Annabelle Davis, daughter of actor Warwick Davis, has joined the cast of Hollyoaks as lawyer Lacey, marking her debut on the Channel 4 soap. The 25-year-old is believed to be the first actor with dwarfism to appear in the series.
Annabelle, who grew up on film sets thanks to her father's roles in Star Wars and Harry Potter, says she owes her success to Warwick, 52, a trailblazer for actors with dwarfism. Both have the same rare bone growth disorder, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita.
“He’s a trailblazer. He always tries to do something different. To raise that awareness on screen is so important. That’s why I was so excited to play someone on a soap,” Annabelle said of her father. She hopes the role will open doors for other little people in television.
Annabelle previously played Sasha Bellman on CBBC's The Dumping Ground for seven years and appeared alongside her father in the Disney+ series Willow. She also had a cameo as a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where her mother Samantha Davis also acted.
Despite her famous lineage, Annabelle initially wanted to be an artist or psychologist. She credits her father with teaching her everything about acting. “I’ll always go to him if I’m unsure what to do with a script. I couldn’t do it without him,” she said.
Annabelle now commutes seven hours round-trip from her home near Cambridge to the Hollyoaks set in Liverpool. She said of her childhood on set: “Seeing all the creatives come together... I saw that and thought I’d love to be a part of that.”
