Julian Khazzouh

"He's a big part of the Kings future."

- Sydney Kings General Manager Bob Turner, speaking about Julian Khazzouh in 2010

Julian Khazzouh is a professional basketball player who is currently signed to the Sydney Kings in Australasia's National Basketball League. In 2005, he portrayed a Wookiee in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Khazzouh was born on February 23, 1986, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He grew up playing basketball in the suburbs of Winston Hills, New South Wales at the Castle Hill basketball stadium, and was signed to the West Sydney Razorbacks in 2005. He played there in 2005 and in the 2007-2008 seasons, and placed second in the NBL Rookie of the Year voting in 2007. In 2008, he received a very long text message from his coach letting him know that the team had folded. Khazzouh then played in the Netherlands and later Israel for a year before re-signing with the Razorbacks, now the Sydney Spirit, in 2009. In 2010, Khazzouh began playing for the Sydney Kings, where he plays athletic centre.

At the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, a poll was taken of nine NBL coaches, and Khazzouh was voted the second favorite for the league's MVP award, the second favorite to feature in the league's first team, and was rated the best Australian player in the competition.

In 2005, Khazzouh was one of several basketball players in Sydney who were recruited by Lucasfilm Ltd. to play Wookiees in Revenge of the Sith. The film's casting team put out calls to local basketball teams asking for "taller-than-tall guys" to do some "extra work," and the six-feet-eleven-inches-tall Khazzouh responded. Although he was not a Star Wars fan, he had a very positive time on set and recalls being "well-looked after." Four years later, while signing autographs, Khazzouh did not recall who George Lucas was. In the film, Khazzouh played either Lachichuk, Guanta, Grakchawwaa, or Eugroothwa. Following his role in the film, Khazzouh was sometimes referred to in the Australian media as Julian 'Wookie' Khazzouh.