Peter Mayhew wasn't the only guy wearing the Chewbacca suit on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens . Given Mayhew's age (he's 71), reprising his role in all of Chewie's action scenes wasn't always possible, and that's where Finnish actor and basketball player Joonas Suotamo stepped in.

Loading

Suotamo started auditioning for the role in 2013, after being recommended to movie production staff looking for a 7-footer with blue eyes. "I was told to send in an audition tape of me doing a caveman impression," Suotamo told Business Insider "I took three trips there, and on the first time I got more details and realized what my role would be," Suotamo said of the audition process. The actor thanks his basketball career for landing the role."At basketball practice, I was the one who would always mimic the style of my teammates," Suotamo said. "So playing Chewbacca is something I've always prepared myself for, unknowingly."J.J. Abrams has said that Suotamo is a "wonderful guy," who, growing up around 7-feet tall, "had this love and respect and connection for this character of Chewie all his life." The director told Yahoo! Movies that "the fact that he got to play Chewie in so many scenes was a powerful thing for him but Peter was often there while Joonas was doing this, almost as a consultant.”The exact amount of screen time Suotamo has in the film is unclear, and the actor says that he'll "never get into it." He told Business Insider that "that's for people to guess and figure out."Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit theaters on December 18, 2015. The film remains a huge success at the box office, recently securing its spot as the highest grossing film ever in North America.

Nicole is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter