BB Exclusive: Joonas Suotamo Chats Chewbacca and His New Movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story
Today, May 25, Lucasfilms will release the next movie in their Star Wars franchise, Solo: A Star Wars Story. The story sheds light on how Han Solo, played by Alden Ehrenreich, became the amazing character we love today.
We had the amazing chance to sit down with one of the stars of the movie, Joonas Suotamo, who plays Chewbacca in the new movie. Joonas has been portraying the Wookiee since he began splitting the role with Peter Meyhew during the filming of Star Wars: Force Awakens.
During the interview, Joonas chats his Solo cast mates, what he’s learned from Peter Meyhew, what fans can expect from his version of Chewbacca, how he prepared for the role, the Star Wars fandom and so much more. You can check it out below.
Can you describe your Solo cast?
“It was just an inspirational cast to be with. From Emilia Clarke to Donald Glover to Alden [Ehrenreich], who does a great job as Han. Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Bettany, I mean I used to not be afraid of him, but now I am.”
Did you learn anything from them?
“I don’t remember learning because I’m doing my own separate thing working the suit. I’m unable to communicate when I’m in the suit because everything is muffled, so I’m doing my own thing onset most of the time. My fiancé came on set one day and she mentioned how much I became the character when I’m in the suit. It was almost like she didn’t recognize me and I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
Can you explain how you felt stepping into the Chewbacca costume for first time or walking onto the Star Wars set, especially the Millennium Falcon set, for the first time?
“That was my first day walking into the Millennium Falcon with Harrison Ford and I was just blown away. I did not know how to be, I was just taking it all in. I think Donald Glover put it best, I felt like I was in the Bible.
Just looking cushion seats of the Millennium Falcon, which are actually not that comfortable to sit on, but, still just so epic. I did not see it coming and I’ll maybe someday make sense of it in my mind, but it’s just too happy of day to remember correctly.”
You can read the rest of our interview below the jump. Solo: A Star Wars Story is now in theaters, so make sure to check it out. Once your done seeing it, make sure to let us know what you thought of it.
Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages
In Force Awakens, you split the role of Chewbacca with Peter Meyhew, but now it is just you in the costume. Has Peter given you any advice on how to approach the role of Chewbacca?
“Yeah, I went through this Wookiee boot camp. He told me his insights into how he approached playing the role and a lots of other good tips. I just went from there. For this film, especially since there are so many scenes, you just have to live it and perform the character. Be true to what has come before. And I know very well what’s come before because I’ve been a fan for so many years and it’s an honor to continue this work and do it well.”
What can fans expect from your version of Chewbacca compared to the one created by Peter now that it is just you in the suit?
“They’re going to see Chewbacca do more athletic stuff, I think that would be the thing. In this film, it is still done with such taste and class it doesn’t feel like a different character at all. That’s the most important thing, you want to embrace that Chewbacca is Chewbacca and doesn’t need to go out of his way when he makes strong statements with his fists and his paws. That’s what I wanted.”
Since you knew what came before with the character, did that make you want to work that much harder to make sure your performance was right?
“So much goes into it when you’re on set, I constantly have to go to the monitors and watch myself to see how it looks. I want it to be a certain way. Ron [Howard, director] must think I’m a little bit of a perfectionist from doing all that work, I don’t think anybody cares on those sets more than me.”
Chewbacca is a character that has appeared in not only the Star Wars trilogies, but also now in a prequel movie. What has it been like playing both versions of the character?
“It’s wonderful. I feel like I get to be part of so much and I love that the Wookiees lived up to 400 because it’s going to make playing him when he’s 337 pretty interesting. I’m having a blast. I love these stories. I love these movies and I love the character and the ship. I just can’t believe how lucky I am to be able to do this. It’s a dream. It’s some kind of a dream come true even though I could never have dared to dream that this thing would happen, but it’s an unbelievably blessed experience for me. “
At what point do you think fans finally realized that you were the one in the suit not Peter?
“For me it’s been four years. I know I did a good job and I know Chewbacca is loved and he’s doing better than ever. I’ve been waiting for the world to catch on that there is, a young Finnish guy in a suit, so that’s been a four-year wait for me. It’s been a very slow trickle. The character comes first and, I’m happy that the people love the character more than ever. That’s the greatest gift, whether they ever realize that its me in the suit.”
What was the process like for picking a new Chewbacca?
“I think when you’re seven feet and over and then narrow down to those who have blue eyes, you’re left with a very slim population. I had done some acting before and I always wanted to be an actor, but I always thought I was too tall.”
Was there anything important they looked for when casting the character?
“It was very important for the character to have blue eyes, authentic blue eyes because contact lenses would just show funky on-screen.”
How did you learn how to do the voice for Chewbacca?
“I initially taught myself how to do the voice for Harrison Ford, in order to impress him because I knew that I was going to meet him the next day. I started practicing doing the voice. By the time I got to Harrison Ford it must’ve been awful because Harrison wasn’t that impressed. Now four years later, I think I can do the voice pretty well. It’s a good party trick.”
You were cast by JJ Abrams, but you’ve worked with two other Star Wars directors since Force Awakens. What has that been like?
“I had a great experience with JJ and Rian [Johnson], but now with Ron [Howard], he’s directed so many movies in his career, it was so effortless to go there and give your performance. To hear feedback from him, Ron was very efficient and quick and he loved the script, as we all did. Some days it felt like a shot itself. It was wonderful to work with Ron. He has such a good energy and charisma to be able to direct us in the right direction.”
How did you and Alden etch out the Han/Chewie relationship?
“You start with the script and then you talk about the arc and the beats, where you want the relationship to go. At which point do you want this and this to be achieved, and you plot it out. Alden was very interested in delivering a believable arc for this film and I agreed. We went on a scene by scene basis. We talked about it, ‘How’d you do it? At what point do we do that or this?’ Watching the film, it’s a very believable thing that happens. It’s a wonderful emotional story Han goes through and I loved watching it because it has so much. It almost gets you in tears when you’re watching it. I think it’s very emotional.”
The movie ends with a “to be continued” type of feeling, where would you like to see the next movie in the Han Solo series go?
“It’s too early to say. You’ll just have to wait and see.”
What about the beginning of the movie, we find Chewie in a not so great position, how do you think he got there or do you already know how he got there?
“I can’t spoil anything, but just think about the awful things that must’ve happened.”
How did you feel when you saw that this movie hinted at the other Star Wars movies?
“I was pumped up about that because the movie does kind of hint at them. This movie doesn’t put the other movies on a pedestal, but lets you know [that they’re all related].”
What do you want fans to take away from your performance as Chewbacca in this movie?
“I want them to just have fun with this film, but also I would like them to pay their respect to Peter by watching this film. Knowing that he created this character, which I’m now working hard to try to make something more. For this film, I also want them to go in and enjoy it. It is a very, very exciting tale of how Han and Chewbacca met each other and what dangers they have to go through before they reach Mos Eisley Cantina. What kind of stuff goes in there is fascinating to me. And they did a great job writing this spontaneous adventure story.”
How have you helped shape the character?
“I think Chewbacca is so loved that I feel a responsibility in giving people ideas, the screenwriters ideas this character can do so much. He doesn’t have to be sitting on a bench and looking at the horizon, not that that’s happening here, but the possibilities are endless.”
What are some of the physical movements that you think are iconic to the character that you wanted to make sure stuck with your version of the character?
“The head movements, the turning. His posture and the head movements are some of the iconic things. For Chewie less is more.”
How did you prepare for this role? I can only imagine holding yourself up and having to turn a certain way took a lot of time and effort to perfect.
“That is why I run to the feedback monitor. ‘Oh, where’s Joonas? He’s checking himself out in the monitor’. I’m doing this because there was no way to know. You have to have such a good feeling for where your body’s at and what angle are they shooting. I need to know where they’re shooting. I’m always asking that because I want to know how to prepare for that angle and make Chewbacca look the best for that angle. There are a lot of things in my body that I’m trying to hide or put forth in a more favorable way for Chewie. Me and Peter, we’re not the same, we’re similar, but not the same, so I have to do a lot of work to make Chewbacca look like he’s the same old Chewbacca.”
Has Chewbacca’s costume changed since Force Awakens?
“Originally we hadn’t detached the arms so I had to wait and I couldn’t do anything. If I wanted my hands off they would have to take the whole suit off. I could do it because it was so much fun. With Force Awakens, everyone was back and it was fun. Fun times, first film and everything.”.
What makes you most happy about this role?
“I’m most happy when I’m watching the finished film and the character is understood by the director and he looks good on the screen. That’s when I’m the most happy because it’s such an important character to get right. And whenever we have these marketing videos edited by someone else, I’m always scrutinizing them very carefully because it’s very important they don’t catch any kind of off movements. I want the character to be done right and I almost hate myself for how much I wanted to have that iconic look with Chewbacca.”
Is there any story you would like to explore next with Chewbacca, maybe a standalone movie?
“He’s always been sort of side character and I think there’s magnetism in the character of Chewbacca. I definitely think you can choose a century. The galaxy is so interesting and all these stories about Jedi has always interested me. Maybe if Chewbacca lived when the Jedis were abundant in the galaxy! I want to see Chewbacca doing some stuff with them that would be actually be sick.”
Can you talk a little about the Star Wars fandom?
“It’s wonderful. That is why we’re here. That is why Star Wars has thrived for 40 years or so. The fans, with the 501st first members who go visit sick kids in the hospital, the fandom has been so strong and I think that’s a testament to the everything Star Wars is.”
What surprised you the most about the fandom?
“The supportive people. I did not know that that existed and I’m now just, trying to take it all in.”
You have been a fan of the Star Wars series for years now, what has been your favorite film besides the ones you were in?
“Empire Strikes Back because it’s tragic and it encompasses every kind of emotional thing you could have. You have epicness, you have sad moments, revelations, and relationships. All those things are what make it such an impactful film. This film also has that same feeling from the original trilogy and I think they’re doing such a great job envisioning these movies because I’m loving it. “
Which genre of film would you love to venture into next?
“I’ve always loved comedy. I think that would be something fun to do. But it’s too early. As long as it’s interesting, but I kind of set the bar real high starting from this. It is going to be interesting to see where this will go in future.”
For people who have never seen a Star Wars movie, how do you think they should feel going into this movie?
“I think they can go in with a fresh mind because this movie stands on its own. You don’t have to have known any Star Wars thing. That’s what’s great about this. Lawrence Kasdan, he’s only interested in telling good stories and this one is especially important to him because it’s a story about a guy who wants something different than the world is going to offer to him. It’s a universal kind of story. They’ve done a great job in envisioning that.”
For those who have seen a Star Wars movie, what would you like to tell them?
“I want to tell them it’s a fun, adventurous, spontaneous, adventure film you can go in and enjoy it with the whole family without knowing anything.”