Joonas Suotamo Short biography
Joonas Viljami Suotamo (born October 3, 1986) is a Finnish actor and former professional basketball player. Standing at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), Suotamo played the center position for the Penn State Nittany Lions in the United States and professionally in Finland. During his youth, he also had an interest in acting and performed in stage productions. Suotamo's career transitioned from basketball to acting when he was cast as a body double for Peter Mayhew in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) due to his imposing height. He then took over the role of Chewbacca entirely for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and continued to play the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). In addition to his most famous role, he has appeared in other fantasy and sci-fi projects, including a recurring role as Kelnacca in the series The Acolyte (2024) and Lurch in the second season of Wednesday (2025).
