Peter Mayhew

Biography

Peter Mayhew was a British-American actor, born in Barnes, Surrey, who became known for playing Chewbacca in the Star Wars films. His first acting role came after producers saw a newspaper photograph of him and cast him in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. George Lucas, needing a tall actor for Chewbacca, chose Mayhew for Star Wars, and he played the Wookiee in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), later returning for Revenge of the Sith and The Force Awakens (2015). He voiced Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and appeared as the character in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), The Muppet Show and the documentary Empire of Dreams (2004). His other screen credits included Yesterday Was a Lie, and he wrote two books for young readers. In 1997 the MTV Film Awards gave him a lifetime achievement honor, and he died in 2019.

74years old at death

Born May 19, 1944Barnes
Died April 30, 2019Boyd
Star sign: TaurusThe sign runs April 20 to May 20
Peter William Mayhew (birth name)

Movie Career

Films: 14
Career span: 38 years1977 to 2015

Genres

Adventure43%, 6 films
Action36%, 5 films
Sci-Fi36%, 5 films
Fantasy29%, 4 films
Comedy21%, 3 films

First and latest

Did you know?!

Getting ready for a role
Mayhew shaped how he played Chewbacca by studying the behavior of bears, monkeys and gorillas that he watched at London Zoo.

Peter Mayhew movies on Netflix

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens2015IMDb rating 7.7as Chewbacca
Yesterday Was a Lie2009IMDb rating 5.1as Dead Man
Comic Book: The Movie2004IMDb rating 5.8as Peter Mayhew
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy2004IMDb rating 8.2as Himself
Comic Book Villains2002IMDb rating 5.5as Peter Mayhew
The Unauthorized 'Star Wars' Story1999IMDb rating 5.2as Himself
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi1983IMDb rating 8.3as Chewbacca
Return of the Ewok1982IMDb rating 6.0as Chewbacca
The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.7as Chewbacca
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1as Himself
Terror1979IMDb rating 5.2as The Mechanic
The Star Wars Holiday Special1978IMDb rating 2.2as Chewbacca
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger1977IMDb rating 6.4as Minoton
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope1977IMDb rating 8.6as Chewbacca

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi1983 Action, Adventure, Fantasyas Chewbacca
IMDb rating 8.31.2M votes
The Empire Strikes Back1980 Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fias Chewbacca
IMDb rating 8.71.5M votes
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope1977as Chewbacca
IMDb rating 8.61.6M votes
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger1977as Minoton
IMDb rating 6.49.8K votes
Terror1979as The Mechanic
IMDb rating 5.21.8K votes
Comic Book Villains2002as Peter Mayhew
IMDb rating 5.52.6K votes
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy2004as Himself
IMDb rating 8.25.7K votes
Comic Book: The Movie2004as Peter Mayhew
IMDb rating 5.81.4K votes

Most often with

Mark Hamill appears in ten of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Mark Hamill

Carrie Fisher

Anthony Daniels

Harrison Ford

Kenny Baker

David Prowse

Films together

Mark Hamill10 films together, 1977 to 2015
Mark Hamill's page
- Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens2015IMDb rating 7.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaHamill as Luke Skywalker
- Comic Book: The Movie2004IMDb rating 5.8Mayhew as Peter MayhewHamill as Donald Swan
- Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy2004IMDb rating 8.2Mayhew as HimselfHamill as Himself
- The Unauthorized 'Star Wars' Story1999IMDb rating 5.2Mayhew as HimselfHamill as Himself
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi1983IMDb rating 8.3Mayhew as ChewbaccaHamill as Luke Skywalker
- Return of the Ewok1982IMDb rating 6.0Mayhew as ChewbaccaHamill as Himself / Luke Skywalker
- The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaHamill as Luke Skywalker
- The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1Mayhew as HimselfHamill as Himself
- The Star Wars Holiday Special1978IMDb rating 2.2Mayhew as ChewbaccaHamill as Luke Skywalker
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope1977IMDb rating 8.6Mayhew as ChewbaccaHamill as Luke Skywalker
Carrie Fisher9 films together, 1977 to 2015
Carrie Fisher's page
- Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens2015IMDb rating 7.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaFisher as Princess Leia
- Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy2004IMDb rating 8.2Mayhew as HimselfFisher as Himself
- The Unauthorized 'Star Wars' Story1999IMDb rating 5.2Mayhew as HimselfFisher as Himself
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi1983IMDb rating 8.3Mayhew as ChewbaccaFisher as Princess Leia
- Return of the Ewok1982IMDb rating 6.0Mayhew as ChewbaccaFisher as Herself / Princess Leia
- The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaFisher as Princess Leia
- The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1Mayhew as HimselfFisher as Himself
- The Star Wars Holiday Special1978IMDb rating 2.2Mayhew as ChewbaccaFisher as Princess Leia Organa
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope1977IMDb rating 8.6Mayhew as ChewbaccaFisher as Princess Leia Organa
Anthony Daniels9 films together, 1977 to 2015
Anthony Daniels's page
- Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens2015IMDb rating 7.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaDaniels as C-3PO
- Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy2004IMDb rating 8.2Mayhew as HimselfDaniels as Himself
- The Unauthorized 'Star Wars' Story1999IMDb rating 5.2Mayhew as HimselfDaniels as Himself
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi1983IMDb rating 8.3Mayhew as ChewbaccaDaniels as C-3PO
- Return of the Ewok1982IMDb rating 6.0Mayhew as ChewbaccaDaniels as C-3PO
- The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaDaniels as C-3PO
- The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1Mayhew as HimselfDaniels as Himself
- The Star Wars Holiday Special1978IMDb rating 2.2Mayhew as ChewbaccaDaniels as C-3PO
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope1977IMDb rating 8.6Mayhew as ChewbaccaDaniels as C-3PO
Harrison Ford8 films together, 1977 to 2015
Harrison Ford's page
- Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens2015IMDb rating 7.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaFord as Han Solo
- The Unauthorized 'Star Wars' Story1999IMDb rating 5.2Mayhew as HimselfFord as Himself
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi1983IMDb rating 8.3Mayhew as ChewbaccaFord as Han Solo
- Return of the Ewok1982IMDb rating 6.0Mayhew as ChewbaccaFord as Himself / Han Solo
- The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaFord as Han Solo
- The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1Mayhew as HimselfFord as Himself
- The Star Wars Holiday Special1978IMDb rating 2.2Mayhew as ChewbaccaFord as Han Solo
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope1977IMDb rating 8.6Mayhew as ChewbaccaFord as Han Solo
Kenny Baker6 films together, 1977 to 2004
Kenny Baker's page
- Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy2004IMDb rating 8.2Mayhew as HimselfBaker as Himself
- The Unauthorized 'Star Wars' Story1999IMDb rating 5.2Mayhew as HimselfBaker as Himself
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi1983IMDb rating 8.3Mayhew as ChewbaccaBaker as R2-D2 / Paploo
- The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaBaker as R2-D2
- The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1Mayhew as HimselfBaker as Himself
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope1977IMDb rating 8.6Mayhew as ChewbaccaBaker as R2-D2
David Prowse5 films together, 1977 to 1999
David Prowse's page
- The Unauthorized 'Star Wars' Story1999IMDb rating 5.2Mayhew as HimselfProwse as Himself
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi1983IMDb rating 8.3Mayhew as ChewbaccaProwse as Darth Vader
- Return of the Ewok1982IMDb rating 6.0Mayhew as ChewbaccaProwse as Himself / Darth Vader
- The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.7Mayhew as ChewbaccaProwse as Darth Vader
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope1977IMDb rating 8.6Mayhew as ChewbaccaProwse as Darth Vader

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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