Joonas Suotamo
Actor
Finland
Biography:
Standing at nearly 7ft tall, Finnish basketball player Joonas Suotamo is perhaps best known to fans around the world for his work as Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and coming soon, Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Suotamo attended Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and played the power forward and center positions for the Penn State Nittany Lions. With childhood interests in music, arts, and movies he studied film and video at PSU.
As a youth, Suotamo performed roles as a stage actor. He was a strong academic performer at Penn State, where he was twice named to the Academic All-Big Ten team, and graduated in 3.5 years with a Bachelor of Arts degree in December 2008 in order to fulfill his Finnish conscription service and to pursue a career in film. He played professionally in Europe for the Espoo team from 2011-2015. In 2015, he was cast as a body double for Chewbacca, originally played by Peter Mayhew, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And took over the role for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Convention Guest Appearances
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2024
Fan Expo Canada 2024 - August 22-25, 2024 in Toronto, ON, CanadaCancelled Appearance- Fan Expo Chicago 2024 - August 16-18, 2024 in Rosemont, IL, USA
Fan Expo Dallas 2024 - June 7-9, 2024 in Dallas, TX, USACancelled AppearanceFan Expo Philadelphia 2024 - May 3-5, 2024 in Philadelphia, PA, USACancelled Appearance- MegaCon Orlando 2024 - February 1-4, 2024 in Orlando, FL, USA 2023
ToyXpo 2023 - August 18-20, 2023 in Santa Clara, CA, USACancelled Appearance- Osaka Comic Con 2023 - May 5-7, 2023 in Osaka, Japan
- Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 - April 7-10, 2023 in London 2022
- Wales Comic Con: Telford Takeover 2022 - December 3-4, 2022 in Telford
- Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022 - May 26-29, 2022 in Anaheim, CA, USA 2021
- EM-Con Nottingham 2021 - August 28-29, 2021 in Nottingham
Celebrity Fan Fest 2021 - July 30 - August 8, 2021 in San Antonio, TX, USAConvention Cancelled 2020Edmonton Expo 2020 - September 18-20, 2020 in Edmonton, AB, CanadaConvention CancelledFan Expo Boston 2020 - August 7-9, 2020 in Boston, MA, USAConvention CancelledIndiana Comic Convention 2020 - June 26-28, 2020 in Indianapolis, IN, USAConvention CancelledCelebrity Fan Fest 2020 - June 11-14, 2020 in San Antonio, TX, USAConvention CancelledEM-Con Nottingham 2020 - May 2-3, 2020 in NottinghamConvention PostponedMegaCon Orlando 2020 - April 16-19, 2020 in Orlando, FL, USAConvention PostponedIndiana Comic Convention 2020 - April 10-12, 2020 in Indianapolis, IN, USAConvention Postponed 2019- Rhode Island Comic Con 2019 - November 1-3, 2019 in Providence, RI, USA
- Edmonton Expo 2019 - September 20-22, 2019 in Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Arkansas Comic Con 2019 - September 7-8, 2019 in Little Rock, AR, USA
- Dragon Con 2019 - August 29 - September 2, 2019 in Atlanta, GA, USA
- Motor City Comic Con 2019 - May 17-19, 2019 in Novi, MI, USA
- Ottawa Comiccon 2019 - May 10-12, 2019 in Ottawa, ON, Canada
- South Texas Comic Con 2019 - April 26-28, 2019 in McAllen, TX, USA
- FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention 2019 - April 19-20, 2019 in Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019 - April 11-15, 2019 in Chicago, IL, USA
- Planet Comicon Kansas City 2019 - March 29-31, 2019 in Kansas City, MO, USA
- Lexington Comic & Toy Convention 2019 - March 21-24, 2019 in Lexington, KY, USA
Pensacon 2019 - February 22-24, 2019 in Pensacola, FL, USACancelled Appearance 2018- Wales Comic Con 2018 - December 1-2, 2018 in Wrexham
Rose City Comic Con 2018 - September 7-9, 2018 in Portland, OR, USACancelled Appearance- Denver Comic Con 2018 - June 15-17, 2018 in Denver, CO, USA
- MegaCon Orlando 2018 - May 24-27, 2018 in Orlando, FL, USA
- Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia 2018 - May 17-20, 2018 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Heroes Comic Con Copenhagen 2018 - May 5-6, 2018 in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Fan Expo Dallas 2018 - April 6-8, 2018 in Dallas, TX, USA
- Toronto Comicon 2018 - March 16-18, 2018 in Toronto, ON, Canada
25 confirmed guest appearances