Early life

Mayhew was born on 19 May 1944 in Barnes, in South West London, where he was also raised. His height is not a product of gigantism — "I don't have the big head" — but of a connective tissue disorder called Marfan's syndrome. His peak height was 7 feet 3 inches (221 cm).

Career

Early work

Mayhew got his first acting job in 1976 when the producers of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger discovered him from a photograph in a newspaper article about men with large feet, and cast him in the role of the minotaur.

Chewbacca

When casting his first Star Wars film, producer George Lucas needed a tall actor who could fit the role of the hairy alien Chewbacca. He originally had in mind 6-foot-6-inch (1.98 m) bodybuilder David Prowse, but instead Prowse chose to play Darth Vader. This led Lucas on a search which turned up Mayhew, who was working as an orderly at Kings College Hospital London and says that all he had to do to be cast in the role of Chewbacca was stand up.

Mayhew has played Chewbacca in five Star Wars films: the original trilogy (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He played the role in the 1978 television film Star Wars Holiday Special and in an appearance on The Muppet Show. He also recorded dialogue for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3 finale episode "Wookiee Hunt".

Mayhew plays the role in commercials and in hospital appearances for sick children and has made numerous appearances as Chewbacca outside the Star Wars films. Mayhew as Chewbacca was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Film Awards 1997. He was additionally honoured at the release of the new PlayStation Portable where he dressed as Chewbacca and held up the new PSP slim version.

He has made other media appearances without the Chewbacca costume. He appeared on NBC's Identity, where his identity was based on the fact that he played Chewbacca and was a frequent guest in the early days of Slice of SciFi.

Other work

Outside Star Wars, Mayhew has appeared in the 1978 horror film Terror, directed by Norman J. Warren. In the English version of Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy, he provided the voice for Susha.

Books

Mayhew has written two books for younger audience: "Growing Up Giant" which explains that being different is a strength instead of a weakness and anti-bullying book for children "My Favorite Giant".

Personal life

Mayhew lives in Boyd, Texas and is a business owner. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 2005 at a ceremony in Arlington, Texas. In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he joked that he did not get a medal at this ceremony either, a reference to the Star Wars scene in which Luke and Han get medals but Chewbacca does not. Mayhew noted in an MTV interview that although Chewbacca does not get a medal in the film, he does get the last line, when he roars.

Mayhew underwent double knee replacement surgery in 2013. In January 2015, Mayhew was briefly hospitalized near his home in Texas, due to a bout of pneumonia.

As of the year 2013, Mayhew has been crowned as "Emperor for Life" by the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1977	Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger	Minoton	Uncredited
	Star Wars	Chewbacca
1978	Terror	The Mechanic
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Chewbacca
1982	Return of the Ewok		Video short
1983	Return of the Jedi
1987	Star Tours		Short, uncredited
2004	Comic Book: The Movie	Himself
2005	Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith	Chewbacca
2008	Yesterday Was a Lie	Dead Man
2015	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Chewbacca
2017	Star Wars: Episode VIII

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Donny & Marie	Chewbacca	Episode # 3.1
1978	Star Wars Holiday Special		TV Special
1980	The Muppet Show		Episode: The Stars of Star Wars
1981	Dark Towers	The Tall Knight	5 episodes
1985	The Kenny Everett Television Show	Various	Episode #3.3
2011	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Chewbacca	Episode: Wookiee Hunt, voice
	Glee		Episode: Extraordinary Merry Christmas

[ Source: Wikipedia ]