Ray Park is a Scottish actor, martial artist, and stunt performer best known for his physically demanding performance as Darth Maul, the double-bladed lightsaber-wielding Sith apprentice, in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, with the character’s voice provided separately by Peter Serafinowicz. Park’s background as a world champion martial artist made him uniquely suited to the role’s elaborate lightsaber choreography, and Darth Maul’s fight sequences remain among the most celebrated in the entire Star Wars saga.
He reprised physical and further performance work as Darth Maul across subsequent animated series following the character’s surprising return after his apparent death in The Phantom Menace.
Park also played Toad, a mutant with a long, prehensile tongue, in the original 2000 X-Men film, adding a second major franchise credit built on his physical performance skills. His combination of genuine martial arts mastery and screen presence has made him one of the most respected physical performers in modern blockbuster filmmaking, and his enduring association with Darth Maul in particular has made him an enormously popular guest at Star Wars conventions worldwide.
