Standing seven feet, three inches tall, Peter Mayhew is an English actor best known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies.

Peter was born in Born in Barnes, London, England, and before getting into acting, he worked as an orderly at London's King's College Hospital. Peter received his first acting job in 1977 when the producers of the Ray Harryhausen 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. Lucas 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 Peter Mayhew, who says that all he had to do to be cast in the role of Chewbacca was stand up.

Peter 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 Peter grew ill in the shooting of The Empire Strikes Back a similarly tall stand in was used, but the actor could not match Peter's studied movement style and the scenes had to be reshot upon his recovery.

Peter has many stories to share about his experiences during and after the filming of the Trilogy. Be sure to ask about filming on location for the Endor sequences in Return of the Jedi. The production was deep in "Bigfoot Country" and there was concern for Peter's safety from hunters should he stray too far from the set.

Then there's his scene in Empire Chewbacca tries to strangle Lando Calrissian. Billy Dee Williams came up to Peter and said, "Peter, please don't hurt me!" Peter assured Williams that he wouldn't even touch him. True to his word, when filming the scene Peter just put his hands around Williams' neck without actually touching him, and the costume hair hid the rest!

Peter got "One of everything" of the original Star Wars toys, and gave many of the toys and collectibles away when making appearances at Children's Homes and Hospitals. What does Peter think of the films now, especially in the midst of all the prequel hoopla? "It's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful that it's still as strong a film as it ever was. With Star Wars fans there's always so much enthusiasm."

Peter was honored when Chewbacca was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie Awards 1997.

Peter now lives in Granbury, Texas with his wife Angie and three daughters, 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. 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.