So, as I'm sure you're all aware by now,
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is out in cinemas. The film has been greeted with a host of varied responses, with plenty of people praising the stunning visuals but also questioning the seemingly suspect storyline and the ludicrous nature of certain parts of the plot. On the whole, though, the general consensus seems to be that the film is good, without being amazing.
As with all the great
Star Wars films, the newest chapter has plenty of comedic moments. Characters such as BB-8, the Porgs (AKA everyone's new favourite space animal), and, of course, Chewbacca, are all on hand to lighten the mood among all the violence and blaster bloodshed. But while Chewbacca may be a bit of an oaf in the movies, he's actually very different in real life.
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I hate to break it to you, but Chewbacca isn't real. Yes, he's a man in a furry suit. But while it may have broken your heart to hear that, it turns out that plenty of people are swooning over the mystery man inside the legendary costume. As it turns out, a lot of Star Wars fans think that Chewbacca - or at least the man who plays Chewie - is a sexy beast.
Joonas Suotamo is the man behind the mask, and it turns out he's pretty gifted in the aesthetics department.
Suotamo had initially served as a stand-in for longtime Chewbacca Peter Mayhew during the filming of The Force Awakens, but he has now taken over the role full-time.
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Jonas is tailor-made for the role, with the Finn standing at 6'10, as he is a former basketball player who went to Penn State. According to the actor, he gave up on acting shortly after graduating due to the limitations put on him because of his height. After he graduated, Jonas returned to Finland where he was selling insurance over the phone, while also playing basketball.
However, things all changed when a casting call went out and his coach immediately thought of him.
"I was told to send in an audition tape of me doing a caveman impression,” said Suotamo, who says that he went back to his old high school once students had finished for the day in order for his girlfriend to film his performance.
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While he was happy to do the tape, the former basketball player says that he had no idea what movie he was auditioning for.
“When I got the first few documents to sign, I could decipher it was ‘Star Wars,'” Suotamo said. The actor says that the film title on the paperwork was "Foodles", a name which matches that of the internet rumours as the alias that the "Star Wars" production operates under.
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Despite not being confirmed for the next trilogy of films, Suotamo claims that he is "not planning to go back to selling insurance", and who can blame him?
Now, when you next watch Star Wars, you'll know that there's a hunky Finn under all that hair, rather than a strange bear-man hybrid.
