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" (2.22 meters) tall. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 456 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (675 × 887 pixel, file size: 384 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Actor Peter Mayhew at dinner with a group of fans from Puerto Rico in 2005. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Barnes is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Barnes (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... A Wookiee is a member of a race of hairy bipeds in the fictional Star Wars universe. ... Chewbacca (or Chewie) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ... This article is about the series. ...

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. Kings College Hospital, Ruskin Wing Kings College Hospital first opened in 1840 close to Lincolns Inn Fields and within two years was treating 1290 inpatients in 120 beds. ... Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is a 1977 fantasy movie, the final installment of Ray Harryhausens Sinbad Trilogy and the penultimate movie in which Harryhausen would use the stop-motion technique which he had pioneered since the late 1940s. ... In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (Greek: Μινόταυρος, Minótauros) was a creature that was said to be part man and part bull. ...

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. This movie poster for Star Wars depicts many of the films important elements, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters Star Wars, retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981 (see note at Title,) is the original (and in chronological... George Walton Lucas, Jr. ... David Dave Prowse, MBE (born July 1, 1935 in Bristol, United Kingdom) is an English body-builder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for his role as the physical form of Darth Vader. ... Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ...

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. This movie poster for Star Wars depicts many of the films important elements, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters Star Wars, retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981 (see note at Title,) is the original (and in chronological... Movie poster Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is the sequel to the first released Star Wars movie, and the second film released in the original trilogy. ... Movie poster Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, is a science fiction film that debuted in 1983, and re-released with changes in 1997 and 2004. ... Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the third episode of the Star Wars film series (but the sixth film to be produced), to be released on Thursday, May 19, 2005. ... The Star Wars Holiday Special was a two-hour television special (including commercials) set in the Star Wars galaxy. ... The Muppet Show was a television program featuring a cast of Muppets (diverse hand-operated puppets, typically with oversized eyes and large moving mouths) produced by Jim Henson and his team from 1976 to 1981. ...

Mayhew was honored when Chewbacca was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie Awards 1997. The 1997 MTV Movie Awards was hosted by Mike Myers. ...

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. Granbury is a city in Hood County, Texas, in the United States. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ... is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas (USA) within the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area. ...

Mayhew also voiced the character Susha in the English version of Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy. His next project is James Kerwin's scifi noir film, Yesterday Was a Lie. James Kerwin (born October 13, 1973 in St. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Trivia

• Peter was honored at the release of the new Playstation Portable where he dressed as chewbacca and held up the new slim version.
• He was born five days after Star Wars creator George Lucas.
• Recently, Mayhew appeared on NBC's Identity where his identity was based on the fact that he played Chewbacca.

The PlayStation Portable , officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and currently manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... This article is about the series. ... George Walton Lucas, Jr. ... This article is about the television network. ... Identity is a game show, hosted by Penn Jillette and produced by Reveille where contestants can win money by matching 12 strangers one-by-one to phrases about their identities. ... Chewbacca (or Chewie) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ...

External links

At a Monterrey, México convention.

• Peter Mayhew at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Wars bio
• E! interview
• Interview with Peter Mayhew on Slice of SciFi
• Interview with Peter Mayhew on Monster Island News