Ray Park
Ray Park | |
|---|---|
 Park at WonderCon 2007 | |
| Born | Raymond Park |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Stuntman, Martial artist |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Website | http://www.raypark.com |
Raymond Park (born 23 August 1974) is a Scottish actor, stuntman and martial artist, best known for his portrayal of Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, for playing Toad in X-Men, Snake-Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and Edgar on Heroes.
Early life
Park was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He was raised in Govan, Glasgow, where he was educated at Greenfield Primary School, until age 7. His family then moved to London. Ray has a brother and a sister.
Young Ray was introduced to martial arts by his father, who was a fan of Bruce Lee, and began training in the traditional Chinese Northern Shaolin Kung Fu when he was seven years old. A born athlete, he immediately dominated the field and had added kickboxing and wushu to his endeavors by age 14. When he was 16, Ray won Great Britain's Martial Arts National Championship for his class and then went to Malaysia to improve his skills. He went on to compete in martial arts tournaments around the world and brought home awards before turning his attention to acting in the late 1990s.[1]
Career
He began working in movies as a stunt double for the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, doing the stunts for both Robin Shou and James Remar. Park also did some cameos as monsters, including Baraka. All of these were non-speaking roles.
In 1999, Park appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as the Sith Lord Darth Maul. While the character had a few lines, Park's voice was dubbed over with that of actor Peter Serafinowicz.
In addition to this acting work, he has also been Christopher Walken's stunt double for the movie Sleepy Hollow. Park appeared in the scenes where Walken's character, the Headless Horseman, appears without his head.
Park had his first real speaking part in X-Men as Toad. In one scene of this film, after sending Storm (Halle Berry) down an elevator shaft, he picks up a length of pipe and swings it around in much the same way he swung his dual-bladed lightsaber as Darth Maul, a signature wushu movement.
Park has been asked to become a superhero himself, instead of a villain, in a movie about Marvel Comics character Iron Fist, but the movie has been in preproduction for some years now. Iron Fist deals with an American millionaire who becomes a martial artist with the power of focusing his "life force" or chi into his fist, making it glow with energy and become "like unto a thing of iron" and able to impact with superhuman force.
In December 2007, Park was confirmed for the role of Snake-Eyes, one of the original contingent of G.I. Joe, for the movie of the same name, involving a variation of the international G.I. Joe force, which in the comics, fought the minions of Cobra.
He worked with comic book creator-turned-film-maker Kevin VanHook in the movie, Slayer, starring in the dual roles of acrobatic twin vampires. This film also saw him appearing again with Sleepy Hollow co-star Casper Van Dien.
ComiCon 2007 saw the premiere of the teaser trailer for "The Descendants", another comic book adaptation based on an independent comic by writer Joey Andrade.[2]
Park is currently appearing as Edgar in the fourth season of Heroes.
In the comic-book-styled film "Hellbinders", he plays a soulless mercenary who, along with an elite assassin (Johnny Yong Bosch) and the last remaining member of the long dead Knights Templar, Esteban Cueto, must overcome their innate mistrust of each other and join forces to defeat Legion before it opens the gates of hell itself and overruns the entire world.
Personal life
Ray is married to Lisa and has a daughter named Sienna. The family now reside in Los Angeles.[3]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Mortal Kombat: Annihilation | Raiden double/Raptor #3/Tarkata #2 | |
| 1999 | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | Darth Maul | Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (shared with Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor) Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Villain |
| Sleepy Hollow | Headless Horseman | (doubled for Christopher Walken in "headless" sequences) | |
| 2000 | X-Men | Toad | |
| 2002 | Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever | A.J. Ross | |
| 2005 | Potheads: The Movie | Mr. D | |
| 2006 | Slayer | Acrobatic Vampire Twins | (TV Movie) |
| 2007 | What We Do Is Secret | Brendan Mullen | |
| The Legend of Bruce Lee | Chuck Norris | ||
| 2009 | Fanboys | THX Security Guard #2 | |
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Snake-Eyes | ||
| Heroes | Edgar | Season four, recurring role | |
| Iron Fist | Daniel Rand / Iron Fist | announced | |
| 2010 | The King of Fighters | Rugal Bernstein | post-production |
| Iron Fist | Daniel Rand / Iron Fist | announced | |
| 2011 | Transformers 3 | Unknown Major Role | post-production |
References
- ^ The Ray Park Picture Pages-Childhood and Family: http://www.superiorpics.com/ray_park/
- ^ Interview with G4TV: http://www.g4tv.com/pile_player.aspx?video_key=17177
- ^ The Ray Park Pictures Pages-Childhood and Family: http://www.superiorpics.com/ray_park/
External links
