Actor Peter Mayhew, best known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca in the "Star Wars" original trilogy and this year's "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith", will become a citizen of the United States.

Mayhew, 61, who is currently married to an American native and lives in Texas, has ended the three-year resident period required to become an American citizen. Peter will join over four hundred others in an Arlington ceremony on Monday.

He said the US was "one of the most wonderful countries in the world".

"I know that I have the best of both worlds with the dual nationality," said Mayhew. "Whatever people say about America, it is still one of the most wonderful countries in the world, despite the politics, religion and everything else that goes on."

Peter Mayhew, born May 19, 1944, received his first acting job in 1977, when the producers of the movie "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" discovered him from a photograph in a newspaper article about men with large feet, and they cast him in the role of the Minotaur.

When casting roles for his first Star Wars film, producer George Lucas needed a tall actor who could fit in the costume for the beastly Chewbacca.

He originally had in mind bodybuilder David Prowse, but Prowse instead decided to play the role of Darth Vader. This led Lucas on a search which turned up Mayhew, who has played the part of Chewbacca in four "Star Wars" films.

Mayhew was honored when Chewbacca was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards.