Warwick Davis Backs Scope’s “End the Awkward” Campaign

Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick, Griphook) has backed the latest campaign of UK disability charity Scope, called “End the Awkward.” Scope explains that the new campaign seeks to end awkwardness surrounding disability:

 End the Awkward is coming back. Not enough people know or interact with disabled people. Because of that, when they do, they often don’t know what to do. They panic, or worse, just avoid situations for fear of doing the wrong thing. Two-thirds of people feel awkward around disability.

Warwick appears in a video to promote the campaign, which you can see below:

In an interview, Warwick spoke about some of the awkward encounters that he has had over the years, talking especially about social situations:

As I got older, the awkwardness continued – especially in social situations. At a party, being only three foot six, I’m at everyone’s waist height. If you’re in a crowded room, and everyone’s having drinks, all the conversations are taking place two or three feet above me. It’s very difficult for me to just walk into a group and become part of that conversation because I’m just looking at hands and bums.

He also talked about people trying to do the right thing:

In trying to do the right thing, people often crouch down to chat to me. I then crouch down as well, which is quite funny. Some people just sit on the floor and chat, and that is quite nice if you’re having a long conversation – it saves me looking up all the time and getting neck ache, and it’s nice to talk face to face.

But he would rather people talked about it:

The more people try not to speak about someone’s disability or difference, the more they’ll end up stumbling – and it’s very obvious to that person what’s going on. And they won’t be offended! I don’t mind somebody acknowledging my height or talking about dwarfism. To be honest, if they’re curious or inquisitive, I’d rather we did chat about it.

Finally, Warwick said that he likes to approach his situation with humor:

I do a bit of End the Awkward naturally myself in life! In the sense of just approaching my difference with humour, and hopefully making people feel at ease with it. I understand what it is like to feel awkward in situations and around people who are different, and I don’t want people feeling that way when they’re with me, so I just kind of approach it head-on.

You can find out more about the campaign here and get involved with #EndtheAwkward.

Do you have an awkward disability story? Share it with us in the comments!