Katie Purvis
Ewok (Return of the Jedi)
Interview: July 2019
How did you get started in the movie business?
My dad Jack Purvis was working on Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits movie where he played Wally, one of the six Bandits. One summer’s day he took me with him to the film set when they were filming the iconic Titanic scene. The story goes one of the little guys, Tiny Ross, had broken his arm when he fell whilst on horseback in a previously filmed scene, so Terry asked my dad if I would suit up and be Tinys stand-in for the shoot. So I was taken to costume and make up and transformed from a 14-year-old schoolgirl into Vermin the Time Bandit. That was how I got started in the film business!
And how did you get cast for Return of the Jedi?
Again, I consider myself very privileged in how I got cast in Return of the Jedi. This was due to my dad already having been in A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. My dad’s agent asked me if I would be interested in being on the movie to play a teddy bear character a few months before. They were looking for around 50 short people to play Ewoks! As I was only 15 years old, I had to speak to my school to ask permission. At the time, I was taking my Mock O Levels exams, so I did have a bit of study leave during the filming days. So the production gave me a schedule and together with my head teacher we worked my exams around that. This meant I would be filming for two days and then sitting in an exam hall the next! Needless to say this made it very hard to excel at academics, when all I could think about was what was going on in the Ewok Village!
What do you recall of the filming of your scenes for the Return of the Jedi?
The whole 2-week experience was so exciting for me a teenager. I had
already met Mark Hamill back in 1976 whilst my dad was working on A New Hope,
as he had been to our house for tea, when my dad Jack and his partner
Kenny Baker had been working in Cabaret in the evening after a day’s
shooting. Dad brought Mark home before taking him out with them to watch
their show. Mark was really kind to my brothers and I.
So when I met him again on Return of the Jedi it was just like
meeting one of my dad’s friends. I didn’t really get introduced to the
other cast members, as it can be really busy on set and my dad being so
humble didn’t want to disturb them as he said they would be preparing
for their scenes. This was a little disappointing as I had had a
schoolgirl crush on Mr. Ford. First day on set my dad and I were
standing in our Ewok costumes feeling all fat and furry when Harrison
came past and greeted my dad! I was so nervous as I thought finally I am
going to get the chance to meet my hero! Unfortunately not to be. Dad
and Harrison had a chat and to my dismay my dad didn’t even introduce me
and Harrison walked off into his position to begin the day’s scene! I
won’t tell you how I expressed my disappointment to my dad about him
being responsible for me not meeting my schoolgirl crush!
Did any strange, remarkable or funny things happen on the set?
I’m sure it’s well documented that the Ewok costumes were very
uncomfortable and made you very hot and the eyes kept misting up. Kenny
Bakers wife, Eileen, when I informed her that I was feeling unwell one
afternoon, assisted by lifting her arm up and shouting ‘CUT’ when I told
her “I think I’m going to be sick!”
At once the makeup lady rushed onto set and ripped my Ewok head off
allowing me to upchuck my lunch! All I remember hearing was the guy from
the Electric department shouting “Don’t be sick in my electric box!”
Return of the Jedi was directed by Richard Marquand, while George Lucas produced it. How were both men to work with?
Being young I didn’t really appreciate the fact that I was working alongside such greats as Richard Marquand and George Lucas, again because my dad been there from the start in 1976 so there was a great camaraderie amongst them all. To be honest I was so nervous I just did as I was asked. I think I speak for most of us who played Ewoks, it was the first time we’d met so many other Little People and all been together, so that was more exciting than working with these iconic film directors! It’s only now that I realize how blessed I was to have been part of those movies! And so wish I had taken photos and got autographs.
After Star Wars you starred in some of my favorite 80’s movies: Labyrinth, Willow and Legend. What fond memories do you have of those productions?
I loved working on the films that followed, Legend, Labyrinth and Willow, although Labyrinth was my favorite. Again for me it was about coming of age, I was now 18 and had past my driving test, although I didn’t have my own car My mum let me borrow hers. It was a red mini, which I felt so cool driving! This meant no longer did I have to drive to the studios with my dad, after all how uncool was that! We filmed Labyrinth in the summer months so we had a holding area just outside the Stage where the set had been built. There everyone would hang out, make up people, props and costume, actors and puppeteers! It was great time to be 18 and driving your mums Red Mini! I felt so grown up having just left school!
Your father Jack Purvis has played a lot of parts in the original trilogy, including popular characters like Teebo, the lead Jawa and an Ugnaught. How do look back at his Star Wars legacy?
Star Wars has been part of my family’s life since I was 10 years old. Even now I only have to hear the Star Wars music and I not only get goose bumps but I immediately am taken back in time to so many parts of my life growing up. From school summer fetes that my dad and Kenny Baker opened as guest celebrities The Minitones in the late 70’s to summer shows in Torquay where Jack and Kenny were appearing and where the showgirls would perform a show stopping number with lightsabers to the Star Wars theme tune whilst a prop R2 would spin around. My brothers and I would be watching from the wings most nights. Inevitably one of the showgirls’ lightsabers would break in two as she thrust it too hard and ended up missing someone in the audience. The crowd used love this part of the show, I suppose because Star Wars meant so much to everyone. I know it changed Kenny and Jacks lives, and ours too as our families were able to move to bigger houses in nicer areas. They became well respected as not just musical cabaret act but actors from a successful movie. The movie opened up other opportunities for them that they may never have had had it not been for their small roles in that low budget movie.
What would you regard as your best memory of all the movies you were in. Is there a special moment you’ll cherish forever?
I have been to places I never would have got to go to, had it not been for Star Wars and the love of the Star Wars community.
What are you doing these days? Are you still in the acting business?
Nowadays I no longer act as unfortunately as a result of back surgery
I can no longer walk unaided. However, I have three children who would
love to appear in any future Star Wars movies, so if there is
any casting agents out there reading this were waiting to hear! That
would make them the third generation of Purvis family to appear in the
franchise. They have already been told by Mr. Mark Hamill himself, to
call him Grampa!
So nowadays I am honored to be asked to appear at conventions and related Sci-Fi events.
The Star Wars community, along with some awesome people and
actors have helped raise money for many charity events, which I am
humbled to say has changed people’s lives. I can truly say I have met
some very kind and warm-hearted people, whom I never would have met had
it not been for Star Wars and its legacy.
And this is what is so incredible about the Star Wars Story!
