How Peter Mayhew became Chewbacca.

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▼ Peter Mayhew played Chewbacca, the gentle giant with a distinctive growl, in Star Wars films for almost 40 years - but how did he find himself inside that huge, hairy costume?
The London-born son of a policeman was diagnosed with gigantism, a condition that causes excessive growth, aged eight. Mayhew also had a related genetic tissue disorder called Marfan Syndrome.
He went on to reach a towering 7ft 2in (2.18m) and started his working life in engineering.
But, according to his charity foundation, he felt "more fulfilled" working as an orderly at King's College Hospital in the capital.
He was spotted for his film career by chance, when a local reporter published a photograph of him.
It was seen by the producers of Ray Harryhausen's action fantasy Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.
This led to Mayhew playing the Minoton, a huge half-man half-bull bronze creature in the 1977 Sinbad film.
He had exactly what Star Wars creator George Lucas needed when he was casting Chewbacca - height. Lucas had initially asked Dave Prowse, but he bagged Darth Vader instead.
Mayhew was perfect for the role of Chewie, the loveable, even cuddly sidekick to Harrison Ford's intergalactic smuggler Han Solo.
Han, the pilot of the Millennium Falcon, saved the Wookiee from imprisonment, sparking their life-long friendship.
Once he was cast, Mayhew set about researching his character by studying bears, monkeys and gorillas in his local zoo - preparing to bring his character to life once he was encased in the yak hair costume.
In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, the actor summed up Chewbacca's role by saying: "My character is a teddy bear, basically.
"I bet you, if you looked around your office, how many people had a teddy bear as a youngster or a security blanket as a youngster? And that's what Chewie is, he looks after everybody."
The only bit of Mayhew that could be seen was his eyes, which, along with his body language, were his only means of expression.
He was told by Lucas the Wookiee was "a mime character because they put the noises on afterwards", which turned out to be a relief.
"It makes it easier for me, because just try making loud enough noises through a mask!" Mayhew said.
"It's very hard so you do as well as you can, and then they take it to the sound studio and put their own voices in it. It's not easy, really."
Chewbacca's distinctive growl was actually made by sound designer Ben Burtt, who created the sound by collecting noises made by bears, walruses, lions, badgers and sick animals.
Burtt said he "extracted little grunts and put them all on one tape" and then collected sounds covering a range of emotions, such as affection and anger.
Mayhew played the 200-year-old Wookiee for the first trilogy of Star Wars films. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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nlrnmk66

Good reading.  Never thought of about the persons who play such roles.

KH_Hirsch

The way I read it was that when the auditions were on he got up from a chair or bench where he was waiting and George Lucas said: There we have our Chewbacca. Not sure if true but left the impression that we was one of the chosen ones as well.

DDG73

RIP to this legend man. Its a shame what the franchise has now become but in its golden day it was enthralling to see that level of film hit the mass audience and leave a generational impact on many people.