Chewbacca is a Jokin Joonas

| Cris Alvarez

First off. The answer to the big question is no, Joonas Suotamo was not invited to the Harry and Meghan wedding and it’s not because he broke royal protocol by hugging Prince William and Prince Harry. He told the audience at Awesome Con 2018 that the royals went in for the hugs with Chewbacca, not the other way around. So, the undeniable truth is, HARRY HUGGED FIRST (© CRISTOBAL ALVAREZ. Yes copyrighted for my future t-shirts) Joonas insisted that when Prince Harry and Prince William came on the set during the filming of the Last Jedi, “they just um, yeah, they went for it.”  He declared that he didn’t break royal protocol first.  They initiated.  The audience loved it.

Now to the important stuff.

Joonas Suotamo visited Washington DC to attend Awesome Con 2018 and who knew he liked to crack so many jokes. Corniness of the joke is no obstacle for him. Consider this beauty.

A son goes, hey dad have you seen my sunglasses?  I don’t know son have you seen my dadglasses. (Yes he added the appropriate stretch to the punchline to tickle our ribs.) Joonas claims that his role as a new dad allows him to get away with these jokes. We all enjoyed it but you be the judge.

Now to the really important stuff.

The joker that he is, Joonas began the panel by immediately asking if the panel was a joke on him.   My observation is that he’s humbled by all the interest people have in him. The panel host, a representative of the Finnish Embassy in Washington, DC, said that it wasn’t a joke (of course we all knew that) and welcomed Joonas by expressing how proud they were to have Joonas representing Finland in such a famous movie franchise. Joonas was quite the gentleman and mentioned that his father is married to a Belgian diplomat and so he is aware of and respects diplomats and how they have to move around every few years. It was a very interesting and humble exchange of thanks.

Hardcore fans probably already know how Joonas got the role of Chewbacca but he went over the basics for the benefit of the audience.

He attended Penn State to play basketball and also studied film and directing. He recalled first going to the acting department but they sadly told him they doubted there would be any acting roles for someone almost seven feet tall so he switched to film and directing. He joked about going back there now and saying look at me now you acting department people. Somehow the way he said the line felt like a channeling of the rude French knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail but of course in the corny and charming way Joonas has.

Joonas said that he believed it was precisely because he played basketball and put himself out there and cracked enough good jokes that he got the role.  He said a casting agency for Force Awakens was looking for a double for Peter Mayhew because Peter’s knees were giving him problems.  Joonas said the agency called the Finnish Basketball Association and he joked they probably called the Icelandic volleyball and handball associations too.

In Finland they knew him due to his youth basketball activities.  The agency said they needed someone 7 feet tall with blue eyes for a big budget movie but they said they had no idea what movie it was. joonas joked that all he wanted to know was whether money was involved.  No, no, no he added but in response he sent in a videotape of him playing a caveman. In the little short he gets shot and says “ooga, ooga.” (imagine Chewie saying ooga, ooga.) joonas’ fiancé got on the video and bandaged him up and they sent that in. He added that no doubt the video would end up online eventually.

He was in a parking lot in Finland when he learned he would be in Force Awakens with Peter Mayhew. He went home with his fiancé, opened some champagne and played the Star Wars lego game on the PS3 in celebration.  But not on the PS4 Joonas was quick to add.  John Boyega bought him a PlayStation 4 later because Boyega wanted someone to play “Destiny” with.  Joonas agreed, since as he put it (as usual in joke form) that he was a young guy just starting out, cast in Star Wars, and he didn’t have much to do. So he played Destiny with Boyega to make Boyega feel better. A fan later asked him what role in Destiny he played against Boyega and Joonas quickly said a “Titan.” No doubts there. Joonas said that was the best question he had been asked. He added that John {Boyega} “just gave me some serious dis because” he hasn’t bought Battlefront 2 yet.  Joonas said he’d buy it soon but was reluctant. When he played Battlefront, he peeked around a tree on Endor and was immediately dead.  He joked that his competitive soul just can’t handle it.  He said he and Boyega haven’t played games in a while but soon there will be some gaming.  When asked what his favorite Star Wars game was, he said without hesitation Super Nintendo Empire Strikes Back, but that it’s so hard and he’s never gotten to the end of it.

Set Life and Getting in Costume

Joonas said everyone on the Solo cast is great.  He said Woody Harrelson on Solo is great because he’s Woody all the time.  The poor, innocent man caught his verbal faux-pas and  sheepishly added that the audience shouldn’t try to interpret that incorrectly. Just a bit of a language thing I think and that was a pretty amusing comment.

As mentioned in other news articles, Joonas attended a Wookie boot camp.  He said Mayhew is the greatest.  Mayhew taught him how to carry himself.  That he had to bring his chest forward.  Joonas said these were things he suspected from watching the films but Mayhew helped him nail down those nuances of movement, tiny behavioral things that make Chewbacca tick.  The audience asked him to do the voice and did a bunch of roars and such extremely well. We were all duly impressed. (He was a tad bit of a show off with the voice J but he deserved full credit for his skill. Joking, he was cool about the voice.)

Actually, Joonas said he had never been asked before showing up on set to do the Wookie voice.  He met JJ Abrahms and was asked by JJ how Joonas thought they did the Wookie voice.  Joonas said he thought they just did the lines in English and just did something in audio with that.  He added that he felt so spoiled to step into something that’s so ready because of what Peter Mayhew and the franchise had established.

Someone in the audience asked Joonas to describe how he felt at the idea that he would act alongside so many superstars.  He joked that he was scared when the fan said it like that because growing up in Finland, which in his words is a small egalitarian society where everyone treats each other the same, shaped the way he approaches movie stars. He quickly added with a broad smile that Harrison Ford is an exception.  Everyone else you treat “almost” the same he said with another smile and he added there are more exceptions besides Harrison.  He said being around those actors was “the most mind-blowing thing.”

At one point, Joonas the joking dad appeared. Someone asked about fond memories from shooting and his young baby boy cried. Joonas asked for quiet for this awesome panel and said that there are some people you just can’t teach, that they just don’t have respect. Later when the baby cried again he called him little Chewbacca and did his Chewbacca growl. His son actually quieted down. Perhaps he’s discovered a fantastic new parenting tool. Just between us, it may be that his son is actually nicknamed porg (yes the implications can make one’s head spin) and perhaps the porg thought quiet would be the best thing around a Wookie. As C3PO might say, let the Wookie have quiet.

So Jonas said he has many good memories from shooting.  One is where he, Harrison and John Boyega were being held by the Empire and they had their hands behind their backs.  JJ Abrams came up to them and said Joonas had to move to the right since they couldn’t see Boyega.  Joonas recalled saying “JJ, I don’t know if you’re aware but my contract says I must be center visible in a prominent way in every shot.”  And then Harrison turned to Joonas and said I think you might have mixed up your contract with mine.  That’s why you can’t treat Harrison Ford like everyone else he joked.  Harrison’s contract says you can’t.

So how did it feel piloting the legendary Millennium Falcon Joonas?

Joonas answer was very interesting in terms of filming techniques. He said piloting the Millennium Falcon was a progress.  In Force Awakens and Last Jedi, they used a blue screen but in Solo they came up with new technology.  In Solo, the filmmakers could project an approximation of what the actors would be seeing in front of them in the film.  Joonas said it was so easy flying the Falcon now because you could see things coming at you, stuff, but I can’t tell you what things, he hastened to add.  “When I say things just imagine, the biggest, the fastest and most amazing things coming at you.  I can’t tell you what it is but it’s awesome.” Thanks for nothing Joonas. We need spoilers.

Another fan itched to know what was in the Chewie satchel?  Was it candy?  Can you eat in costume?  Did you pass out candy?

Joonas confirmed that he couldn’t eat in costume but he could give out candy which, in his opinion, isn’t that weird or suspicious if you think about it.  He also admitted they had some candy in the satchel.  The best thing about playing Chewbacca, he said, is reactions from the cast and crew and the kids. He explained that sometimes they had kids visiting the set through the Make A Wish foundation and they’ve survived and are fighting some very serious diseases.  Kids love when he shows up and turns the corner and makes his sound. He said he gives them a lollipop because “that’s what Wookies do.”  You get to be kind of like a family dog, he said, which is an interesting take but one I’ve think I’ve heard before. My family dog doesn’t have a laser crossbow.

So how is it moving in that suit Joonas?

It doesn’t weigh that much.  The toughest part, he said, is wearing the heels to meet the 7’ 6” requirement.  He gets 3 inches from the heels and 3 inches from the mask.  But it’s only the heels that hinder his movement.

What is like working with the mask?  Does everything have to be big movements?

Joonas said that’s the first instinct but you have to relate to the character and do what he would do.  You have to make the small things right.  Joonas said you have to stay alert and look where the character would look and such.  Less is more in every way.  Whenever he tries big things in the suit, the directors tell him to do less.

Joonas joked that being in the suit is like 17 Finnish saunas and 100 degrees Celsius.  He said the fabric breathes a lot so it’s easy to get air conditioning and fans and get cooled off easily.  But the Falcon is so cramped he always has to have 15 minute negotiations with someone who knows someone who knows someone in the special effects department overseeing fans. He needs to get that fan going since the special effects people have a thousand things to worry about and they haven’t thought about the fan.  Joonas said sometimes he feels bad because he’s the “needs person” on set but it does get hot when you’re in a cramped space with little air flow.

He said it takes about an hour to an hour and a half to get in costume depending on what the scene is.  If they have to do close ups it takes longer since they have to attach extra hair under his eyes to hide the mask. They put black around his eyes, raccoon eyes he called it, and everyone makes the same joke about him staying up late and he says yeah, yeah. Apparently there’s one corny joke Joonas isn’t too fond of.

He said the thing that was hardest to learn to play Chewbacca was to chill out since Chewbacca is so chill.  He said Chewbacca walks upright all the time.  His chest is held high, so Joonas thought and said maybe the walk was the hardest thing.  He had to compromise because in some scenes when he has to run he can’t mimic any kind of walk, he just has to run.  He joked saying the director is always telling him to run faster.  Joonas said JJ came up to him once and said “Jonas, does your name mean slowness.” In deadpan Joonas said, “he’s such a clever guy.  I didn’t laugh.“ But everyone in the audience did.

One fan had to know about the porgs. He asked Joonas if he knew what the porgs would look like when you ate them.

Joonas said the porg he ate was real (huh) but with two legs sticking out.  They had five guys controlling the porgs and his porg was a guy holding up his finger.  He didn’t see what the porgs looked like beforehand and he questioned why Chewbacca stopped himself from eating the porg during the scene.  With a smile, Joonas said it looked like a tasty porg.  But he said it made more sense why he stopped when he actually saw the porgs.  He joked that fans have to stop suggesting that he ate the porg and Joonas’ film editing knowledge came out.  He said the cut at the scene with the hesitation shows that Chewie didn’t eat the porg.  Joonas paused and with the proverbial wink said maybe he had just a little taste right after the cut.  He said that since he recently became a father and his son is nicknamed porg, after the Last Jedi he decided it wouldn’t be proper to actually name his son porg.

One fan’s question on toy merchandising led to a funny observation. The fan asked if Joonas was involved in any toy merchandising negotiations?

Joonas said they do a scan of their bodies when they’re in their suits and they use that for the toys.  He speculated they might use that for the games too so maybe his bone structure gets into the games. I’m not sure how much that’s worth in royalties. Maybe Joonas can push for costumed character royalty rights. Or not.

The fans returned to the porgs and asked if the stowaway is an official member of the crew and does it have a name?

Joonas admitted he was wondering what the pecking order is now with the porg on board.  Is there a sanitary person on the Falcon he asked the audience, eliciting groans.  Joonas persisted and said the porg can get into tight spaces on the Falcon to clean them.  With the crowd not buying that, Joonas said that before the porg becomes part of the family he needs help out a lot more than he did.  Crowing on the dash (and Joonas did the sound) is not enough.  Joonas surely has a knack for animal sounds.

A youngster asked Joonas what his favorite part of being Chewbacca was?

Joonas said he thought that it’s the fact that whenever kids your age (maybe about eight) get to tell their families, like his nephews for example, get to tell people that uncle Joonas is Chewbacca or that kids love to meet Chewbacca the most. Joonas thinks kids relate most to Chewbacca.  He feels spoiled because he plays such a good part in all this.  He wants to continue to play the character so that people can relate to him. He said the fans from Star Wars make the role so great.

A fan asked Joonas how he keeps himself and his knees in shape since the role is so physical.

Joonas said he considers himself to be of fairly normal build just stretched out.  He said he’s fairly symmetrical so his knees feel good and he could probably be playing basketball still.  He said he’s betting he could do the role until his son replaces him.  He has blue eyes too he added. A porg with blue eyes I add. Try eating a blue-eyed porg Chewbacca.

Joonas said he loved sci-fi films and the famous films during his youth.  He loved Forest Gump, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones which he watched when he was 8 or 9. He knew what good movies were about and loved them.  He said it’s unbelievable to be working on such a famous movie and he doesn’t know where to go from here since he started at such a high place.  He admitted it’s quite weird but he’s trying to fulfill his own ambitions and projects and films in the future.  He wants to do something personal and be behind the camera.  He didn’t have time to study when he was playing basketball in college (though I think this was a joke) but maybe he has time to do that now.  He said it’s an exciting time and he can’t wait to see what other opportunities will arise because the world is full of them.  He wants to start a youtube channel.  That’s his first goal and he wants to do so to interact with fans in that way.

When asked when did he realize he would be tall he said that in junior high school he tried to make himself shorter. He didn’t want to be as tall.  He wanted to be like everyone else and “what a fool I was,” he said.   Interestingly enough, being tall at 15, he said he had to stop playing basketball because his knees got so stiff since he wasn’t used to his height. He studied Tae Kwan Do and other martial arts to get flexibility in his hips and that helped.  He joked that he was always one centimeter taller than one of his friends and then had a growth spurt in high school.

He was asked if he remembered Coach Danny Earl from Penn State and he said yeah of course he remembers him.  He skipped his last year of eligibility because he wanted to go back to Finland and finish his army service.  But he stayed in the fall and tried to help finish a senior project which was a zombie apocalypse movie. He left in December (2008) and didn’t get to see the final project and hasn’t been back to campus since then.  He said he’d love to go back since it’s a great place.

A fan asked what it was like being the veteran actor on Solo?

Joonas said the only difference was that he tried to not let his ego have any part in what he did.  In Force Awakens he constantly ran to the monitors to reassure himself that the choices he made in movements for the Wookie were right. In Last Jedi he had a learning curve to get back into it.  The porg eating scene was tough because he was given specific direction on exactly how to move for the camera.

In Solo, he had all these experiences before so he said it was easier to get into the movie and be a good Wookie.  The best moments for him were when Alden looked at him and said wow you’re pretty good at that.  And he said the same back to Alden because he was so great as Solo.

When asked about what we might see in Solo, Joonas said that in Solo, you’ll see how Han and Chewbacca met each other.  You’ll also see an adventure across the galaxy, full of the criminal underworld, the lowest of the low.  He said it’s a fun adventure and he can’t wait for us to see it.  Joonas, spoilers please. You’re being too good.