Lefty Wilbury
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- Nov 4, 2003
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http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,17584,00.html
Chewbacca Does America
by Joal Ryan
Oct 14, 2005, 4:30 PM PT
At the end of Star Wars, Luke Skywalker gets a medal. Han Solo gets a medal. Chewbacca gets zip.
Peter Mayhew, the British-born actor inside the egregiously overlooked Wookiee's fur, will not be similarly snubbed.
Monday at the Arlington Convention Center near Dallas, Mayhew will receive his due, in the form of his U.S. citizenship, at a naturalization ceremony.
"It's going to be rather nice," Mayhew says. "Center stage for once in my life."
Technically, Mayhew will be sharing the stage with 440 other people representing 77 countries. But officials with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services immediately know who and what a reporter is inquiring about when asked about an upcoming naturalization ceremony.
"Oh, where Mr. Chewbacca is...?"
Mr. Chewbacca, or the 7-foot-3 Mayhew for short, says the media attention on his taking of the citizenship oath has been intense. And familiar.
"It's literally as big as when Star Wars came out," Mayhew says.
Were it not for Star Wars coming out, the U.K.-based Mayhew might never come to the United States. But the film did come out--it debuted in theaters in 1977--and, as box-office history tells us, did quite well. Business beckoned Mayhew, then still employed at a London-area hospital, to the States. One of his first stops: A convention in Florida.
"You look at Florida, and you go, 'Hmm...' It's totally, totally different from anything in the U.K.," Mayhew says. "And then you go to California..."
Mayhew's voice trails off into a laugh. Apparently, the Golden State, like Florida, won't soon be confused for Her Majesty's kingdom.
Subsequently, Mayhew, who went on to play Chewbacca in three of the five Star Wars sequels and prequels (Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Sith), had enough dealings with U.S. and U.K. fans to detect differences between the two groups. U.K. fans, he says, want to know how such-and-such a special effect was done. U.S. fans, on the other hand, want to know everything.
"You've got to be on the toes," Mayhew says. "You've got to know what you're talking about."
Despite having seen a lot of the States post-Star Wars, Mayhew never anticipated living in the States, much less becoming a U.S. citizen. Then, six years ago, he married. Wife Angelique is an American, by way of Texas.
"When I made the decision to live permanent in the States," Mayhew says, "it was just a natural progression that was part of the process."
The road to citizenship for foreign-born permanent residents married to U.S. citizens, such as Mayhew, takes three years, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services says. True to form, Mayhew's been working toward Monday's ceremony for about three years.
Despite pledging allegiance to the red, white and blue, Mayhew will not have to renounce his birthright. He'll maintain dual citizenship. "I don't think they would ever let me go," he says of Britain.
For now, Mayhew is happy to be had by the United States, and "excited" about being naturalized. At the Arlington Convention Center, after all, he won't have to worry about being ignored, Chewbacca style.
"When you've got all the big TV stations with trucks and camera crews [there]," Mayhew says, "nobody is going to mistake me for anybody else."
Chewbacca Does America
by Joal Ryan
Oct 14, 2005, 4:30 PM PT
At the end of Star Wars, Luke Skywalker gets a medal. Han Solo gets a medal. Chewbacca gets zip.
Peter Mayhew, the British-born actor inside the egregiously overlooked Wookiee's fur, will not be similarly snubbed.
Monday at the Arlington Convention Center near Dallas, Mayhew will receive his due, in the form of his U.S. citizenship, at a naturalization ceremony.
"It's going to be rather nice," Mayhew says. "Center stage for once in my life."
Technically, Mayhew will be sharing the stage with 440 other people representing 77 countries. But officials with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services immediately know who and what a reporter is inquiring about when asked about an upcoming naturalization ceremony.
"Oh, where Mr. Chewbacca is...?"
Mr. Chewbacca, or the 7-foot-3 Mayhew for short, says the media attention on his taking of the citizenship oath has been intense. And familiar.
"It's literally as big as when Star Wars came out," Mayhew says.
Were it not for Star Wars coming out, the U.K.-based Mayhew might never come to the United States. But the film did come out--it debuted in theaters in 1977--and, as box-office history tells us, did quite well. Business beckoned Mayhew, then still employed at a London-area hospital, to the States. One of his first stops: A convention in Florida.
"You look at Florida, and you go, 'Hmm...' It's totally, totally different from anything in the U.K.," Mayhew says. "And then you go to California..."
Mayhew's voice trails off into a laugh. Apparently, the Golden State, like Florida, won't soon be confused for Her Majesty's kingdom.
Subsequently, Mayhew, who went on to play Chewbacca in three of the five Star Wars sequels and prequels (Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Sith), had enough dealings with U.S. and U.K. fans to detect differences between the two groups. U.K. fans, he says, want to know how such-and-such a special effect was done. U.S. fans, on the other hand, want to know everything.
"You've got to be on the toes," Mayhew says. "You've got to know what you're talking about."
Despite having seen a lot of the States post-Star Wars, Mayhew never anticipated living in the States, much less becoming a U.S. citizen. Then, six years ago, he married. Wife Angelique is an American, by way of Texas.
"When I made the decision to live permanent in the States," Mayhew says, "it was just a natural progression that was part of the process."
The road to citizenship for foreign-born permanent residents married to U.S. citizens, such as Mayhew, takes three years, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services says. True to form, Mayhew's been working toward Monday's ceremony for about three years.
Despite pledging allegiance to the red, white and blue, Mayhew will not have to renounce his birthright. He'll maintain dual citizenship. "I don't think they would ever let me go," he says of Britain.
For now, Mayhew is happy to be had by the United States, and "excited" about being naturalized. At the Arlington Convention Center, after all, he won't have to worry about being ignored, Chewbacca style.
"When you've got all the big TV stations with trucks and camera crews [there]," Mayhew says, "nobody is going to mistake me for anybody else."
