George Lucas pays tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The death of Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew several days ago prompted an outpouring of emotional tributes from fans as well as the cast and crew of the STAR WARS franchise, including George Lucas. "Peter was a wonderful man. He was the closest any human being could be to a Wookiee: big heart, gentle nature…and I learned to always let him win. He was a good friend and I’m saddened by his passing," Lucas said. Earlier today, the franchise creator expanded his tribute to the gentle giant and reminisced about their first meeting.

I needed somebody very, very tall to be the Wookie. But we were having a hard time finding anybody in England, where I did most of my films. I said, "This is crazy. Where are all the basketball players?" But then, after months of trying, the casting director said, "I found one!" He was a hospital attendant in this small English town. So I met with him. And as soon as Peter stood up, I said, "You've got the job."

We call it mime casting because it's really about people controlling their bodies. You're not really looking for the voice — you put that in later; it's a little like dubbing a French movie. You're looking for the stature and the way they move. Darth Vader had to strut. 3PO had to be malleable, because the suit constricted his movements. And Chewie needed to lumber, which Peter did perfectly. He wasn't quite tall enough — he was seven-foot-three and I wanted seven-foot-five —but we put high-heeled shoes on him. He even learned to do the Wookie roar but we took it out and used real animal sounds to give it authenticity. 

"Peter was a wonderful, wonderful man," Lucas continued. "He kept his job in the hospital through the first three movies. But he fell in love with the character. And then as Star Wars grew in fame, and he started doing more festivals and public appearances, he realized he could actually make a living just off the personal appearances. He was very gentle, very sweet, very easy to get along with. He was more like a Wookie than I originally imagined a Wookie to be. Originally, I envisioned Chewie as some big ferocious beast, but Peter's Chewie wasn't really ferocious. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't ferocious. He would be your best friend until he got angry, then stand back. He was a gentle giant. He was like my dogs. They're great, they're fluffy, they're wonderful — until you get near their food." Following STAR WARS, Peter Mayhew played Chewbacca in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RETURN OF THE JEDI, and REVENGE OF THE SITH, but as he was suffering from knee problems by the time THE FORCE AWAKENS rolled around, he shared the role with Joonas Suotamo, who would go on to take over the character, with Mayhew's blesssing, in THE LAST JEDI, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, and THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.