Happy Birthday Warwick Davis!

Less than a week after spending a magical time at Universal Orlando Resort’s “A Celebration of Harry Potter”, Warwick Davis celebrates his 46th birthday on February 3!

Davis, known to Harry Potter fans as Professor Flitwick and the bank-telling goblin, Griphook, was one of the four special guests on hand throughout the entire Wizarding World 3-Day extravaganza. In honor of his birthday, we thought we would recount a few of his anecdotes from the weekend.

Davis opened the Celebration Friday evening, baton in hand, as director at the helm of the Hogwarts choir. See him here in all of his Ravenclaw glory!

Our man on the ground @WarwickADavis closed out last night's event at #HPCelebration on a very sparkly stage! pic.twitter.com/WowlrVJFKv

— Pottermore (@pottermore) January 28, 2017

Davis, along with Harry Potter alumni, Tom Felton, Jason Issacs and Matthew Lewis, came out for a chat with the participants during the Day 2 Evening Tribute. When Davis was asked what he thought of the Celebration crowd this year, he shared his delight that the event had grown so large. After each guest weighed in on the 2017 turnout, the host asked what Davis’ go-to spell would be. Very matter of factly he said that his would be “Wingardium Leviosa”… for obvious reasons!

Once again, the brilliant @WarwickADavis is taking us behind the scenes at #HPCelebration, this time with a few familiar faces! pic.twitter.com/UgSkixbUAd

— Pottermore (@pottermore) January 29, 2017

When each of the actors were asked what their favorite scene was in the Harry Potter films, Davis enthusiastically offered up his memory of crowd surfing during the Yule Ball in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Not only did Davis name this experience as his favorite stunt, when the group was asked what they learned during the series, Davis replied, “Not to crowd surf”. Davis’ most embarrassing moment happened during the Ball as well. He said that if you look closely, you can see his dentures shoot out of his mouth when he’s being tossed between dancing young wizards!

Take a look here at Professor Flitwick party trick:

At one point during the evening, the discussion turned to Daniel Radcliffe and what an incredibly motivating factor his upbeat attitude, kindhearted nature and passion about the series were for the entire cast and crew over the years. Davis told a story about when Radcliffe wasn’t even in a scene, he would stay on set and help out doing something such as holding an umbrella in the rain for Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon.

One of the last questions of the night was about the actors’ current projects. Davis said that sometimes working in the film industry was like working for the government; that he could say absolutely nothing about his upcoming movies (Star Wars??)

The next afternoon Davis sat with Harry Potter makeup effects artist and prosthetics designer Nick Dudman on the Creature Effects Panel.During the discussion, Dudman revealed that it took a cumbersome four hours to transform Davis into Griphook each day of filming his scenes. Davis mentioned that putting on the 23mm contact lens, and his special dentures along with the silicone makeup made for some very early mornings.

The four guest actors convened one last time for a closing Q & A with the fans. One of the questions asked was, “Who is your favorite female Harry Potter character?” Davis answered immediately, “Mrs. Weasley!”. Then in his precocious way, he posed the question, “Where are all the lady goblins in the films?” which elicited lots of laughs. Another one of his answers that got a rise from the crowd was when he was asked his favorite line from the movies. Most of the fandom recalls the trio’s junket to the LeStrange’s vault in the depth of Gringotts, but they may not remember Griphook’s sentiment when it was time to exit: “I said I’d get you in. I didn’t say anything about getting you out.”

The full Monty pic.twitter.com/5FHpFZgbqe

— Jason Isaacs (@jasonsfolly) January 30, 2017

One sharply dressed wizard asked Davis about his research and training for Professor Flitwick’s conducting duties for the Hogwart’s choir. He answered that it was definitely a combination of technical conducting and enough theatrics to make his hair fly! And speaking of body parts, when asked if he had ever procured any souvenirs from the set, he described a collection of Flitwick foreheads and Griphook noses that he has stored away at home.

Near the end of the closing session, one participant asked what it was about the Harry Potter story that makes each actor as much of a fan as the audience. Davis answered that for him, it was about escapism and the belief in magic and fantasy that has always drawn him into the stories.

Davis is no stranger to the genre of fantasy. In addition to his roles in the wizarding world, he has spent time during his career in a galaxy far far away as the Ewok, Wicket and starred in the 1988 George Lucas cult-classic, Willow among other films in this realm. Leaky recently posted an article on Davis’ memories of Carrie Fisher during his work on Star Wars that readers can find here. 

.@WarwickADavis on the enduring legacy of the Harry Potter franchise. #HPCelebration pic.twitter.com/mgV8GOuq4y

— Harry Potter Film (@HarryPotterFilm) January 29, 2017

Thank you to Warwick Davis for bringing these imaginary worlds to life for fans over the years with his remarkable talent and brilliant sense of humor. Wishing him the happiest of birthdays from The Leaky Cauldron!