- Ray Park
Infobox_Actor
name = Raymond Park
caption = Park at FedCon XI in Bonn, Germany (2003)
birthdate = birth date and age|df=yes|1974|8|23
birthplace =Glasgow ,Scotland ,UK
deathdate =
deathplace =
website = http://www.raypark.comRaymond Park (born 23 August 1974) is a British
actor ,stunt man andmartial artist , best known for his portrayal ofDarth Maul in "".Early life
Park was born in Southern General Hospital in
Glasgow and lived in theGovan area until the age of seven, when he and his family moved toLondon . It was at this age that he started training inNorthern Shaolin Kung Fu . Seven years later he would also start training in wushu andgymnastics . He has since earned his second-degree black belt in Northern Shaolin Kung Fu. He has competed many times in martial arts competitions and brought home many awards for them including, at the age of 16, theUnited Kingdom 's Martial Arts National Championship for his group. He competed as part of the British wushu team at the 1993 World Wushu Games inMalaysia .Career
He began working in movies as a
stunt double for the movie "", doing the stunts for bothRobin Shou andJames Remar . Park also did some cameos as monsters, including Baraka the Tarkata. All of these were non-speaking roles.In 1999, Park appeared in "", as the Sith Lord
Darth Maul . While the character had a few lines, Park's voice was dubbed over with that of actorPeter 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, theHeadless 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-bladedlightsaber as Darth Maul, a signature wushu movement.Park has been asked to become a
superhero himself, instead of a villain, in a movie aboutMarvel Comics character Iron Fist, but the movie has been in preproduction for some years now. Iron Fist deals with an American millionaire who becomes amartial art ist 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 ofG.I. Joe , for the upcoming 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-starCasper 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. [Interview with G4TV: http://www.g4tv.com/pile_player.aspx?video_key=17177] As of this writing, the planned adaptation is a web-series, to be co-directed by web video gurus Michael Scott and
Ryan Wieber , who also directed the teaser trailer.Personal life
Park currently resides in
Los Angeles with his wife Lisa, daughter Sienna and son.Filmography
References
External links
* [http://www.raypark.com Official Web Site]
*imdb name|id=0661917|name=Ray Park
* [http://www.jenshome.com/RayPark.html Ray Park Fansite]
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