- Born
- Died
- Birth namePeter William Mayhew
- Height7′ 3″ (2.21 m)
- Peter Mayhew was born on May 19, 1944 in Barnes, London, England, to Constance Elizabeth (Yeates) and Walter Henry Mayhew. Later resident in Texas, this former resident of Yorkshire, England, was working as a hospital attendant at the King's College Hospital in London when film producer Charles H. Schneer saw his photo, literally standing above the crowd around him. Schneer cast him in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977), Ray Harryhausen's special effects film.
A year later, he was offered another role. Mayhew was told it was for a big hairy beast. It was the role of Chewbacca, the faithful 200 year-old Wookiee in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and his life was changed forever. Following the original Star Wars trilogy, he made several television commercials in the Wookiee costume.
In 1997, the 20th-anniversary celebrations of Star Wars were announced with the release of the "Special Edition" and all the conventions started. He was active on the "Star Wars" convention circuit where he signed autographs. He wrote two books, "Growing Up Giant" and "My Favorite Giant", and founded a non-profit 501(c)3 charity organization called "The Peter Mayhew Foundation".
- IMDb mini biography by: Peter Mayhew (updated by Robert Sieger)
- SpouseAngelique Mayhew(August 7, 1999 - April 30, 2019) (his death, 3 children)
- RelativesSibling(Sibling)
- Chewbacca from the Star Wars films
- Towering height and slender frame
- Had the option of either playing Darth Vader or Chewbacca, as did David Prowse. Mayhew chose Chewbacca because he wanted to play a hero, whilst Prowse chose Darth Vader because he wanted to play a villain.
- Fell sick during the filming of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), which prompted director Irvin Kershner to bring in another extremely tall actor to fill in for him as Chewbacca. All the footage with the double was scrapped and reshot after Mayhew recovered because Irvin Kershner found that the double's body movements did not match Mayhew's.
- After getting the role of Chewbacca, Mayhew went to the zoo and began studying the movements and mannerisms of various large animals to incorporate into the character Chewbacca.
- Became a naturalized United States citizen, along with 441 other people from 77 countries, in Arlington, Texas on October 17, 2005.
- Prior to starring as Chewbacca in the original Star Wars trilogy, he was an orderly at London's King's College Hospital.
- It's curious that when you look down at people you see their defects, their irregularities more clearly. I like my bird's-eye view. I think it's what gives Chewie his pride, his bigness. Bigness of heart.
- When I go to restaurants I can never get my legs under a table. I bump my head in planes. People who sit behind me in the theater hate me. But I have given up apologizing to the world.
- [on doing Star Wars] this has been the best thing that ever happened to me, in the past 25 years I've been able to travel all over the world and get paid for it I never had to pay for a thing I can go out in public without being recognized if I want to be recognized in public it will happen,Star Wars was great to me, I'm set for life.
- [on 'Star Wars' co-star Carrie Fisher's sudden passing]: There are no words for this loss. Carrie was the brightest light in every room she entered. I will miss her dearly.
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