Peter Mayhew

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Peter Mayhew

Born	May 19, 1944 Barnes, London, England

Peter Mayhew (born May 19, 1944 in Barnes, London, England) is an English actor, best known for playing the Wookiee, Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies. He is 7'3" (2.21 metres) tall.

Before getting into acting, Mayhew worked as an orderly at London's King's College Hospital. He received his first acting job in 1977 when the producers of the movie Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger discovered Mayhew from a photograph in a newspaper article about men with large feet, and they cast him in the role of the minotaur.

When casting roles for his first Star Wars film, producer George Lucas needed a tall actor who could fit the role for the beastly Chewbacca. He originally had in mind 6'7" bodybuilder David Prowse, but Prowse was instead cast to play the role of Darth Vader. This led Lucas on a search which turned up Mayhew, who says that all he had to do to be cast in the role of Chewbacca was stand up.

Mayhew has played the part of Chewbacca in four Star Wars films: the original Star Wars trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi) and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He also played the role in the 1978 television movie The Star Wars Holiday Special, as well as in an appearance on The Muppet Show and in commercials and for hospital appearances for sick children. When cast in the role he studied the movement of large animals at the zoo to come up with an authentic sense of movement for Chewbacca. When Mayhew grew ill in the shooting of The Empire Strikes Back a similarly tall stand in was used, but the actor could not match Mayhew's studied movement style and the scenes had to be reshot upon Mayhew's recovery.

Mayhew was honoured when Chewbacca was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie Awards 1997.

Mayhew now lives in Granbury, Texas, and is the owner of his own business. He took the oath to become a naturalized citizen of the United States on October 17, 2005 at a ceremony in Arlington, Texas. [1] In an interview with the Fort Worth Star Telegram he jokingly noted that he didn't get a medal at this ceremony either; a reference to the Star Wars scene in which Luke and Han get medals but the Wookiee gets none.

Mayhew also voiced the character Susha in Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy, thus becoming the only English actor in the Dragon Ball Universe. His next project is James Kerwin's scifi noir film, Yesterday Was a Lie.

[edit] Trivia

Legend has it that while filming scenes in the Pacific Northwest for Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Mayhew wandered off set while still dressed in his Chewbacca outfit. He was then spotted and shot at by hunters who thought that he was Bigfoot. Although it was long believed to be true, Mayhew has recently admitted to the story being merely a rumor that got out of hand.
Mayhew charges for his autograph at Sci-fi conventions: $20 for a picture he provides or $15 to have him sign your own item. However, this is standard practice in the world of sci-fi conventions, with 50% of the signing fee typically going to the event's producers. Many sci-fi stars charge much more.
He was born five days after Star Wars creator George Lucas.
Recently, Mayhew appeared on NBC's Identity (game show) where his identity was based on the fact that he played Chewbacca.