Ray Park
Encyclopedia
Raymond Park is a Scottish actor, stuntman
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...

 and martial artist, best known for his playing the physical part of Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....

 in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

, Toad
Toad (comics)
Toad is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #4 ....

 in X-Men
X-Men (film)
X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park and Tyler Mane...

, Snake-Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and Edgar on Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...

.

Early life

Park was born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. He was brought up in Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....

, Glasgow, where he was educated at Greenfield Primary School, until the age of 7. His family then moved to London. Park has a brother and a sister.

Park was introduced to martial arts by his father, who was a fan of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...

, and began training in the traditional Chinese Northern Shaolin Kung Fu
Northern Shaolin (martial art)
In its broadest sense, Northern Shaolin refers to the external martial arts of Northern China referring to those styles from the Northern Shaolin Monastery in Henan...

 when he was seven years old. He added kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....

 and wushu
Wushu (sport)
The sport of wushu is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. It was created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, in an attempt to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts...

 to his hobbies by age 14. When he was 16, Park won Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Martial Arts National Championship for his class and then went to Malaysia to try 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.

Career

He began working in films as a stunt double
Stunt double
A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...

 for the film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts action film that was the sequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat, and was directed by John R. Leonetti, who had served as the cinematographer for the previous film...

, doing the stunts for both Robin Shou
Robin Shou
Shou Wan Por , known professionally as Robin Shou, is a Hong Kong martial artist and actor. Frequently appearing in numerous martial arts films, Shou was most successful for playing the role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat & Gobei with the late Chris Farley in Beverly Hills Ninja.-Career:Shou's first...

 and James Remar
James Remar
James Remar is an American actor and voice artist. He has appeared in movies, video games, and TV shows. He is perhaps best known as Richard, the on-off tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall's character in Sex and the City, as Ajax in The Warriors, as the homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in the 1982...

. Park also did some cameos
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

 as monsters, including Baraka. All of these were non-speaking roles.

In 1999, Park appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

, as the Sith Lord
Sith
-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...

 Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....

. While the character had a few lines, Park's voice was dubbed over with that of actor Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School...

. From his work on Star Wars, Park was cast in a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

 role in Fanboys as a Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas. It is located in a secluded, but open area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, who was a...

 security guard who says, "Time for you to get mauled
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....

, boy," as he pulls out two nightsticks.

In addition to this acting work, he has also been Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...

's fight stunt double for the film Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow (film)
Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 American period horror film directed by Tim Burton. It is a film adaptation loosely inspired by the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving and stars Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Marc Pickering, Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones,...

. Park appeared in the scene where Walken's character, the Headless Horseman
Headless Horseman
The headless horseman has been a motif of European folklore since at least the Middle ages.The Headless Horseman is a fictional character who appears in a short story called “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which is in a collection of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon written by Washington Irving...

, murders the Killian family and Brom Bones.

Park had his first real speaking part in X-Men
X-Men (film)
X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park and Tyler Mane...

as Toad
Toad (comics)
Toad is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #4 ....

. In one scene of this film, after sending Storm (Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...

) 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
Lightsaber
A lightsaber is a fictional weapon in the Star Wars universe, a "laser sword." It consists of a polished metal hilt which projects a blade of light about 1.33 metres long. The lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi order and their Sith counterparts, both of whom can use them for close...

 as Darth Maul, a signature wushu movement.

Park has been asked to become a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 himself, instead of a villain, in a film about Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 character Iron Fist, but the film 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
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...

 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
G.I. Joe (comics)
G.I. Joe has been the title of comic strips and comic books in every decade since 1942. As a licensed property by Hasbro, comics have been released from 1967 to present, with only two interruptions longer than a year . As a team fighting Cobra since 1982, the comic book history of G.I...

, for the film 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-filmmaker Kevin VanHook
Kevin VanHook
Kevin VanHook is an American filmmaker who began his career in storytelling as a comic book artist and writer. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.-Biography:...

 in the film Slayer
Slayer (film)
Slayer, also known as Mexferatu Mexico, is a 2006 vampire themed television movie by Sci Fi Channel, directed and written by Kevin VanHook, starring Casper Van Dien and Kevin Grevioux, about an elite commando squad in South American rain forest, dealing against a deadly and bloodthirsty vampire...

, starring in the dual roles of acrobatic twin vampires. This film also saw him appearing again with Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow (film)
Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 American period horror film directed by Tim Burton. It is a film adaptation loosely inspired by the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving and stars Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Marc Pickering, Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones,...

co-star Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...

.

ComiCon 2007 saw the premiere of the teaser trailer for Descendants
Descendants (film)
Descendants is a 2008 animated short film starring the voice talents of Christy Scott Cashman and Whoopi Goldberg. Written by Heiko Scherm, the film was directed by Scherm and Patrick Cunningham, and produced by Cunningham, Alex Martin, Chris Maybach, and Maria Severine Pazoukhine....

, another comic book adaptation based on an independent comic by writer Joey Andrade.

Park also appeared as Edgar in the fourth season of the television series Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...

.

Park was also included in the motion capture team of the 2008 James Bond video game adaptation of Quantum of Solace.

In the comic-book-styled film Hellbinders, he plays a soulless mercenary who, along with an elite assassin (Johnny Yong Bosch
Johnny Yong Bosch
Johnny Yong Bosch is an American actor, voice actor, martial artist, and musician.He may be best known for portraying Adam Park in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and being the English voice of Ichigo Kurosaki in the hit anime series Bleach, Vash the Stampede in Trigun and Lelouch Lamperouge in Code...

) and the last remaining member of the long dead Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

, Esteban Cueto, must overcome their innate mistrust of each other and join forces to defeat Legion
Legion (demon)
Legion is a group of demons referred to in the Christian Bible. The New Testament outlines an encounter where Jesus healed a man from Gadarenes possessed by demons while traveling, known as Exorcising the Gerasenes demonic.- In the Bible :...

 before it opens the gates of hell itself and overruns the entire world. Park narrated on 26 February 2010 the introduction of The FireBreather, a car from Classic Design Concepts in Detroit Autorama 2010, the vehicle is part of the Supernatural thriller Jinn
Jinn (film)
Jinn is an upcoming film from Exxodus Pictures. It was written and directed by Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad, and stars Ray Park.-Cast:* Ray Park* Faran Tahir* Serinda Swan* William Atherton* Dominic Rains-Plot:...

, which will earn a lead role.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts action film that was the sequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat, and was directed by John R. Leonetti, who had served as the cinematographer for the previous film...

Raptor #3/Tarkata #2 also double for Robin Shou
Robin Shou
Shou Wan Por , known professionally as Robin Shou, is a Hong Kong martial artist and actor. Frequently appearing in numerous martial arts films, Shou was most successful for playing the role of Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat & Gobei with the late Chris Farley in Beverly Hills Ninja.-Career:Shou's first...

1999 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...

Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....

 
Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
The MTV Movie Award for Best Fight is an award presented to actors and characters for quality fight scenes in films at the MTV Movie Awards, a ceremony established in 1992. Honors in several categories are awarded by MTV at the annual ceremonies, and are chosen by public vote...

 (shared with Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...

 and Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...

)

Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Villain.-References:...

Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow (film)
Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 American period horror film directed by Tim Burton. It is a film adaptation loosely inspired by the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving and stars Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Marc Pickering, Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones,...

Headless Horseman
Headless Horseman
The headless horseman has been a motif of European folklore since at least the Middle ages.The Headless Horseman is a fictional character who appears in a short story called “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which is in a collection of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon written by Washington Irving...

 
2000 X-Men
X-Men (film)
X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park and Tyler Mane...

Toad
Toad (comics)
Toad is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #4 ....

 
2002 Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is a 2002 American action film starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. Liu and Banderas play opposing secret agents who are supposedly enemies, but team up during the movie. The film was universally panned by critics, who generally regarded it as having no redeeming...

A.J. Ross
2005 Potheads: The Movie Mr. D
2006 Slayer
Slayer (film)
Slayer, also known as Mexferatu Mexico, is a 2006 vampire themed television movie by Sci Fi Channel, directed and written by Kevin VanHook, starring Casper Van Dien and Kevin Grevioux, about an elite commando squad in South American rain forest, dealing against a deadly and bloodthirsty vampire...

Acrobatic Vampire Twins (Movie)
2007 What We Do Is Secret
What We Do Is Secret (film)
What We Do Is Secret is a 2008 American biographical film about Darby Crash, singer of the late-1970s Los Angeles punk rock band the Germs. Rodger Grossman directed the film and wrote the screenplay, based on a story he had written with Michelle Baer Ghaffari, a friend of Crash's and co-producer of...

Brendan Mullen
The Legend of Bruce Lee
The Legend of Bruce Lee
The Legend of Bruce Lee is a Chinese biographic television series based on the life story of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. The 50 episodes long series was produced and broadcast by CCTV and had been aired since 12 October 2008. It starred Hong Kong actor Danny Chan as Bruce Lee and American...

Chuck Norris
2009 Fanboys THX Security Guard #2
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Snake-Eyes 
Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...

Edgar  Season four, recurring role
Hellbinders Max
2010 The King of Fighters
The King of Fighters (film)
The King of Fighters is a film loosely based on SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. It stars Sean Faris as Kyo Kusanagi, Maggie Q as Mai Shiranui, Will Yun Lee as Iori Yagami, and Ray Park as Rugal Bernstein.-Plot:...

Rugal Bernstein
Rugal Bernstein
is a video game character created by SNK. First introduced in The King of Fighters '94, he is a recurring boss in the The King of Fighters fighting game series. As the host of the tournaments from The King of Fighters '94 and 95, Rugal plans to turn all the competitors from the tournament into...

 
Jinn
Jinn (film)
Jinn is an upcoming film from Exxodus Pictures. It was written and directed by Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad, and stars Ray Park.-Cast:* Ray Park* Faran Tahir* Serinda Swan* William Atherton* Dominic Rains-Plot:...

Gabriel post-production
2011 Supah Ninjas
Supah Ninjas
Supah Ninjas is an American action-comedy series, created by Leo Chu and Eric Garcia. The series premiered as a special preview on Nickelodeon on January 17, 2011 in the United States and started airing regularly on April 16, 2011.- Premise :...

Harry Episode: Kickbutt
2012 G.I. Joe: Retaliation
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
G.I. Joe: Retaliation is an upcoming science fiction action film directed by Jon Chu. It is a sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.-Plot:...

Snake-Eyes 

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK