Peter Mayhew, an English hospital worker who inadvertently found himself catapulted into films, was the towering gentle giant responsible for bringing Chewbacca to life. Mayhew, who stands 7'3", was born in Barnes, England. The son of a policeman, he spent a short time in the field of engineering before discovering that he felt more fulfilled by hospital service. In the mid-1970s, he was working as a hospital orderly at London's King's College Hospital when he was featured in a newspaper article about men with large feet.
