though it was once a big part of his life.
Following his debut, the actor landed further roles in the likes of Labyrinth and Willow, but in the early 1990s, he was cast in the primary role of the Leprechaun franchise, starring in six of the horror-comedies, with 1993’s Leprechaun, placing him opposite Jennifer Aniston, itching for revenge when he suspects a family of stealing his pot of gold.
While it was panned by critics, many audiences loved it because of how bad it was, and somehow, five more movies emerged over the years that were all just as bad, from Leprechaun 4: In Space to Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood.
Apart from these performances, Davis has preferred to stay in the realm of fantasy rather than horror, and he cites his role as a father as the reason for his lack of interest in the scary genre these days; in fact, he doesn’t even watch horror movies anymore.
In an interview with TheOriginalVanGoghsEarAnthology, Davis revealed, “I am not a fan of horror anymore. I used to be growing up, but as soon as I became a father myself, you sort of start seeing the world through your children’s eyes and then horror movies become sort of rather unpleasant things to watch. So I wouldn’t say I watch horror movies anymore.”
While he admits to loving movies like Halloween as a kid, which he “grew up watching and dare I say enjoying”, he just can’t get himself to sit down and watch a scary movie. With the terrifying state of the world that we have to witness on the news, and when we open social media, you can hardly blame people for preferring not to spend their free time watching people getting massacred and tormented for fun. For some, it’s much nicer to retreat into a world of magic, which Davis can certainly attest to.
Following Leprechaun, Davis took on roles in the likes of the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, Jack the Giant Slayer, and further Star Wars instalments, straying far away from the realm of serial killers or haunting spectres.
He hasn’t made a horror movie since 2004’s Skinned Deep, a low-budget comedy-horror that is really quite ridiculous, basking in over-the-top thrills and, from Davis’ character, a fair amount of plate-throwing. Maybe one day he will return for a seventh Leprechaun film, but that seems unrealistic; you’re more likely to find the actor presenting a British game show like Tenable these days.
