I was invited by Disney to attend the #HanSoloEvent. Although all of my expenses are paid, all opinions are my own.
While in Los Angeles for the Han Solo Event, I had the awesome opportunity to interview some stars from SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY. One of my favorite interviews was with Joonas Suotamo who is “Chewbacca” in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY. He was so energetic and fun. Plus, he’s tall – check out our group picture. Note, I’m 5’ 2”, do you see me?
Joonas started out by telling us that it took him about 24 hours after he learned that he was going to meet Harrison Ford to learn to speak Chewbacca. When he met Harrison Ford, he messed up by telling him “Harrison, oh boy, I wasn’t even born yet when you guys made these films.” Joonas said he didn’t like that very much but they were able to climb over that hurdle and start again.
How did Joonas Get the Chewbacca Role?
As you know, Joonas is a basketball player in Finland and at 7’ tall, that is the perfect sport for him. He shared that he got the role of Chewbacca out of the blue when “a call came one day from the Finnish Basketball Association who had received a request for a such person who has blue eyes, is seven feet tall. That could be anyone, right? They were desperate to find someone so when they called me I said immediately that I was interested, I didn’t even take a second to think about it. I didn’t even know what the role was, I just said yes whatever it is, I’m in.”
Alden Ehrenreich is Han Solo and Joonas Suotamo is Chewbacca in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.
“I filmed a video of me playing a caveman, half naked in my old high school gym. Just the kind of video where I grunt, just playing this cave man who gets shot in the knee with an arrow and, you know, stuff like that. Just for them to see, because they asked for it. They wanted to see if I could do the acting required for the film. Then, about four or five months it took to really go through the process. Then, at the end of it, I received a call that, congrats, you are going to be playing Chewbacca.”
How did Joonas Prepare for the Role of Chewbacca?
As a basketball player, Joonas feels like basketball certainly gifted him extra body awareness to prepare him for the role of Chewbacca. “The trips I made with various team and the national team of Finland, I met so many wonderful players and people. and I grew up to become a very social guy. I have always observed movements because we had guys on our team who run with a very specific kinda way, and I’ve always loved the fact that we are different as humans. I’ve also always tried to imitate my teammates in the way that they run.”
More than anything, he said that his dogs influenced him more. He said, “alongside with growing up with dogs and observing them when I was a kid secretly prepared me for the role of playing Chewbacca.” Further, we Fins have a very rich sauna tradition. So, I can withstand heat exceptionally well.”
Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo had a week long “Wookie Bootcamp.” This is where Peter “showed me the original films and clips, we looked at his walk, and he told me why he did it such a way and what he did and what was he thinking at the time. It was so helpful, because I had done some studying up myself previously.” Joonas shares that “to hear from the master himself how and why did he do those things helped me tremendously in preparing for this role.”
Joonas Suotamo is Chewbacca in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.
Joonas shares that he met Angie and Peter both at the same time. “I went to Peter’s trailer and they really embraced and gave me their blessing to play this part, which was a huge deal for me because Star Wars is so beloved that I would hate there to be any kind of bad water when we do this. It’s a very significant thing and must be hard to let go of something that you dedicated your life to and when the fans love you so much. But I’ve assured them that he’ll always be the original Chewbacca and there’s no one who can take that away from him.”
All about the Chewbacca Suit
The Chewbacca suit is challenging to wear but the most challenging part for Joonas is the “fact that every day you need to have someone poke your eyes with makeup, rich black makeup to hide the white of my eyes. To get into that suit, that’s lovely but it’s filled with hidden dangers like the mouthpiece and the suit going into my mouth. That’s the stuff that you don’t really like. Maria Cork, who’s my handler on set she has to get those hairs out of my eyes.”
As you can see, Chewy has the bag on at all times. Joonas shares that mainly its empty but on certain days when kids come visiting the set, I usually put some chocolates or some sweets in there so that when they come back after they run away frightened when I first appear, I can bribe them with sweets.”
Action Scenes are challenging in the Wookie suit but Joonas said “the main obstacle is the heat and the endurance throughout the day.” Plus, he has to be careful with the suit as “they don’t want me doing everything I can, if I would make a roll suddenly on the floor, Maria would be very, very angry with me. So, I have to be careful. But, I also have to do what’s required of me by the director. You got to constantly be aware of the suit, how it moves and how it looks on camera. After I shoot a scene, I look at the screens and after the takes and making people think that I’m sort of a diva or something. It’s just really I want to make it look right. And I trust the directors, but I still want to see and if I could do something myself to improve the next day. And that’s maybe the hardest thing. Because the moves of Chewbacca are very much something I can do as a basketball player.”
Respecting the Legacy of Chewbacca
The biggest challenge is just respecting the legacy of Chewbacca. “He was played by Peter Mayhew, the legendary original Chewbacca. I want it to be so that the fans going to see these films see the same Chewbacca who was in the original films because Chewbacca is so loved and I wouldn’t want there to be a feeling that Chewbacca is different this time around.”
Stepping Aboard the Millennium Falcon
“The first time I stepped on the Millennium Falcon was on THE FORCE AWAKENS when it was Harrison Ford’s first day on the Millennium Falcon and there were people crying. I didn’t cry, I held the tears back. I wanted to be professional and on my good behavior for the rest of the day.”
He said that the Millennium Falcon had a hardware store smell. When he stepped on board, Joonas said “your mind goes back to the times you saw the movie and the first time Luke put on that helmet and battled against the floating ball. It’s wonderful to be there, because it’s part of everyone’s childhood and memories, those places. And now when the Millennium Falcon is new and well-kept and there’s a mini bar in the corner, there is a cloak cape closet which is more like a luxury room than a closet, it’s just wonderful to see that difference. It goes to deepening my appreciation for the ship, because it has a history now.”
On Playing a Younger Chewbacca
Joonas shared that he “thought of it where the movie happens in a time where the empire is expanding and Chewbacca is in a very bad situation at the start of the film. So, I approached it as Chewbacca is very much looking for a way out and going on his own somewhere. Because he has a family, he has a commitment to his tribe.”
Chewbacca walks around with worry on his shoulders, because he doesn’t know where this road will take him. This movie also shows what that new life for Chewbacca is going to be and if he will take that. Joonas shares that “it was very interesting to do, because he doesn’t have any kind of structure in his life at that point.” Alden and Joonas talked a lot about the arc of their friendship and how to start that journey together so that the audience will see the development and also the downs and the ups of that relationship. It was very important to get right, because we all wanna see how that relationship started.”
I thoroughly enjoyed our time spent with Joonas and felt that he did a wonderful job as Chewbacca. One of the things he told us on the way out is that when his son, who is currently 3 months old, is old enough to see the films, it will be the greatest day of his life. I love that he is honoring the original Chewbacca too with everything that he does!
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY HITS THEATERS MAY 25TH
ABOUT SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in SOLO: A STAR WARSSTORY, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes. The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Paul Bettany.
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
LUCASFILM
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Emma Anderson
Wednesday 23rd of May 2018
Lucky you... you got to meet a real celebrity! LOL
Jodi Hunter
Wednesday 23rd of May 2018
Very cool, thanks so much for sharing this.