Joonas Viljami Suotamo (born October 3, 1986 in Espoo, Finland) is a Finnish actor and former athlete.
Suotamo is best known for portraying Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise. Initially sharing the role with the original actor, the late Peter Mayhew, in The Force Awakens, primarily doing stunt work for the latter, Suotamo ultimately took over full time from The Last Jedi onwards. He's quite obviously noted for his height, inching close to a full seven feet tall.
Prior to starting his acting career, Suotomo was a professional basketball player, playing for the Penn State Nittany Lions and several teams back home in Finland.
Filmography:
- Star Wars as Chewbacca and Kelnacca:
- The Force Awakens (2015, stunt performer)
- The Last Jedi (2017)
- Solo (2018)
- The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
- The Acolyte (2024)
He provides tropes of:
- The Big Guy / One Head Taller: At close to seven feet, Joonas is very tall, and towers over his co-stars in the Star Wars films — except predecessor Peter Mayhew, who was even taller than him.
