Life with an Idiot (Russian: Жизнь с идиотом) is an opera by the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke to a Russian libretto by Viktor Erofeyev. An allegory of Soviet oppression, the opera was first performed at Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, on 13 April 1992.

As a punishment for not working hard enough, "I" is forced by the authorities to live with an idiot. He chooses Vova from a lunatic asylum. Vova is only capable of speaking a single word: "Ech".

At first Vova behaves well but then he suddenly begins to make a nuisance of himself, including tearing up I's wife's copy of the works of Marcel Proust. I and his wife go to live in another room and Vova calms down. I's wife falls in love with Vova and becomes pregnant by him. Then Vova and I turn on the wife. Vova kills her and I becomes an idiot.

An idiot, dolt, or dullard is a mentally deficient person, or someone who acts in a self-defeating or significantly counterproductive way. Archaically the word mome has also been used. The similar terms moron, imbecile, and cretin have all gained specialized meanings in modern times. An idiot is said to be idiotic, and to suffer from idiocy. A dunce is an idiot who is specifically incapable of learning. An idiot differs from a fool (who is unwise) and an ignoramus (who is uneducated/an ignorant), neither of which refers to someone with low intelligence.

Idiot as a word derived from the Greek ἰδιώτης, idiōtēs ("person lacking professional skill", "a private citizen", "individual"), from ἴδιος, idios ("private", "one's own"). In Latin the word idiota ("ordinary person, layman") preceded the Late Latin meaning "uneducated or ignorant person." Its modern meaning and form dates back to Middle English around the year 1300, from the Old French idiote ("uneducated or ignorant person"). The related word idiocy dates to 1487 and may have been analogously modeled on the words prophet and prophecy. The word has cognates in many other languages.

Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter films. More recently, Davis starred as himself in sitcom Life's Too Short, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Because of his dwarfism, Davis stands 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) tall.

Warwick Davis was born in Epsom, Surrey, to an insurance broker and his wife. Davis also has a younger sister. He was educated at Chinthurst School and later the City of London Freemen's School. When Davis was 11, his grandmother heard a radio advert calling for people who were 4 ft. tall or shorter to be in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. To Davis, who was a fan of the Star Wars films, it was a dream come true.

On the set of Return of the Jedi, Mark Hamill bought Davis every single Star Wars figure he did not have.

He was originally cast as an extra Ewok, but when Kenny Baker, who was originally going to be Wicket, fell ill, George Lucas picked Warwick to be the new Wicket after seeing how he carried himself as an Ewok. Davis based his Ewok movements on his dog, who would tilt his head from side to side whenever he saw something strange. During production on the film, Davis made a short mockumentary film about his experience as Wicket, titled Return of the Ewok, made with help from Return of the Jedi's first assistant director, David Tomblin. The unreleased film was a fictional look at his decision to become an actor and act in the film and his transformation into Wicket the Ewok. Davis reprised his role in the ABC made-for-TV films Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.

Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English television personality, actor, author, former radio producer. He gained prominence as the producer of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's radio program on XFM. He appeared on The Ricky Gervais Show, presented the Sky travel series An Idiot Abroad, and made his acting debut on Gervais' 2012 comedy-drama series Derek.

Karl Pilkington was born and grew up in Trafford, Greater Manchester. He was educated at Ashton-on-Mersey School, receiving just one GCSE, an "E" in History. Pilkington only became aware of his GCSE results after Gervais and Merchant contacted the school after a conversation during their XFM show. Pilkington was surprised and upset at his results as he recalled sitting through several other GCSE exams, as well as sending in a "little clay man" for Art. A failure to register for the exams was offered as an explanation by Gervais and Merchant for his lack of other grades.

Pilkington relocated to London to work with XFM as a producer and after several years he began work on The Ricky Gervais Show, broadcast on Saturday afternoons. Initially Pilkington was solely the program's producer. However, as Gervais and Merchant began to invite him to make the odd comment, Pilkington's persona came to light and his popularity increased. Pilkington was eventually included as a main element of the broadcasts, with large amounts of airtime often given over to his thoughts on various subjects, or various childhood stories. In December 2005, Pilkington stood in for two BBC 6 Music shows for Nemone, and co-presented the shows with Russell Brand.

Life's Too Short is a sitcom series created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant from an idea by Warwick Davis, and is described by Gervais as being about "the life of a showbiz dwarf" with Davis playing a fictionalised version of himself. Gervais and Merchant appear in cameos as themselves. The show began airing on BBC Two on 10 November 2011. Premium cable channel HBO, who co-produced the series with the BBC, have the US rights and began airing the series on 19 February 2012.

The genesis of the show came when Davis worked with Gervais and Merchant in an episode of the second series of Extras, when he co-starred with Daniel Radcliffe. During filming, Davis told them about the trials of life for a man of 3 feet 6 inches in height, such as having to use a mop handle to reach objects on the high shelves in supermarkets, and people touching him for luck as if he were a leprechaun. Gervais told reporters: "The real Warwick tells us these great stories. They're comedy gold." Stephen Merchant commented of Davis that "he helped create the idea and came to us with the story." When asked by an interviewer if the title of the show offended him, Davis stated that far from being offended, he was, in fact, the person who had come up with it.