Peter Mayhew was born on May 19, 1944 in Barnes, London, England. Now residing in Texas, this former resident of Yorkshire, England, was working as a hospital attendant at the King's College Hospital in London when film producer Charles H. Schneer saw his photo, literally standing above the crowd around him. Charles H. Schneer cast him in Sinbad et l'oeil du tigre (1977), Ray Harryhausen's newest special effects film. It was just over a year later that he was asked if he wanted to do another role. Mayhew was told it was for a big hairy beast. It was the role of Chewbacca, the faithful 200 year-old Wookiee in La guerre des étoiles (1977) and his life was changed forever. Following the original Star Wars trilogy, Mayhew has done several commercials in the Wookiee costume including one for Cingular and Orange associated with Star Wars: Épisode III - La revanche des Sith (2005). In 1997, the twentieth anniversary celebrations of Star Wars were announced with the release of the "Special Edition" and all the conventions started. He is now active on the "Star Wars" convention circuit where he signs autographs. He has written two books, "Growing Up Giant" and "My Favorite Giant" and founded a non-profit 501(c)3 charity organization called "The Peter Mayhew Foundation" and is the purveyor of chewbacca.com.
