Peter Mayhew

Had the option of either playing Darth Vader or Chewbacca, as did David Prowse. Mayhew chose Chewbacca because he wanted to play a hero, whilst Prowse chose Darth Vader because he wanted to play a villain.
Fell sick during the filming of L'Impero colpisce ancora (1980), which prompted director Irvin Kershner to bring in another extremely tall actor to fill in for him as Chewbacca. All the footage with the double was scrapped and reshot after Mayhew recovered because Irvin Kershner found that the double's body movements did not match Mayhew's.
After getting the role of Chewbacca, Mayhew went to the zoo and began studying the movements and mannerisms of various large animals to incorporate into the character Chewbacca.
Became a naturalized United States citizen, along with 441 other people from 77 countries, in Arlington, Texas on October 17, 2005.
Prior to starring as Chewbacca in the original Star Wars trilogy, he was an orderly at London's King's College Hospital.

It's curious that when you look down at people you see their defects, their irregularities more clearly. I like my bird's-eye view. I think it's what gives Chewie his pride, his bigness. Bigness of heart.
When I go to restaurants I can never get my legs under a table. I bump my head in planes. People who sit behind me in the theater hate me. But I have given up apologizing to the world.
[on doing Star Wars] this has been the best thing that ever happened to me, in the past 25 years I've been able to travel all over the world and get paid for it I never had to pay for a thing I can go out in public without being recognized if I want to be recognized in public it will happen,Star Wars was great to me, I'm set for life.
[on 'Star Wars' co-star Carrie Fisher's sudden passing]: There are no words for this loss. Carrie was the brightest light in every room she entered. I will miss her dearly.