Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in ‘Star Wars’ movies, dies at age 74. Co-stars remember ‘a big man with an even bigger heart’
- The towering actor measured 2.21 metres and was working as a hospital attendant in London when he was discovered
- Mayhew once joked that all he had to do when auditioning for the role of Chewbacca was to show his height
Actor Peter Mayhew, who won over fans worldwide as the Wookiee warrior Chewbacca in the blockbuster “Star Wars” movies, has died at the age of 74, his family announced on Thursday.
Mayhew died on Tuesday at his home in Texas, surrounded by loved ones, the family said in a statement released on the actor’s Twitter account.
“He put his heart and soul into the role of Chewbacca and it showed in every frame of the films from his knock-kneed running, firing his bowcaster from the hip, his bright blue eyes, down to each subtle movement of his head and mouth,” the statement said. “But, to him, the Star Wars family meant so much more than a role in a film. The relationships that began then grew into the friends and family that he would love for decades to come.”
The towering British-born actor, who was the son of a policeman, measured 2.21 metres and was working as a hospital attendant in London when he was discovered by film producer Charles Schneer.
He was first cast in the film Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger in an uncredited role. But he then was cast in the role that would define his career – as the co-pilot and best friend of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in the original Star Wars film released in 1977.
The role was unconventional to say the least – a giant, hairy, 200-year-old humanoid from the planet Kashyyyk. Mayhew once joked at a fan convention in 2013 that all he had to do when auditioning for the role of Chewbacca was to show his height.
“In George’s office, he had a sofa,” he said, referring to “Star Wars” creator George Lucas. “So I sat down on the sofa waiting for him to come in through the door. He and [producer] Gary Kurtz walked in.