Peter Mayhew is an English/American actor who holds American citizenship and is best known for playing Chewbacca in the Star Wars film series.
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» All Actor InterviewsUPDATE: Thank you so much for all the wonderful questions. Im afraid I must call it a night. If you want to continue to ask questions, I will check in from time to time over the next few days to answer some more.
Cheers,
Peter Mayhew
Hello Reddit,
I am Peter Mayhew, I have played Chewbacca in the Star Wars Saga for the last 40 years, and I'd love to chat with my Reddit Family......Ask Me Anything.
Also, I am unable to speak about Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi.
Cheers,
Peter Mayhew
Update: For time purposes, I won't be ending each comment with my normal "Cheers, Peter Mayhew." Please know that I wish you all Cheers.
Proof: https://twitter.com/TheWookieeRoars/status/861022975881084928
Update: For those that have inquired the petition link is: https://www.change.org/p/kathleen-kennedy-get-chewbacca-in-the-new-han-solo-film
What are your feelings on the notorious Star Wars Christmas special?
The check cleared
Grrrrrrrrrr? Hrrrrrrr grrrrrr grrrrrrr?
huurh huurh raaaaaahhgh
What is your favorite memory of Carrie Fisher?
Everytime I think of Carrie I have a new favorite memory of her. Currently, its her chasing around the other cast members with a squirt gun
What are you up to nowadays?
EDIT: my top comment is me getting bamboozled by Chewie. my life is more and more complete
7'3
Hi Peter - how did you feel when you found out what happened to Han in The Force Awakens?
Left a burning hole in my heart. It was also very hard to keep quiet about for a year and a half
Love your work, Mr Mayhew!
How do you feel about the fact that Chewbacca aged so much more gracefully than everyone else in the sequels? Gotta say, I was expecting some grey fur!
Well, he was 200 years old in A New Hope....so another 34 years probably wouldnt have added too much grey, right?
Peter, do you do the Chewbacca sounds or is that added in after It's filmed by someone else?
The wonderfully talented Ben Burtt added the sounds after. There is a few clips on Youtube that show what I made up on the spot to help the other actors
Peter, can you tell us about how your audition for Chewbacca went and how you reacted when you got chosen for the role?
I stood up, and they offered me the part. I was excited, and unaware of the adventure that was about to begin
Mr. Mayhew, how often do you watch the stars wars movies?
let me pause Empire.
Toilet paper roll over or under?
Over, as the patent states.
Was the suit hot?
at times during the Carbon Freezing Chamber the suit did get a little warm. Although, it was glorious during the Hoth scenes and kept me warm in the snow.
Greetings, do you prefer to be called Peter or Mr. Mayhew?
Peter is fine, Mr. Mayhew is fine. Just please dont call me Pete.
Hello, Peter! Thanks so much for doing another AMA! You've seen and retweteed the petition I began on May The Fourth to get you a cameo in the Han Solo movie. I am hoping to reach as many people as possible, because I know a lot of fans feel the same way I do - you deserve it! So my question: what would your ideal cameo be?
I have seen it, and it is incredibly sweet of you. I honestly would be honored to be included in any way. I suppose a cantina patron would be lovely like Anthony Daniels, or a pilot like Jeremy Bulloch.
Mr. Mayhew, how tall are you?
7'3
Peter, how much Chewbacca merchandise do you own?
I have a museum specifically for all the memorabilia called The Chewie Room.
Mr. Mayhew what was your favourite part of the franchise to film?
The Empire Strikes Back, hands down
Are you excited as I am about Star Wars land at Disneyland ?
I dont know anything about it, yet. I always enjoyed Star Wars Weekends, though.
Peter, how often are you on Reddit and what are your favorite subreddits?
I try to be on whenever possible. Mainly I go to the /r/StarWars and look at a lot of the posts there. Sometimes I'll pop into various other posts depending on whats on my front page.
Mr Mayhew- Thanks for your contributions to this community, and of course thank-you for your 40 years of effort in Star Wars!
If you are able to say, are you in the standalone Han Solo movie?
What are the biggest challenges, and biggest rewards in your career?
Thank you for the kind words, they mean the world to me.
No, I am currently not involved in the new Han Solo stand alone film. However, there was a petition started to have me in as an unmasked camero. It was incredibly sweet, and I would LOVE to be included.
I find it incredibly rewarding to see the love for the character on children's faces, and the stories people have about the first time they saw Star Wars.
Petition: https://www.change.org/p/kathleen-kennedy-get-chewbacca-in-the-new-han-solo-film
Who is your personal favorite character from the Star Wars franchise?
Chewbacca. I maybe a bit biased
How often are you recognized?
pretty frequently. Once at Disney I was mistaken for Howard Stern.
Peter, how many star wars conventions do you go to per year?
10-20 based on the year. Its always nice to meet fans
Peter, outside of Star wars movies and TV shows, what are your favorite movies and TV shows?
The Walking Dead, Longmire, The Crown, DIY shows, and anything with nice cars in it
What was your favorite moment while working on TFA?
Seeing the Falcon in all her glory again. They did a wonderful job. Every screw was in the right place, all the knobs and panels were correct. It was wonderful!
Cheers, Mr. Mayhew! When you were filming A New Hope, did anyone on set know the film would be so huge when it opened?
I love Carrie's answer, "The only one who didn't know was George. We kept it from him because we wanted to see what his face looked like when it changed expression."
Mr.Mayhew, have you ever seen the Family Guy version of Star Wars? If so, what do you think of it?
Yes, and I thought it was very clever.
Did you enjoy Rogue One?
I did. It was a different take, and good addition to the Star Wars universe.
Oh, Alan stole the show for me.
Peter, serious question here: how much chew could Chewie chew if chewie could chew chew?
How many Lowes could Rob Lowe rob, if Rob Lowe could rob Lowes?
Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise?
member Chewbacca?
Arruuuagh, grug ghraaaugh grghhu gah?
huurh huuguughghg aaaaahnr huuguughghg huurh
Peter, what would you do for a Klondike Bar?
Shoot Kylo Ren in the gut
why should we let the wookiee win?
Limb preservation
Hello, Mr. Mayhew!
From my husband: Do you still enjoy being Chewbacca?
From myself: What do you enjoy doing on a rainy day?
Out of all scenes in the original trilogy, what do you remember being the hardest to nail down?
Putting C3PO back together.
Peter, do you play any of the Star Wars video games?
No, they dont make controllers big enough. I have watched my children play many of them, and I quite enjoyed it.
Peter, how great would Chewbacca be handling a lightsaber?
a "force" to be reckoned with it.
Peter this is the greatest honor of my life. I attended the 40th Anniversary panel and it blew me away. Do you have any fun stories about the going-on's backstage before or after?
Many thanks for all that you do.
After the panel, there was a photo taken of an entire group. We waited an hour for Mark to finish with the fans, and we got spend a lot of time catching up. Angie, and I had a great conversation with Harrison about us rebuilding our barn.
Peter, how often do you talk about stars wars with your friends and family?
All the time. Especially when there's a Star Wars marathon on at TV.
How do you like your eggs?
scrambled with corn beef hash
Peter, what does it feel like to know and see daily how much joy you've brought millions of people across multiple decades? Is it overwhelming sometimes?
It warms my heart.
Hey Peter. Could I possibly be written into your will?
It'll be an invoice....you're in, though.
Have you seen the "Chewbacca mom" video? If so, what was your reaction to it?
Yes, I met her in Dallas. The video was infectious
You get to see Jim Henson in action? He is a hero of mine, what do you think of him and his legacy?
It was a true honor to work with such a lengend, he inspired me. Watching Jim and Frank Oz give instructions as Kermit and Miss Piggy was truly a highlight of my early years.
Hi Peter,
This is my dog, Chewie. He weighs 5 pounds. What do you think? He's a good boy.
Adorable!
Is there any movie production that you were a part of that the catering really blew you away ? what food or service made it so memorable ?
I always remember the desserts. Any time there is a creme brulee. Or any good British Puds
Was there a zipper in the suit for peeing?
No. Timing was everything
Mr. Mayhew, do you watch Sci-Fi/Fantasy outside of Star Wars? If so, what are some of your favorites? I like the idea of Chewbacca watching Game of Thrones and Firefly in his downtime.
Edit- punctuation
I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy. The kids bought me Game of Thrones, I havent watched it yet.
A friend told me the possibility of successfully receiving a reply from you, Peter Mayhew, was 3,720:1 -- Thoughts?
Never tell me the odds
Peter, what is your favorite beer and pizza toppings?
In England it's Old Peculier. In Ireland or the States its Guinness
what is your favorite movie?
Alien
Do you have a favorite charity? Why?
Make-A-Wish and the Peter Mayhew Foundation are my top.
How hot would it get in the suit? Did it have any kind of cooling device?
it was hot in some scenes. There was a cooling unit added for the suit for Revenge of the Sith
Peter, how do you celebrate may the 4th?
This last May 4th I went to a local Children's Hospital with the Star Garrison of 501st Legion
Hi, Mr. Mayhew! How are you today?
We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?
Who would win in a cage match chewie, the Sasquatch or the wrestler Kane?
Chewie for sure.
Ive heard for years that you lived in my hometown of Granbury, Texas. Is this true? What did you you think of the town?
Yes, for a time we did live in Granbury. Huge house, I miss it a little bit.
How was it like wearing that Chewbacca costume constantly AND getting in and out of it?
Getting in and out of it was incredibly easy, and it wasnt too bad to wear either
Peter, do you have any pets? And if so, what kind?
Dogs, cats, guineas, goats, macaws, and Sarah Connor (chicken).
Dear Peter,
If you had to be stuck in an elevator for an hour with anyone famous who would you like it to be?
Best,
Melissa
none of you lot
Who is one of your favorite actors to be around on set?
Kenny and Carrie
What's your favorite kind of sandwich?
Grilled cheese with tomato and mayo.