Warwick Davishas returned to the role of Willow Ufgood for the first time in more than three decades for the Disney+ showWillow, re-taking the mantle of the sorcerer he first played in the 1988 film of the same name. Now, the actor is shedding some light on some of his inspirations for the character’s revival, including taking some cues from another one of his iconic franchises:Star Wars.
In a new interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Davis, who first entered theStar Warsuniverse as Wicket in 1983’sStar Wars: Return of the Jedi,spoke about channelingMark Hamill’sperformance in 2017’sStar Wars: The Last Jedi.Hamill plays a grizzled and older Luke Skywalker, something that Davis ultimately weaved into his portrayal of a more senior Willow. “The one thing I took note of in particular was Mark Hamill returning to Luke Skywalker [inStar Wars: The Last Jedi] and how he went about the approach for that,” Davis told THR. “I thought he was really interesting, and it wasn’t the expected approach, certainly. He came at it from quite a different angle, and I also did the same. I noticed that Mark didn’t try to play the character younger. He just leaned into his more mature years, and that’s really what I did as Willow.” Hamill is one of a number of legacy characters that returned for theStar Warssequel trilogy after decades away from their characters, includingHarrison Fordand the lateCarrie Fisher.
Davis, however, specifically cited Hamill’s reinterpretation of Luke Skywalker as an inspiration forWillow.In particular, Davis noted that Hamill was able to make him a distinctly different character from the Luke of the original trilogy given the lengthy amount of time that had passed. This is something that Davis specifically channeled given that he was only a teenager when he played Willow in the first film, telling THR:
I’m 52 now. The first time I played the character, I was only 17. So I thought, ‘Well, let’s not deny the fact that you’re 52. Let’s use that to make this character more interesting, more grounded and more well-rounded as well.'"
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Davis went onto say that, in the newWillowseries, Willow finds himself in a significantly changed world than he did in the original film, much in the same way that Luke Skywalker finds himself in a broken down state after his attempts to rebuild the Jedi failed. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Davis took so muchStar Warsinspiration forWillow;the two franchises were both created byGeorge Lucas, andWillowexecutive producersKathleen Kennedy,Michelle RejwanandJonathan Kasdanhave all played significant roles in the Disney-era ofStar Wars.
Beyond Davis,Willowboasts an ensemble cast includingEllie Bamber,stepping into the role of Dove/Elora from the film,Erin Kellyman, Ruby Cruz, Amar Chadha-Patel, Dempsey Bryk,andTony Revolori.Davis’ daughterAnnabelle Davisalso appears as a supporting character, along withRalph Ineson.
Willowis streaming now on Disney+. Collider’s interview with Cruz and Bryk can be seen below:
