--- title: Chewbacca Actor Comforts Grieving 'Star Wars' Fan description: Peter Mayhew wrote a letter to a little boy whose best friend died before they could see 'The Force Awakens' canonical: https://time.com/4108013/chewbacca-peter-mayhew-star-was-fan/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-11T14:00:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:12.115Z og:title: Chewbacca Actor Comforts Grieving 'Star Wars' Fan og:description: Peter Mayhew wrote to a boy whose friend died before they could see the new film og:url: https://time.com/4108013/chewbacca-peter-mayhew-star-was-fan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt173951757aacb4cf/6988707da988ca3cbc6b53c4/peter-mayhew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2288 og:image:height: 1287 og:image:alt: Star Wars: The Force Awakens Panel At San Diego Comic Con - Comic-Con International 2015 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chewbacca Actor Comforts Grieving 'Star Wars' Fan twitter:description: Peter Mayhew wrote to a boy whose friend died before they could see the new film twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt173951757aacb4cf/6988707da988ca3cbc6b53c4/peter-mayhew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Chewbacca Actor Comforts Grieving _Star Wars_ Fan > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=52bf29f0-b6f7-42db-bb34-84ac15f379fc&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=52bf29f0-b6f7-42db-bb34-84ac15f379fc&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=52bf29f0-b6f7-42db-bb34-84ac15f379fc&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=52bf29f0-b6f7-42db-bb34-84ac15f379fc&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Nov 11, 2015 2:00 PM UTC  Peter Mayhew at the Hall H Panel for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” during Comic-Con in San Diego, CA on July 10, 2015. Peter Mayhew at the Hall H Panel for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” during Comic-Con in San Diego, CA on July 10, 2015. Michael Buckner—Disney/Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Nov 11, 2015 2:00 PM UTC The actor who plays Chewbecca gave a young _Star Wars_ fan some warm fuzzy feelings—and not because of his character’s wild hair. A woman whose 7-year-old brother Sam died in accident earlier this year[ told Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/3s6wtr/good%5Fguy%5Fpeter%5Fmayhew/) that his friend Liam had promised to see _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ with him on Christmas this year. News of a grieving Liam made its way to Peter Mayhew, the British actor behind Chewbacca in the new film, [who wrote a letter to comfort him](http://imgur.com/cOjWRfm). “I know Sam would have loved to know that Chewy knows who he is,” Sam’s sister wrote after posting a picture of the note. Mayhew confirmed to _Radio Times_ that he wrote the note, saying that Liam’s grandmother was a friend of his sister-in-law. “I hope my words were of some comfort to him,” he said. Read Mayhew’s letter, below: --- > “” --- \[[_Mashable_](http://mashable.com/2015/11/11/peter-mayhew-chewbacca-star-wars-letter/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4108013/chewbacca-peter-mayhew-star-was-fan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4108013/chewbacca-peter-mayhew-star-was-fan/"},"headline":"Chewbacca Actor Comforts Grieving Star Wars Fan","datePublished":"2015-11-11T14:00:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:48:12.115Z","description":"Peter Mayhew wrote a letter to a little boy whose best friend died before they could see 'The Force Awakens'","url":"https://time.com/4108013/chewbacca-peter-mayhew-star-was-fan/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","Star Wars"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt173951757aacb4cf/6988707da988ca3cbc6b53c4/peter-mayhew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt173951757aacb4cf/6988707da988ca3cbc6b53c4/peter-mayhew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Star Wars: The Force Awakens Panel At San Diego Comic Con - Comic-Con International 2015","caption":"Star Wars: The Force Awakens Panel At San Diego Comic Con - Comic-Con International 2015","creditText":"Michael Buckner—Disney/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4108013/chewbacca-peter-mayhew-star-was-fan/","name":"Chewbacca Actor Comforts Grieving Star Wars Fan"}}]}] ```