What Does Star Wars Mean To Solo's Stars?

5. Joonas Suotamo - Chewbacca

“Back in 2013, I saw the first casting announcement for this role. They were looking for someone who was 7’ 2” with blue eyes. I can remember it vividly because I thought to myself, ‘I am too short for this role.’ About four months later, they called me and asked me to shoot an audition tape – but they didn’t mention it was Star Wars. They found me because of my basketball background. They called the Scandinavian Basketball Association and discovered there was a seven-foot tall, blue-eyed guy there. That’s how it all started for me. After J.J. Abrams saw me, I was asked to be Peter Mayhew’s double for The Force Awakens. That was my first time as Chewie. I also got into the suit in The Last Jedi, and now for Solo.”

“The first Solo set I walked on to was the mud pit where audiences get to meet Chewie for the very first time. Seeing the pit was a dreary moment for me, because I knew I was going to roll around in that mud for a very long time shooting the fight scene with Han. For those scenes, I often wore a wetsuit underneath the Chewbacca suit to protect me from the cold. I was wet the whole time and there was mud everywhere in that pit – and it was cold. I’d been practicing stunts for two months before we got to set, but it would all culminate in that mud pit. I was excited because the screenplay was so good. I knew it was going to be an amazing movie.”