--- title: Star Wars Actors Honor Late Chewbacca Star Peter Mayhew description: Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and Joonas Suotamo honored Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who died Tuesday. canonical: https://time.com/5582539/star-wars-actors-mourn-peter-mayhew/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-05-03T00:37:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T11:20:32.000Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'The Gentlest of Giants.' Star Wars Actors Honor Late Chewbacca Star Peter Mayhew og:description: Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Joonas Suotamo paid tribute on Twitter og:url: https://time.com/5582539/star-wars-actors-mourn-peter-mayhew/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt887a9b29b42eabda/69894964b3fce353090c38de/peter-mayhew-mark-hamill.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Comic-Con International 2015 - Lucasfilm Panel og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'The Gentlest of Giants.' Star Wars Actors Honor Late Chewbacca Star Peter Mayhew twitter:description: Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Joonas Suotamo paid tribute on Twitter twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt887a9b29b42eabda/69894964b3fce353090c38de/peter-mayhew-mark-hamill.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'The Gentlest of Giants.' Star Wars Actors Honor Late Chewbacca Star Peter Mayhew by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:20 AM UTCPublished: May 3, 2019 12:37 AM UTC  Actors Peter Mayhew (L) and Mark Hamill pose backstage at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. Hamill honored Mayhew, who died Tuesday, on Twitter. Actors Peter Mayhew (L) and Mark Hamill pose backstage at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. Hamill honored Mayhew, who died Tuesday, on Twitter.Albert L. Ortega—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:20 AM UTCPublished: May 3, 2019 12:37 AM UTC The [_Star Wars_](http://time.com/tag/star-wars/) family is already missing its beloved Wookiee. Peter Mayhew, the 7-foot-3 actor who played Han Solo’s loyal sidekick Chewbacca in five _Star Wars_ films, including the original trilogy, [died Tuesday at age 74](http://time.com/5582527/peter-mayhew-chewbacca-star-wars-dies/), his family [announced on Twitter](https://twitter.com/TheWookieeRoars/status/1124077256240967681) Thursday. Not long after, his former costars honored the British-born actor who was plucked from obscurity by George Lucas for the original 1977 film. Harrison Ford, who memorably played Solo in the original film series, [honored his “dear friend” in a heartfelt statement](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/harrison-ford-remembers-star-wars-star-peter-mayhew-i-loved-him-1207164) to _The Hollywood Reporter_ Thursday evening: --- > “” --- Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the original films, also honored Mayhew as “the gentlest of giants” on Twitter. “I’m grateful for the memories we shared & I’m a better man for just having known him.” > [](https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/1124093358798929920) Joonas Suotamo, who took over the role of Chewbacca in later films, also paid homage to Mayhew on social media. “Peter’s warm welcome when I came aboard as his double in ‘The Force Awakes’ meant so much to me. Studying the character he helped create was always a daunting task, but one that was made easier by his tutelage and kindness as we sought to bring Chewbacca to life for a new generation,” Suotamo wrote. “Rest assured his legacy will live on.” > [](https://twitter.com/JoonasSuotamo/status/1124095635332853760) Billy Dee Williams, who starred as Lando Calrissian in the original films, also honored his longtime friend Thursday evening, adding that Mayhew was “much more than Chewie to me.” > [](https://twitter.com/realbdw/status/1124103081355022336) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5582539/star-wars-actors-mourn-peter-mayhew/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5582539/star-wars-actors-mourn-peter-mayhew/"},"headline":"'The Gentlest of Giants.' 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