Peter William Mayhew[2] (19 May 1944 – 30 April 2019) was a British actor. He was best known for portraying Chewbacca in the Star Warsfilm series. He played the character in all of his live-action appearances from the 1977 original to 2015's The Force Awakens before his retirement from the role.
Early life
Peter Mayhew was born on 19 May 1944, in Barnes, Surrey. At the age of 8, he was diagnosed with gigantism.[3] Mayhew also had a genetic tissue disorder called Marfan syndrome.[4][5] His peak height was 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m).[6]
Career
Early work
Mayhew gained his first acting job when the producers of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) discovered him from a photograph in a newspaper article about men with large feet, and cast him in the role of the Minoton.[7][8]
Star Wars
When casting the original Star Wars (1977), director George Lucas needed a tall actor who could fit the role of the hairy alien Chewbacca. He originally had in mind 6-foot-6-inch (1.98 m) bodybuilder David Prowse, but Prowse chose to play Darth Vader. This led Lucas to cast Mayhew, who was working as a hospital orderly in the emergency department at Mayday University Hospital in Surrey.[9] He became aware of a casting call for Star Wars which was filming at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.[10] The 7-foot-3-inch (2.21 m) tall actor was immediately cast as Chewbacca after he stood up to greet Lucas.[10][11] Mayhew continued working as an orderly at the same hospital in between filming the original Star Wars trilogy.[12]
Mayhew modelled his performance of Chewbacca after researching the behaviour of bears, monkeys and gorillas he saw at London Zoo.[13] Lucas said Mayhew was "the closest any human being could be to a Wookiee: big heart, gentle nature and I learnt to always let him win".[13] The character did not have any lines, the sounds he made being derived from sound recordings of animal noises.[14]
Mayhew at the 2008 Big Apple Con sitting in front of an image of Chewbacca
Mayhew played the role in commercials and hospital appearances for sick children, and made numerous appearances as Chewbacca outside the Star Wars films. Mayhew, appearing as Chewbacca, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Film Awards 1997.[17]
He also made other media appearances outside of playing Chewbacca. He appeared on NBC's Identity, where his identity was based on his role as Chewbacca and was a frequent guest in the early days of Slice of SciFi.[18]
While Mayhew portrayed Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he was not in Star Wars: The Last Jedi but was listed in the credits as "Chewbacca Consultant".[19] Mayhew retired from playing Chewbacca due to health issues. Joonas Suotamo shared the portrayal of Chewbacca with Mayhew in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and then completely replaced him in subsequent Star Wars films.[20][21]
Mayhew wrote two books for younger audiences: Growing Up Giant,[26] which explains that being different is a strength instead of a weakness, and the anti-bullying book for children My Favorite Giant.[27]
Personal life and death
Mayhew moved to Wheathead Lane, Keighley, West Yorkshire, in 1987.[2][28] He invested in and worked at a timber yard just over the City of Bradford border in South Craven, North Yorkshire.[2][29] He became a supporter of Keighley Rugby Union Football Club.[2][28]
Mayhew married Mary Angelique "Angie" Luker (née Cigainero), a native of Texas, in 1999.[30][2] The two lived in Boyd, Texas, United States, where he had moved to in 2000.[2][29] Peter was the stepfather to Mary's three children.[31][32] It was reported that his wife would head his namesake charity, the Peter Mayhew Foundation.
Mayhew became a naturalised citizen of the United States in 2005 at a ceremony in Arlington, Texas.[33][34] In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he joked that he did not get a medal at this ceremony either, a reference to the closing scene in Star Wars during which Luke Skywalker and Han Solo get medals, but Chewbacca does not. Mayhew noted in an MTV interview that although Chewbacca does not get a medal in the film, he does have the last line of dialogue, when he roars.[35]
Mayhew underwent double knee replacement surgery in 2013,[36] having been a full-time wheelchair user for the previous two years and still largely reliant on it at the time of filming The Force Awakens.[37] In July 2018, Mayhew announced via Twitter that he had successfully undergone unspecified spinal surgery to improve his mobility, and was recovering.[38][2]
Mayhew died of a heart attack on 30 April 2019, at his home in Boyd, Texas, at age 74.[39] He was buried in Reno, Parker County, Texas, in Azleland Memorial Park and Mausoleum.[40]
