Actor who played Star Wars’ Chewbacca dies at 74

LOS ANGELES: Actor Peter Mayhew (pic), who won over fans worldwide as the Wookiee warrior Chewbacca in the blockbuster Star Wars movies, has died at the age of 74, his family announced.

Mayhew died on Tuesday at his home in Texas, surrounded by loved ones, the family said in a statement released on the actor’s Twitter account on Thursday.

“He put his heart and soul into the role of Chewbacca and it showed in every frame of the films from his knock-kneed running, firing his bowcaster from the hip, his bright blue eyes, down to each subtle movement of his head and mouth,” the statement said.

“But to him, the Star Wars family meant so much more than a role in a film. The relationships that began grew into the friends and family he would love for decades to come.”

The towering British-born actor measured 2.21m (seven feet three inches) and was working as a hospital attendant in London when he was discovered by a film producer.

He was first cast in the film Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger ,inan uncredited role.

But then he was cast in the role that would define his career – as the co-pilot and best friend of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in the original Star Wars film released in 1977.

The role was unconventional – a giant, hairy, 200-year-old humanoid from the planet Kashyyyk.

Mayhew would go on to appear in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983) and Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Mayhew’s family said he had “fought his way back from being wheelchair-bound to stand tall and portray Chewbacca once more in Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which was released in 2015.

Star Wars creator George Lucas said Mayhew “was the closest any human being could be to a Wookiee: big heart, gentle nature ... and I learned to always let him win.”