Chewbacca actor writes heartfelt letter to young 'Star Wars' fan grieving loss of friend

The actor who played Chewbacca in Star Wars has reached out to a young fan who lost his 7-year-old friend in a tragic accident.

After learning about the boy's death, actor Peter Mayhew wrote Liam a heartfelt letter to help him through the loss.

The letter was posted to Reddit by Sam's father and has since been viewed more than 130,000 times on Imgur.

Liam,

I am sorry to hear that you won’t be able to see the new Star Wars movie with your friend Sam. I know that sometimes things happen and we can’t figure out why and all we feel is sadness. It’s important to remember the fun you had with Sam. Best friends are never really gone, they live on forever in our hearts and memories. I know that you are going to love Star Wars: The Force Awakens and I bet you make some new friends that also love Star Wars. I wish you the very best, and May The Force Be With You!

Cheers, Peter ‘Chewbacca’ Mayhew


http://imgur.com/cOjWRfm

Mayhew spoke with the Radio Times and confirmed that the letter is real.

Liam and his friend Sam loved Star Wars and were planning on seeing 'The Force Awakens' together in December.

Sam's older sister replied in the Reddit thread with more details about the story.

"About three weeks ago, my brother passed away in a tragic accident. I'm going to spare the details, since it's all still so fresh and heavy in our hearts.

Sam was seven, and while he may have only been here for a short time in retrospect, he lived more than most adults I know. And boy, did he love Star Wars. The force was definitely strong with this one. One of his very good friends, Liam, promised to go see the new Star Wars movie with Sam on Christmas... And word of Sam's passing got back to Peter Mayhew. This was the response.

It's amazing to see the support we have been given through this time. I know Sam would have loved to know that Chewy knows who he is."