Chewie, we’re home.” These three little words and the signature roar from Han Solo’s (Harrison Ford) Wookiee friend got Star Wars fans delighted when the second trailer released in April. 

British actor Peter Mayhew, 71, who previously starred as Chewbacca in four Star Wars films — the original trilogy that ran between 1977 and 1983, and 2005’s prequel Episode III: Revenge of the Sith — takes off his mask to speak about his new adventure.

What was it like putting the suit back on?

Wonderful. It’s a completely new suit. It’s better. It’s lighter. It looks as good as the original one and it was built the same way. It was cut  out, mask was made, and all the fur was sewn into the yak hair stuff that they used for the costume. It works.

Talk us through your history.

I started back in 1977. I had done a movie called Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. I played the Minotaur. That was a wonderful opportunity. About six months later, I got a phone call that they were looking for a tall person for another movie. That led to an interview with George Lucas. George’s office was enormous. I sat down on the sofa and when George walked in, I stood up. The interview was just about over at that point. George said that Chewie would do mime action. He can negotiate, but he doesn’t make human noises. So, you have to watch what other people are saying and consequently you join it up with body action and this sort of thing. 

Then we went down to the creature shop and got a face mask done. Next day we went to a costume shop in London and got the suit made. Everything started to happen from that point on. It was a remarkable time in my life.

How much was scripted for you and how much was you?

I’d say about 50/50. The way I looked at it, say we’re in the cockpit. You’ve got four people in there. Chewie can’t stand there looking like a piece of furniture. He has to react to everybody’s attitude. And he can’t say verbally what he wants to, so he either has to use his mouth, or eyes or body language of some sort. So, that was 50-70 per cent. I expected to be fired the first week. But, fortunately, George saw what I was trying to do and here we are many years down the road. It was fortunate that I was able to bring that to the character. 

Seeing Chewie just melts hearts. Why is that?

Chewie’s a teddy bear. Everybody has had a teddy bear at some stage in their lives. He’s loveable; he’s cuddly. I don’t know what it is. If I don’t do anything else, this is my chance to go into the history books. It’s already in there. You look at the record books and listed are Han, Chewie, C-3PO, all the way down the list of popularity. I’m quite happy.

For the team to be together, was that a surreal moment?

It was wonderful. I hadn’t seen Harrison in a good few years. It was so nice. Talk about a wonderful feeling. That kind of relationship lives on. It will always be Han and Chewie. It won’t be anything but. 

What did J.J. Abrams tell you about his vision?

It’s going to look as original as possible. If you look around here, it is. I have pictures, black and whites, of stuff that was there of the old set. It’s as good. In five years, if it were maintained, that’s what this should look like. With the cockpit scenes, there are still only two levers that actually work. There were only two in the original too. 

What was it like coming to the Millennium Falcon (spacecraft in the Star Wars universe commanded by Han Solo) set?

I knew it was going to be good, so I wasn’t going to be too over enthusiastic. One person’s idea of perfection is not everybody’s. But when I came up here and looked across, and saw the bed over there, I was like: “Yeah, this is back. This is what it looked like when we did the shoot with Mark and Harrison and Carrie.”

What makes Star Wars so special?

We have so many different fans. We have doctors, lawyers and professional people who would rather play costume roles against card games because it’s more intelligent. They build costumes; they do research. They get together and as much as possible.They do good for everyone. They also collect for charity. 
You’ve also got different generations now. The modern parents were the kids when we first started, and then the kids who are now seven or eight years old. The kids love it because they’re being brought up in this genre of Star Wars. Most of the fans we talk to were brought up on Episodes IV, V and VI first, then swapped to I, II, III. I know the fans are all talking about this one. 

I love Chewbacca because... Tell t2@abp.in