Davis was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare bone growth disorder that results in dwarfism.

When Davis was 11, his grandmother heard a radio advertisement calling for people who were 4 feet (120 cm) tall or shorter to be in Return of the Jedi.

During the filming of Return of the Jedi, Mark Hamill bought Davis every Star Wars action figure that he did not already own.

In 1993, he played the villainous Irish lead character in Leprechaun, opposite Jennifer Aniston, a role he reprised in five sequels, from 1994 to 2003.

Davis returned to the Star Wars universe, playing four roles in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace: Weazel, a gambler sitting next to Watto at the Podrace; Wald, who was Anakin's Rodian friend, Yoda in some scenes where Yoda was seen walking, and finally, a street trader seen walking around the streets of the city of Mos Espa.

In 2004, Davis played the character "Plates" in the indie film Skinned Deep, directed by special effects artist Gabriel Bartalos.

In 2006, Davis appeared, alongside fellow Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, in an episode of BBC's comedy series Extras as a satirical version of himself.

Davis starred in the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as the "body" of Marvin the Paranoid Android (the voice was provided by Alan Rickman).

In December 2006, Davis starred in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at the Opera House, Manchester, and again in 2007–08 at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

In March 2013, Davis presented an episode of the ITV series Perspectives: "Warwick Davis – The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz", in which he explored the story of the Ovitz family, a touring musical troupe which included seven dwarfs who survived the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp and the experiments of Josef Mengele.

In late 2013, Davis appeared for one month as Patsy in the musical comedy Spamalot, based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail in London.

[24] Davis appeared in the film Solo: A Star Wars Story, released in May 2018, reuniting with his Willow director Ron Howard.

Many of Davis's co-stars and fellow actors with dwarfism from Star Wars, Willow, Labyrinth and the Harry Potter series are represented by the agency.

Over forty members of Willow Management were cast as goblins in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

[38] In February 2015, the production was the subject of the BBC's "Warwick Davis' Big Night" as part of the Modern Times documentary series.

by Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins, which premiered as a concert performance on 29 June 2016 at the London Palladium (which Davis also starred in as Evil Lord Hector) followed by fully staged runs at The Other Palace in 2018.

[42] In the episode Davis learned that in his family tree he had an ancestor that had been married to two women at the same time, another who had died in an asylum from syphilis and another who performed at minstrel shows in blackface.

[43] In December 2024, Davis appeared as a judge on the Food Network competition show Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking.

[46] Davis met the Burroughs family while filming Willow, where Samantha and Peter had minor roles as Nelwyn villagers.