Peter Mayhew

Peter Mayhew (born 19 May 1944) is an English actor known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies. His peak height was 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m) tall. Mayhew was born in Barnes, London, England. He received his first acting job in 1976 when the producers of the film 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. 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 ft 6 in bodybuilder David Prowse, but Prowse was instead cast to play the role of Darth Vader. This led Lucas on a search which...