Yes he's a dwarf, but the fictionalized version of Warwick Davis is also a vain, self-delusional, preening egotist beset by an endless succession of humiliating social encounters.
He's the perfect antihero for Ricky Gervais' new fake documentary comedy series Life's Too Short, which debuts at 10:30 p.m. Sunday on HBO. In the show, shaky cameras follow Davis around London as he desperately reminds prospective employers and complete strangers that he played an ewok in Return of the Jedi, appeared in Harry Potter movies and starred in the George Lucas-produced bomb Willow.
Like Gervais' delusional David Brent in The Office, Davis tries and invariably fails to win friends and influence people. Life's Too Short treads a tricky line by simultaneously mocking and celebrating a small man's offbeat charisma.
"It's not a half an hour of, 'Isn't it funny that he's so short!'" Gervais said, describing the show to reporters last month during a Television Critics Association panel discussion. "It isn't that at all. He's got small-man complex. It's nothing to do with his height per se. It's about his aims. It's about his ambition. There's a difference between a show that exploits and a show that ridicules exploitation, and we're clearly in the second camp."
With its three-dimensionally flawed protagonist and contemporary setting, Life's Too Short, co-created by Gervais and his frequent comedic conspirator Stephen Merchant, marks an empowering break from the past. Especially in sci-fi and fantasy realms, dwarves historically serve as visual shorthand for "otherworldly" – David Lynch spelled it out in his surreal TV series Twin Peaks by naming dwarf Michael J. Anderson's character "The Man From Another Place." The Wizard of Oz transported viewers to another time and place from the moment Munchkins made their entrance, and what are hobbits if not little people writ large?
But Hollywood is starting to move beyond its reliance on using little people for novelty effect. In Game of Thrones, Peter Dinklage plays witty, whoring conniver Tyrion Lannister with such fierce intelligence that the character's physical stature becomes far less interesting than his machinations.
Sure, size matters, but projects like Life's Too Short and Game of Thrones point toward a more expansive storytelling role for diminutive actors – provided they have big talent.
Check the gallery for a short list of the most magnetic little people in fantasy and sci-fi history, and read on for a longer look at the first two episodes of Life's Too Short.
Spoiler alert: Minor plot points follow.
Sneak Peek at Life's Too Short
Episode 1 loads up on not-particularly-funny exposition: Davis' wife is kicking him out of the house. Gervais and Merchant, having cast Davis in their Extras series, now consider the unemployed actor a pest and place the buzzer to their office at a height they know he can't reach. To top it off, Davis owes a huge tax bill.
Episode 2 gets laughs when Davis tutors Johnny Depp on how to get struck by lightning, dwarf-style. Later, while selling autographed photos at a sci-fi convention, Davis gets invited to a wedding. When he shows up in street clothes, the groom, infuriated that he did not wear an ewok costume, forces the actor to dress up as a bear. Davis hops onto a table and gives an insulting toast that makes the bride weep.
Curtain!
Images courtesy various studioses except where noted.
