It shouldn't come as a big surprise that when I caught up with Warwick Davis recently, he was on the road, back at home in England, cruising in his car coming off another interview. Earlier that week, he was in Indianapolis as an emcee for the "Star Wars" Celebration III fan convention and in early June, he's coming back to the states to take part in Disney World's annual "Star Wars Weekends" event.

Since playing Wicket the Ewok in 1983's "Star Wars: Episode VI -- Return of the Jedi," Davis has been working non-stop. And we're not talking just any ordinary, run-of-the-mill projects here. It only has Davis taken part in one saga in "Star Wars," he portrayed Professor Flitwick in the "Harry Potter" films.

Then there's the hit fantasy "Willow" and the cult classic "Leprechaun" movies. On top of that, he had a role in "Ray," is currently appearing as Marvin the Paranoid Android in the film hit "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and developing a James Bond-type of film spoof called "Agent One-Half."

"I've been remarkably busy the last few years with things like 'Harry Potter,' etc., but I if can make it work, I'll slot the time in," Davis told me in a recent @ The Movies interview. "I love performing, and whether it's acting or appearing onstage in a Q&A or emcee type of role, I'll jump at that chance. You have to keep yourself busy and I certainly enjoy doing it."

That's why it should come as no big surprise at all that Davis will be appearing at one of Disney World's four "Star Wars Weekends," a MGM theme park event that features events related to the film, as well as talent. This year's events kick off May 20-22 and R2-D2 controller Don Bies from June 3-5 will join Davis, who last appeared at the event in 2002.

Davis said he's happy to partake in any "Star Wars"-related event because of his admiration of saga creator George Lucas. The filmmaker cast Davis in the pivotal role of Wicket in "Return of the Jedi."

"I do greatly admire the man -- I mean, he's the guy who put me where I am today," Davis said, humbly. "He took me as an 11-year-old boy, gave the responsibility of a featured role in a huge and then since then, has nurtured my talents by allowing me to take the lead role in the two Ewok television movies, then in "Labyrinth" and then gave me the title role in 'Willow,' which was another leap of faith for him. I'm totally grateful to him. As a result, I'm one of his biggest supporters of presenting him to other people."

One thing Davis loves about Lucas is his loyalty to his cast and crewmembers. That's why Davis was invited by the filmmaker to appear in a cameo role -- sans the Wicket costume -- during the pod-racing sequence in "The Phantom Menace."

"He does like working with people he gets along with and I'm lucky to be one of those people, although I did keep dropping hints to him before he made 'The Phantom Menace,'" Davis said, laughing. "I said, 'When you come to making this next 'Star Wars' movie, don't forget me! Remember to write short characters in there that I can play!"

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Slideshow: 'Star Wars' Weekends At Disney World

And, Davis said, at Celebration III, Lucas told him that more might be in store.

"When I got to talk with him, I asked, 'What about "Willow," George?" People are crying out for another movie. I get asked about it all of the time," Davis explained. "He said, 'There probably won't be another movie, but we have thought about doing a TV series. He said, 'That would keep you busy, wouldn't it?' Actually, the fans asked him the same question and he gave them the same response."

From The Galaxy Far, Far Away … To Disney World

One thing that Davis has discovered at his past appearances, Disney "Star Wars Weekends" included, is that there is a definite love for the ewoks and his character, Wicket, in particular. Some fans have expressed disdain for the funny, furry creatures in the past, but Davis believes the fans far outnumber the detractors.

"He's a very, very popular and loved character," Davis said of Wicket. "I often get stories from adults when they were kids, who say, 'I used to cuddle you every night when I was in bed.' Wicket really did become a character that everyone adored. There were so many different toys and characters you could collect of him. When the merchandise came out, they actually added my name to it, so his name was 'Wicket W. Warwick.'"

As for the people who can't find the love in their hearts for the ewoks, Davis not only takes it in stride, he has fun with it.

"There are people who don't like the ewoks, and I did make a note to the people at LucasArts who created the game 'Star Wars: Battlefront,' because in the trailer for it, you actually see an ewok getting shot by a Stormtrooper -- that's why people play the game, I'm sure," laughed Davis.

Getting more serious about it, Davis said the ewoks did serve a valuable purpose in "Return of the Jedi."

"People think ewoks were in the movies just to sell toys, but George doesn't make movies that way," Davis said. "He makes movies the way he wants to make them and the point about a primitive, small race of ewoks who overpower a technologically advanced Empire, just because they believed in something. They believed in the freedom of it all. That was the statement he wanted to make there and that is why they ended up looking the way they did. They looked non-threatening, you see, so there's a point to it."

A family man himself, one of the things Davis loves about his appearances at Disney World is the family atmosphere.

"I feel very proud to be asked each time to appear, so I must be doing something right," Davis said. "It's great there, because we see people on holiday having a great time, and I like to share my experiences with them in the talk shows and when we sign posters."

Davis said the highlight of his appearances at Disney World, though, is the character parade.

"When I'm in the 'Star Wars' parade they do every morning, where I'm driven down the main street of MGM Studios to rapturous applause, music and announcements, I have to take a step back and think, 'Wow,' I'm part of a Disney parade, here -- it's pretty fantastic," Davis beamed. "Plus, I get to play for a couple hours at the end of each day, which is nice."

Getting Jazzed Up

Although Davis has had the pleasure of appearing in the several hit movies, he said it was pleasantly surprising to him the warm reception of his character, Oberon -- who watched out for Ray Charles (Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx) at the beginning of the film -- and the film as a whole.

"I got many compliments about 'Ray' and I was very surprised," Davis said. "When we were making the movie I thought it was a lovely movie, but I wasn't a fan of jazz music, but got to really enjoy it and found the life of Ray Charles to be very interesting. But I felt it was going to be a niche movie, which would only appeal to people who enjoy jazz or Ray Charles.

"But it seems to encompass a much larger audience than that, which really surprised me," Davis added. "Jamie did such a fabulous job -- he was an inspiration to work with when we were filming because he totally became Ray Charles. He was absolutely brilliant. He's a classical pianist anyway, and so he would play the piano and sing -- it was a perfect performance."

On top of all of his other projects, Davis helps run Willow Personal Management, a London-based talent agency that represents short actors.

"There was a need for a representation for short actors. My father-in-law, Peter Burroughs, a short actor himself, has been in the business for about 40 years now," Davis explained. "He's was mentioning about how he was unhappy with his agent and I said, 'Why don't we do something? Why don't we get it all together and all stand as one to get better money, better conditions and get treated as actors and not just short people who do movies?'"

Davis said the company took the name "Willow" from the film because the project resulted in a positive effect for many short actors. And with its success, he isn't going to leave anybody out in the cold.

"It's the biggest agency in the world for short actors. We represent over 100 actors under 5 feet, and about six actors over 7 feet. It is very, very gratifying."

Davis said we could look forward to seeing him and several other short actor counterparts in "Agent One-Half," which also will star an old friend of his.

"We just got confirmation that Val Kilmer is going to do the movie," Davis enthused. "I've kept in touch in with Val since 'Willow,' and we got a written confirmation from his agent that he will do it. Since we're all set there, we just need the financing now, so if there is anybody out there with a spare few million dollars … it's a sure-fire hit."

Davis, who is also producing the film, stars in the title role of "Agent One-Half."

"That's my code name, and all of the agents in the top secret agency have fractions as their code names, so we also have agents Seven-Eighths -- who's the boss -- Two-Thirds, One-Fifth, etc. Val's part would be that of an agent called Lance Stone, and he defects and works for the villain in the piece called 'The Heel,' who would also be played by a short actor. There's about seven or eight key roles for short actors and many of them are great talents from America."

Davis said the project has been 17 years in the making. It was conceived, oddly enough, when he was filming "Willow."

"We were sitting around the set in this fantasy environment, thinking, 'Wouldn't it be lovely if I got to wear a suit and drive a nice car -- that was the seed of the idea and it took me this long to get it where it is," Davis recalled. "Many of the most successful movies have been 15 to 20 years in development, so I hope that's a good sign."

Until "Agent One-Half" is released, Davis can bask in the glory of a short film he shot on the set of "Return of the Jedi," called "Return of the Ewok." He was honored for the film at Celebration III.

"I presented the fan film awards while I was at Celebration III and showed a couple of my films while I was there," Davis said. "Much to my surprise, I was presented with the 'Pioneer Award' for 'Return of the Ewok,' a film that I was involved with way back in 1981 while we were filming 'Return of the Jedi.'

"To have (20th Century Fox Film Co-Chairman) Tom Rothman to come up and talk about me and to get this great award was lovely," Davis concluded. The award is made up of a C-3PO and an R2-D2 -- one holding popcorn and the other is holding a Coke. I had been admiring them before the show and little did I know that I'd been walking away with one at the end."

MORE INFO:

• Walt Disney World's 'Star Wars Weekends'
• Official Warwick Davis Web Site