Wookiee legacy endures
‘New’ Chewbacca Joonas Suotamo honours mentor
Given everything that Joonas Suotamo inherited from his predecessor, Peter Mayhew, the “cool shirt” may not seem like the most notable of hand-me-downs.
But it may have been one of the most practical.
“Cool” does not refer to levels of hipness in this case. While shooting Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in the Jordanian desert, the hairy body of a Wookiee wasn’t the most comfortable place for Suotamo to be trapped inside. So the 33-year-old, six-foot-11 Finnish actor was grateful when a crew member presented him with his mentor’s “cool shirt.”
“We went in a time of year when it was not as hot as it could be,” says Suotamo. “Still, the sun was scorching.”
Whatever material the “cool shirt” was made of, it did the trick for the actor in helping him survive the sun as he took on the role of Han Solo’s sidekick. The garment had been acquired for Mayhew during production of 2015’s The Force Awakens, which was also the film where the Chewbacca baton was officially passed to Suotamo. He was enlisted to be a body double, but also performed some of the more physical scenes because Mayhew was recovering from knee-replacement surgery. Eventually, Mayhew relinquished the role to his successor. The actor died in April from a heart attack at the age of 74.
After filming The Force Awakens, Mayhew spent a week working with his successor in a “closed session” for what Suotamo called Wookiee boot camp. They watched footage from the original trilogy and Mayhew offered his insights. There was an art to the physicality and Mayhew’s unique approach to the character, Suotamo says.
“I’ve always taken the original trilogy as my guidance,” he says. “I always admired how Chewbacca brought something to it. He was very memorable, very interesting, very intriguing character, even when he was not doing anything. He was always a part of Star Wars. That had a lot to do with Peter, the way he was, his persona. He didn’t crave a lot of attention, which I hope is part of my persona. But I’m always trying to capture that magic that I felt was there and I hope I’ve done it well enough.”
Of course, it’s hard not to attract attention when you are nearly seven feet tall. Suotamo’s height had helped in a different sphere early on. He played on the Finnish national basketball team. In 2013, Star Wars producers contacted the Finnish Basketball Association for help finding someone who could be Mayhew’s body double.
It turns out, Suotamo’s first love has always been acting, dating back to his days in school plays. Producers knew none of this, of course. They just needed someone who had blue eyes and was seven-feet tall.
Suotamo has played Chewbacca in four films: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story and now The Rise of Skywalker, which writer-director J.J. Abrams says will be the final chapter of the nine-movie, 42-year Skywalker series.
“Perhaps in the future I will commit to something else,” Suotamo says. “Whether it’s in a suit or without the suit, I’m happy to do either. The reward I get from performing a character or creature is something I’ve always wanted to do and I get a kick out of it.”