Actors we can’t get enough of — Ray Park

Kansas City’s Planet Comicon announced today that actor and stuntman Ray Park will be one of the headliners of this year’s event April 6-7, 2013 at the Kansas City Convention Center downtown at Bartle Hall. In his short career as actor he has amassed some key, iconic roles across major franchises. And because some of his roles are behind a mask or make-up you might not recognize him at first. But when he moves and performs has trademark wushu spin you just know this Glasgow, Scotland-born second degree black belt martial artist is behind the performance. He’s been a lead contender to play Iron Fist in a future Marvel Comics project and on March 28, 2013 he will reprise his role as Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Let’s check out his major acting and stunt roles so far.

In 1997 Park’s first role in a major Hollywood property was as stunt double for Robin Shou and James Remar opposite Bond girl Talisa Soto in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, where a group of martial arts warriors have six days to save the world.

Of course Park is best known as the Sith Apprentice Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace (1999). Clad in black cloak, with black and red make-up and horns and his unique double-bladed lightsaber Darth Maul became a new generation’s favorite villain. His duel of the fates with Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewan MacGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the best choreographed sword battles ever put to film, thanks mainly to Park’s incredible physical skill.

In 1999, Park also doubled for Christopher Walken as the Headless Horseman in fight scenes in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow.

The next year, 2000, Park was tapped to play the freakish mutant Toad in the first X-Men movie. His first speaking role, he played opposite another Bond girl, Halle Berry as Storm, and got to perform elaborate stunts as in The Phantom Menace.

In the 2008 short-lived TV series The Legend of Bruce Lee, Park played another real-life martial artist, Chuck Norris, in this Bruce Lee biographical story.

In 2009 he played a security guard at Skywalker Ranch in the fan favorite movie Fanboys opposite Kristen Bell. That same year he played the major role of G.I. Joe team member Snake Eyes in the first G.I. Joe live action movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, opposite Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, and Rachel Nichols (Continuum).

Park broke into major network television in 2009 as the recurring character Edgar on the fourth season of NBC’s Heroes. He played a worker at the Sullivan Brothers carnival under Samuel (Cult’s Robert Knepper) who possessed the ability to move at superhuman speeds.