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Busy star forced to miss Narnia premiere
PETERBOROUGH'S own star of the big screen Warwick Davis skipped the glitzy premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian to lead a Star Wars convention in Florida.
PETERBOROUGH'S own star of the big screen Warwick Davis skipped the glitzy premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian to lead a Star Wars convention in Florida.Warwick plays Nikabrik, the black dwarf in the latest Narnia film, which pundits are predicting will be this summer's box office smash.
But the 3ft 6ins star missed the red carpet first showing of the film at London's O2 Arena –which attracted the biggest ever audience for a premiere – to join the many young Star Wars enthusiasts who had gathered in the Disneyland resort.
Warwick, who won acclaim for his role in Star Wars as Wicket the Ewok, took time out of his hectic schedule to talk to the Evening Telegraph about his role in the new Disney production of the C S Lewis classic novel.
He revealed that the film – shot in New Zealand – marked a return to the magical, faraway land of Narnia.
The 38-year-old was last seen in the BBC Narnia films as Reepicheep the mouse.
Speaking from Florida, he said: "The two were on a very different scale.
"What I found was that for the scene around the large stone table, for the TV version, it was a dining table. But for the film, it was a massive piece of stone."
Warwick spent more than three hours each day having a facial prosthetic applied to transform him into Nikabrik.
He said: "There is a lot to it. My eyeballs and teeth were all there was of me – the rest was prosthetics, hair and leather."
The actor joins a cast that includes Ben Barnes and Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan.
The second installment of the chronicles, based on the bestselling books, promises to take audiences on an "extraordinary" journey back to Narnia.
Disney claims the sequel is "bigger and more spectacular than ever before", with more action scenes and visual effects.
Warwick said: "The first scene I shot was the first where you see Nikabrik in the film. Prince Caspian is taking him to the treehouse, and there is an argument between him, Caspian and the badger, Trufflehunter.
"I was filming with a non-existent badger – it was a man in a green suit – so when you see the film and see the badger moving, it's amazing. Technology has given actors and directors more freedom."
The 130 extras who play Narnian creatures in the film wore special suits and spent several hours having make-up applied each day.
Make-up effects designer Howard Berger worked with a team of 50 make-up artists and supervised 4,600 individual make-up sessions over the course of the production.
Warwick is set to host the Children's Film Awards again in Peterborough later this year.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is released in UK cinemas on Thursday, June 26.
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