Daily Record and Sunday Maul Ltd
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly 2
The Official Star Wars Website Interview
USA Today
Cinescape Online
People Magazine
The Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd.
Scot Ray Plays Ewan's Phantom Adversary in Star Wars Prequel
Ewan McGregor is the face of the force in the new Star Wars movie - and his biggest on-screen adversary is played by another Scots actor.
Glaswegian Ray Park plays the terrifying Darth Maul - a warrior who turns a young Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader.
Darth Maul - who has a red and black zig-zag-patterned face, yellow eyes, and black and yellow teeth - is stepping into Darth Vader's evil shoes in the first of a new trilogy, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
And already the character with the two-pronged light sabre is set to be a huge hit with fans.
Scores of internet sites and fan clubs are springing up even before the new film is released in Britain on July 16.
It has been an amazing journey for Ray, who started life in Glasgow before moving to London when he was five. It was through his Scots dad, also called Ray, that his love of martial arts and Star Wars was born.
At the age of seven Ray Jr. took up martial arts because his dad liked Bruce Lee films.
Ray, 24, said: "I always wanted to fly when I was a kid and do all those high kicks like in the movies. I saw a guy in the park doing all these kicks and punches and somersaults, and I said to my dad, 'I want to do that.'"
By the age of 13 he was going to China and Malaysia to fight and to learn different martial arts including kick-boxing, Tae Kwon Do and fire-breathing. His skills put him in demand for television commercials and as a stunt double, and he was cast as Rayden's stunt double in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation in 1996.
A month later, he had a call from Star Wars stunt co-ordinator Nick Gillard. Ray said: "Star Wars was the first movie I saw when I came to London. I wanted to be Han Solo because he got in there and got the girl."
Ray, who had his head shaved for the role, developed his own moves for Darth Maul using his martial arts knowledge. But nothing could have prepared him for the gruelling two-and-a-half hours he had to spend in make up every day.
He is full of praise for his co-stars, Liam Neeson, who plays Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ewan, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Ray added: "The last fight Ewan and I did was really fiery. We both really went for it. The energy we had was really good." Another actor's voice will be used for Darth Maul, but the leaps, kicks and somersaults are all Ray's own. Ray's father was just as pleased about his son's role. Ray said: "My parents came down to the set to watch me and my dad was like a big kid. He couldn't believe it. He likes Star Wars too, we used to watch the films all the time."
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace opens in the U.S. on May 19 but British fans will have to wait two more months to see it here. The plot is a closely-guarded secret but eight-year-old actor Jake Lloyd plays Anakin Skywalker who grows up into villain Darth Vader.
He turns to the dark side despite the attentions of his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who becomes his arch-enemy. Anakin is revealed as the father of twins Luke and Leia Skywalker, with 17-year-old actress Natalie Portman playing their mother, Queen Amidala.
Irish actor Liam Neeson is cast as Jedi knight Qui-Gon Jinn, and robots R2-D2 and C-3PO are back.
Copyright 1999 Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Entertainment Weekly
The Star Report - Who's Behind Darth Maul
Never mind that Darth Maul is actually in the movie for only a few scenes. A cover image of the horny villian's bizarre painted puss and crumbling teeth is by far the best-selling of the four versions of Phantom Menace's novelization, and his toys lead the bric-a-brac brigade. All this could make Ray Park, 24, the most mobbed convention-circuit guest since David Prowse, the guy inside Darth Vader's costume.
His journey to stardom began two years ago with a phone call from Nick Gillard, Phantom's stunt coordinator. Park had just completed work as a stunt double in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and Gillard needed his martial-arts expertise to shoot a test tape that would demonstrate for George Lucas the moves that would be used in the fierce lightsaber battles between Jedi combatants and Darth Maul, a henchman of Menace schemer Darth Sidious.
Park, a native Briton with no formal acting training, knew that the tape might also serve as his audition - and he was right. En route to a martial-arts exhibiton, he got the never-to-be-forgotten cell-phone call. "You better pull over," producer Rick McCallum told him. "You got the part."
Neither the grueling makeup routines (up to four hours each morning) nor the withering desert heat (up to 140 degrees) seems to have put the slightest dent in Park's gently enthusiastic nature. Nor has the hype. "I'm just taking it as it comes along," he says in a voice considered too squeaky for the character (he's overdubbed by another actor). Park didn't even have the gumption to sneak off with one of the umpteen lightsabers damaged during filming. Despite the fact that they're just painted metal poles, turned glowy by animation effects, they'd fetch a fortune on the eBay prop market. "No, I gave them back," he admits quietly. "I was too honest."
Copyright 1999 Entertainment Weekly. All rights reserved.
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Entertainment Weekly 2
Grand Maul - 'Star Wars' Watch
by Daniel Fierman, with addition reporting by Jeff Jensen
Star Wars has its first star. As fans begin buzzing about the new Phantom Menace trailer hitting theaters everywhere March 12, the Force appears to be with the red-faced, yellow-toothed, double-lightsaber-wielding baddie Darth Maul. "There's already a cult around him," says Carl Cunningham, who does prequel coverage for jedinet.com. "He's the next Boba Fett." Lucasfilm won't reveal details of the thorn-headed Maul, but word is he's an assassin hot on the trail of the Jedis Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson. Aside from providing grist for the fan mill, Maul's popularity could have a significant bearing on Phantom merchandise. "We don't really know which characters will be the most popular," says Dylan Wilson, sales manager for T-shirt licensee Liquid Blue. "But if I had to predict, I'd say Maul." So what's the appeal? Devotees point to his eye-popping footage in the first teaser, as well as the high coolness quotient of the actor playing Maul: martial-arts expert Ray Park, 24. "This guy is going to make Vader look like Mary Poppins," says Cunningham. "What more do you want?"
Copyright 1999 Entertainment Weekly. All rights reserved.
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The Official Star Wars Website Interview
En Garde! - An Interview with Ray Park
With his deep blue eyes, gentle smile, and short blond hair, martial artist turned actor Ray Park is almost impossible to picture as his evil Episode I alter ego, Darth Maul. But wearing devilish makeup, sporting a bad attitude and wielding a double-ended lightsaber can truly change a man.
"I was born in Glasgow, but my family moved to London when I was seven," begins the Scottish performer. "My father was a big fan of Bruce Lee and other martial arts legends, and I inherited his passion, taking up martial arts as soon as we set foot in England -- there was a very narrow range of martial arts from which to choose in Scotland. I've been actively training ever since." Now 24, Park spent the last seventeen years of his life deeply committed to honing his martial arts skills. It's a passion that runs in the family: both of Park's siblings, his younger brother and younger sister, also trained with him. "We grew up on Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li," says Park. "So even though I embraced martial arts because this is what I really loved, I kept thinking that it might get me in the movie business one day." Apparently, it worked.
Becoming a Dark Lord of the Sith doesn't happen on its own: it takes devotion and perseverance. "I used to train for eight hours a day, six days a week," explains Park. "Competition requires that." Travelling to China to perfect his training, Park began attending competitions at the age of 15, and competed regularly for many years, bringing his fair share of trophies back home. But now that a second career as an actor is taking off, he needs to find a balance between the two aspects of his life. "Nowadays I train for maybe three or four hours a day, and I look for quality training instead of simply quantity." Every job requires its tool, and Park operates on this principle. He strives to excel in what is needed of him for any given project, which allows him to focus on the task at hand rather than training in a more general sense. The approach is different, but the work remains just as hard.
Just like Darth Vader, Darth Maul had a very peaceful past, spent on the light side of the Force. "I used to teach gymnastics to young children," says Park. "I would go to schools around London, and teach to those 6 to 9 years old kids. Then I was asked to teach martial arts as well, which was very interesting for me. Children learn quite fast." For Park, teaching, even more so than demonstrating, was a wonderful way to share his passion.
At the Star Wars Fan Event, Park greeted American fans for the first time. "I was in Tokyo for the big convention that took place there a few weeks ago," he says, "but the crowd was never this huge! The reaction here is tremendous. You can really feel a contact with the fans, a dialogue, and that's what I love the most." On the stage, after the traditional Q&A session, Park demonstrated his skills before a stunned audience. "What I performed was Wushu, a Chinese martial art which is in fact their national sport," Park explains. His choreography, using a gleaming sword with a white sash tied to its hilt, looked like a graceful but electrified mix of combat technique and dance. "Wushu can be performed either with a weapon or with hands empty," but I prefer to use a weapon, because I feel it allows me to be more creative." No wonder Park felt right at home with his double-bladed lightsaber during the shooting of Episode I.
Park was not a total stranger to the world of movies, even though Episode I was the first film he had been involved with as an actor. Before being transformed into Darth Maul, Park had done stunt work on the movie Mortal Kombat II. Then, hired by Stunt Coordinator Nick Gillard to help him create the lightsaber fight choreographies for Episode I, Park was soon offered the role of the evil Sith apprentice. "I just happened to fit the part," he says with a smile. Two weeks ago, Park finished working on Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, where he performed some of the fights involving the headless horseman. "I would like to continue working in the movie business, because I think that's my next step," says Park. "I have been competing for nine years now, and I feel I have to move to something else. I don't want to stop training -- martial arts are my true calling. But I want to use my skills to do more movies." Would he like to eventually move beyond the "martial arts" type of character? "No, because martial arts are what I do, what I love," answers Park. "They are what I am, and that's what I want people to see when they look at me. I hope that my performances will inspire young boys and girls, just as I was inspired as a kid when I watched other martial arts experts, and that some of those kids will discover in themselves a desire to study martial arts." Quite simply, Park aims to continue teaching martial arts, to introduce as many people as possible to his passion, but he hopes to achieve this through the bright movie screen of a darkened theater. Judging from the feedback he obtained during his presentation here at the Star Wars Fan Event in Denver, it shouldn't be a problem.
Asking for caution in what is shown to movie audiences, George Lucas once said that a movie theater was a big classroom, and that a filmmaker was a teacher with a powerful voice. On May 19th, 1999, Ray Park will be invited to address students all over North America, although to most people, the whole experience will probably feel like one big, joyful recess.
Copyright 1999 The Official Star Wars Website. All rights reserved.
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USA Today
Park's Prowess Empowers Darth Maul
by Phillip Zonkel
LONDON - There was a great disturbance in the Force - the dark side had recruited a new apprentice.
"It was like the fear of God came over me," chuckles 24-year-old Ray Park, reminiscing about his shock after landing the role of Darth Maul, the newest Star Wars villain.
Park's major feature film debut finds him in the spotlight - big time. His character may turn out to be one of the most popular figures in Episode I: The Phantom Menace, opening Wednesday.
A Wushu champion (a martial art that involves leaps, somersaults and high kicks) who's been Kung Fu fighting since he was 7, Park has the athletic prowess necessary for the physically demanding
Word-of-mouth about his martial arts skills, including his initial film appearance in 1997's Mortal Kombat 2: Annihilation, brought Park to the attention of Episode I producer Rick McCallum and stunt coordinator Nick Gillard.
After viewing a three-minute audition fight with Park in full Maul garb and make-up and brandishing his double-bladed lightsaber, George Lucas knighted the Jedi wanna-be a Sith Dark Lord.
When Park got the call, "I was in the car and I was shaking. I had to (pull off to the side of the road). I didn't think I would get the part."
The soft-spoken London resident and Scottish native didn't get any lines, however. Maul's rough and growling voice is dubbed by British actor Peter Serafinowicz.
Park's fair skin and blue eyes didn't make it onscreen, either. He's clad in hooded black garb, and his face is concealed behind nightmarish features - a constellation of black and red facial markings, red and yellow tinted contacts, prosthetic yellow teeth and 10 miniature horns. Maul's full beauty make over required a daily, two-hour application.
"I was always in early, maybe the first person in. I'd fall asleep in the chair because I was tired from (rehearsing) the day before. I'd try not to snore too much or fidget," chuckles Park, who also had to endure shaving his head.
"At first, I lost my confidence a little," he says. "I'm used to having my hair, but now you have this bald thing on top. Then I got into it. It was easy and free; I didn't have to wash my hair. I just took a hot towel and (buffed) it to make it nice and shiny."
Easy? Free? Nice? All words that are stark contrasts to Maul's evil persona.
"He's nasty, and he's got no remorse, no compassion for anything. I couldn't imagine at first (how to play him) because it didn't seem real," Park says. "I always thought someone would say, 'We're only joking. You're not playing the character any more.'
"But getting into character was fun. It's like someone said, 'Here, let yourself go.' From my martial arts background, you have to have a certain arrogance about yourself because you can't be intimidated by other competitors. Maybe I have a bit of the Dark Side in me as well," he chuckles.
Stunt coordinator Gillard "told me what he wanted in the moves, but he also let me be very free in my movements and the flashier the better, which was part of Maul's arrogance. He can end with a flashy pose because he's the man, and he knows he's not going to make a mistake."
And Park says he made very few errors in battle scenes wielding his double-trouble lightsaber.
"I was used to handling weapons in my martial arts, but it was still hard work because we were rehearsing all day every day for two months before shooting, " he says. "It was fun, though. I couldn't wait to get in front of the camera and actually do it, make it more believable, more realistic."
Copyright 1999 USA Today. All rights reserved.
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Excerpts From Cinescape Online
Slow Motion Maul
Stunt coordinator Nick Gillard allowed Ray to choreograph all of Darth Maul's stunts and he told Park "Ray, you're the man, it's your part." The fighting sequences have led some to believe that the action was sped up in certain areas but Park dismissed that rumor. "They actually asked us to slow down because we were going so fast," he said.
Dubbing Maul
Actor Ray Park was asked during the Star Wars convention when he discovered that his voice would be dubbed and replaced in the final film. "I pretty much knew [that my voice would be dubbed] anyway because it's an action part," Park said. He hinted that he was actually prepared for Lucas to throw his voice out from the start of filming. This change hasn't affected the way he feels about the role or the how his father feels about him being in the movie. Park said his dad cried when he saw the first trailer and jokingly said that his father doesn't watch television any longer, just the trailer.
The Man Behind Maul
Ray Park, the man who portrays dark-side bad guy Darth Maul in Episode One, revealed that Return of the Jedi is his favorite Star Wars movie, and Han Solo is his favorite character. What's it like being the main villain for a man who admits he was afraid of Darth Vader as a youngster? "I loved [getting made up to look like Darth Maul]," he revealed. "I used to dress up when I was a kid as the Incredible Hulk." On his inspiration for the character Darth Maul, Park related that "when I saw the storyboards, I had an idea of what George wanted." He added that he also drew from his martial arts training, which included tutorials with the same coach that Jet Li used. Park explained that Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li inspired his acting and told the crowds at the con that he employed an acting coach for a short period of time to prepare for his role in The Phantom Menace. Park declined to compare his performance to that of saying "I haven't seen the movie yet so I don't know how it will compare." But he did shoot down questions about a possible love interest (!?!) by responding "[Maul] doesn't have time for that stuff, he's busy being bad."
Driving To the Maul
Following up on our story from yesterday about how Ray Park got the role of Darth Maul, the actor further revealed the exact moments when he discovered he'd become the hottest action figure of 1999. Park said that he was driving in his car when he got a phone call from Rick McCallum. The producer asked him to pull over to the side of the road and after Park complied McCallum revealed he had the part of Darth Maul and Park started shaking with excitement.
Ray Park Talks Darth Maul
As Ray Park entered the room, the crowd chanted his name already showing signs of the cult following for Darth Maul. Anthony Daniels declared the actor/stuntman to be one of the nicest guys he'd ever worked with. Park says that the first film he ever saw was Star Wars at age seven. He revealed to the audience that when he went to the production, he assumed that he was only there to help out the film's stunt coordinator, Nick Gillard. later, for a stunt test, Park was asked to wear the Darth Maul make-up. George Lucas was so impressed by his work that he had Rick McCallum ask the stuntman if he would like the role. To play the part, Park had to be up at 5 a.m. to get into make-up, very often falling asleep while it was being applied. During the whole day, he couldn't blow his nose or touch his face, others were to do those tasks for him. Parks also had to shave his head every day for the make-up. Parks was never hurt doing the film's stunts because of his own experience as a stuntman as well as the safety measures on the set. An audience member asked him what he thought of his action figure. Park answered, "At first when I saw it, it was weird, but when I saw the book of all the figures, it was like Christmas." He mentioned that he just finished his work on Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. Nick Guillard was also stunt coordinator on that film. Park also did a back flip on stage for the amazed audience as well as performing a martial arts demonstration while using a scimitar.
Episode Two Characters?
It remains unclear whether several of the key characters in The Phantom Menace will show up on-screen for subsequent chapters. When asked about reprising Jar Jar for Episode Two, Ahmed Best would only say (in jest of course) "You know there's a petition going around about that…so if you want me in the second movie, please sign that." In actuality, Best said he didn't know at this time whether Jar Jar would be making an encore appearance. Ray Park, meanwhile wouldn't reveal whether or not he was signed for any prequel sequels, only stating to a questioner that "If I told you that, I would have to annihilate everyone in here."
Video Tidbits
Throughout the show, between events, there is a steady stream of video material for con goers to watch. Among the highlights are interview material with some of the stars of the new film. Here's a few highlights of what a number of them said on the videos. Ray Park, the man who played Darth Maul, talked about what it's like to be in full costume and make-up saying, "You just can't help being naughty. I think we all just have a bit of the dark side in us. I just tried to bring that out."
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People Magazine (6-14-99)
Darth Victory for Kombat Vet
Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are worthy opponents for Ray Park's Darth Maul onscreen, but Park had seen worse by the time he was 18. "I was coming home late at night," remembers Park of the London encounter, "and I was randomly attacked by 10 drunk guys with knives who were about my age. Due to my training in martial arts, I was able to keep a strong mind, and I was agile enough to defend myself."
Park, 24, who grew up revering Bruce Lee, was also agile enough to begin his movie career by accident; a stunt coordinator for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation saw him working out at a gym in London and was dazzled enough to hire him as a stuntman. Word soon got out to the London set of Menace, and after a brief audition, Park, who has a steady girlfriend and lives in London, knew he'd won the call to be Maul when he was driving to a martial-arts competition and producer Rick McCallum told him over the car phone, "Pull over." Now, Park, whose voice was dubbed by another actor (it wasn't dastardly enough), is featured (in his splendidly evil Darth Maul makeup) on the cover of the Menace novelization that is outselling the three other covers. "I think that's unbelievable," says Park. "I guess people always go for the bad guy."
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