Paul Grant, a UK actor and stuntman famous for appearing playing an Ewok in “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” has died at age 56.
Police discovered 4-foot-4 star collapsed outside of King’s Cross Station in London on Thursday, reported the Sun.
Paramedics rushed Grant to the hospital, where he was pronounced brain dead, though he was kept on life support until Sunday, in accordance with his family.
The Peterborough father of three lived with Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare genetic form of dwarfism, which he said had caused him health problems.
Born in Epsom, Surrey, on Feb. 3, 1970, Grant played certainly one of the furry Ewoks that aided Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and the rebel alliance during their fight against the Empire within the 1983 “Star Wars” installment.
He also notably portrayed a goblin in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
Grant’s other credits include “Willow” (1998) alongside Val Kilmer, 1986’s “Labyrinth” starring David Bowie, the Tom Cruise flick “Legend” and “Deuce Bigalow 2.”
The British actor faced issues with drugs and alcohol and admitted that he “lost the whole lot,” including by spending money on cocaine and prostitutes.
His problems got here to light in 2014 after photos surfaced of Grant snorting lines of coke, the Sunday Mirror reported on the time.
“I want help. I’ve been on cocaine and it has just got worse,” Grant confessed. “I’m drinking and smoking what I can get.”
Grant said his life had been on the decline ever since he split up along with his wife, Janet Crowson, which he blamed on the proven fact that he’d cheated on her several times and had gone “AWOL.” He said things snowballed to the purpose that his family “disowned” him and his profession opportunities “dried up.”
“I had a family, I used to be married, now I’m divorced. I’ve lost the whole lot,” said Grant, who also hung out in jail for assault, in accordance with the Mirror.
Grant’s family and friends reacted to his passing.
“I’m devastated,” said his daughter, Sophie Jayne Grant. “My dad was a legend in so some ways.
“He at all times brought a smile and laughter to everyone’s face.”
Grant’s girlfriend Maria Dwyer, 64, called the late star “the love of my life” and “the funniest man I do know.”
“He made my life complete,” she continued. “Life isn’t going to be the identical without him.”
“He was a beautiful bloke,” said an unnamed family friend. “He’s at all times battled with drugs and alcohol addiction but he was a talented actor.
“He called himself the ‘King of the Dwarfs.’”
