Sunday night’s BAFTAs saw British film legend Warwick Davis receive the BAFTA Fellowship for his long and successful career, with him giving a shout out to a mystery person
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, took place on Sunday night in London for the 78th time and saw Hollywood A-listers take to the stage. Warwick Davis was just one of the many attendees who went on to win a significant award, while countless stars wowed on the red carpet.
Presented by fellow Harry Potter star Tom Felton, Warwick was this year’s honorary winner of the BAFTA Fellowship award. The actor received a standing ovation as he went up to collect his award, but nobody was prepared for the emotional speech that would follow, which mentioned his late wife Samantha, following her death last April.
This particular award is considered to be one of the BAFTAs’ highest honours. After playing iconic roles in Star Wars, Harry Potter, Narnia, and more, many agree that the accolade was well-deserved for Davis.
As he stood on stage, Davis thanked the audience for their applause and began his speech on a light note by joking: “Well this is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ve been in Star Wars.” The British actor played multiple characters within the franchise, including Wicket, Weazel, Wald, Wollivan, and Weeteef.
He went on to say: “Firstly I’m going to firstly say a thank you to my mum, my very first agent, all those years ago. And the reason I’m here tonight, quite literally.” After thanking his team, Warwick went on to dedicate the award to his late wife, Sammy.
“I’d like to dedicate and thank my wonderful wife Sammy, who died almost a year ago. She was always so supportive of my career, encouraging me to grab every opportunity with both hands,” he shared.
Warwick went on to explain that he noticed his wife’s level of enthusiasm for him taking on a particular role was often “relative to how much she wanted that new designer handbag”. “Since then, life has been pretty tough for me,” the actor said, rougher and candidly.
“Thanks to the support of our wonderful children, Annabel and Harrison, I’ve been able to continue working and engaging in life,” Davis shared with tears in his eyes as the crowd gave him a huge round of applause. His wife, Sammy Davis, suddenly passed away on 24 March 2024.
It was then, after the acknowledgement of his late wife, that the actor gave a shout-out to an unknown “Sponge”. “Special mention too should go to Sponge; you know who you are. Thank you for showing me that life can still have meaning and for helping me to laugh and to love again,” he said.
Fans were left confused as to who the mystery person mentioned is, and many viewers took to the social media platform X to share their thoughts. One wrote, X: “Warwick Davis is some man. What a legend, and what a speech! Hope he and Sponge have a wonderful life together.”
The crowd erupted into applause as Warwick stumbled on his words, welling up with the emotion of his meaningful speech. Closing his speech, he shared: “To anyone out there dreaming of sharing their story or creating something meaningful, go for it. The world needs your vision.”
Keeping it light, Warwick joked that anyone looking for an actor to bring their story to life should remember “the little fella with the BAFTA”. Finishing off, Warwick closed his speech by saying: “See you in the movies.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
