Ray Park: From Darth Maul to X-Men

The martial arts actor on playing Toad.

By Craig D. Reid     July 13, 2000

Well, it has taken almost 40 years, but finally, X-MEN has come to town. In the beginning it was Professor X, Cyclops, Beast, Marvel Girl, Iceman, and The Angel donned in blue and gold and sporting the familiar X insignia versus Magneto, Mastermind, Toad, the Scarlet Witch, and her brother Quicksilver. Now, it's the year 2000, and although it's still Professor X against Magneto, the role call has slightly changed. It's Wolverine, Jean Grey (Marvel Girl in the '60s and Phoenix in the '70s), Cyclops, Rogue and Storm versus Sabretooth, Mystique and of course Toad.

In his first role where we'll get to see what he really looks like (sort of), Ray Park, plays the near-sighted, far-jumping member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, Mortimer Toynbee, a.k.a. Toad. I sat down with Ray last week, and we spoke for almost 2 hours. We have two key things in common. We're both from Scotland but raised in England, and we're both serious martial artists who do fights for film. Naturally, in honor of X-MEN'S opening, the first part of this interview will mostly focus on his work in X-MEN. In later installments, we'll explore his martial arts background, the importance of that training (essential for understanding who and what he is), and not only find out a few interesting insider tid-bits about each of his films but also learn how he landed roles in STAR WARS, EPISODE ONE: THE PHANTOM MENACE (as Darth Maul), MORTAL KOMBAT and SLEEPY HOLLOW (as the Headless Horseman).

FANDOM: IN 'X-MEN' ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE YOU?

PARK: Oh yes.

I'VE READ YOU WEAR LENSES IN YOUR EYES?

Yes, but that's all; you can tell it's me.

LOT OF EXCITEMENT BREWING OVER THE FILM.

Yes, I just saw it yesterday, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn't what I expected because I wasn't expecting anything, and I thought it was really a good movie. Of course, everyone is going to have their own impression of it and criticism. But I actually really liked the cast; they were all really good in the film.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN 'X-MEN?'

All the publicity was coming out for STAR WARS, and about a week before the release of that movie, I was in Denver, Colorado, doing a STAR WARS set of talks. But way before that, I was talking with a friend of mine about 'Wouldn't it be cool if they ever did an X-MEN movie?' My friend and I joked, 'Oh yes, we could do this technique and that; then he could run on his claws, flip over.' So when I was in Denver, I was talking to someone about it saying, 'I would like to work on that.' So I go back to my room, and there is a message there from Ross Fanger, saying, 'Ray, I'm a producer on X-MEN; can you give me a call?' I had just been speaking to someone about it, and he said he knew someone working on it, and now 5 minutes later I'm on the phone. So I phoned him straight away. He said, 'Are you going to be in town?' I said, 'Yeah.' Of course I wasn't planning to, but now I was. [laughs] So I did that detour trip to LA and met up with them that day. It was a whirlwind; I met everyone--Bryan Singer, Tom DeSanto and all the producers on it--and they are like, 'Wow, STAR WARS, wow.' I'm like, 'What's going on here?' I mean, really, I was just this small role. But apparently from that trailer, everyone went ballistic but no one had seen the movie yet.

First they talked about me doubling for Wolverine and helping out with some of the fights and playing a character part. I ended up actually auditioning for the character Pyro, who can control fire and manipulate it, and Toad was in one of the scenes with Sabretooth. So a month went past, and I didn't hear anything about what was going on. So they said that they cut Pyro but that they'd like to have me play Toad. I thought everything was going to be prosthetics, and it just grew from there. So in July or August, I heard that I got that part.

WHAT WAS TOAD SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE ORIGINALLY AND WHAT DID YOU END UP WITH?

Well, they wanted to make him more toady. So at first, they had him with these big, distortion glasses that made my eyes look really big as well as having these contact lenses in, and one of the gags they had planned was when Storm blasts me and my goggles come flying off. At that point, the audience would see that it's not my magnifying glasses that makes my eyes look big; it turns out my eyes were actually big anyway. But it was going to be a big problem for me to do my fights. And also my skin was green. But they did a load of tests, some stuff with bowler hats and different hair, yellow hair, green hair, and I thought that they wanted a more geeky look, you know, with the eyes, because I didn't know about Toad. However, when I did find out, it was more like he was a hunchback. But they didn't want to portray that from the comics; they wanted him to look more cool and hard and a little bit funny [does some muscle flexing arm motions]. So I said all right; I showed them my goggles and started doing motions like stretching out [begins doing weird, bobbing, neck strain motions], and they said, 'Yeah, we like that.' So they eventually got rid of the goggles, but they wanted to keep them for one of the scenes in the film when I'm working. But I still ended up wearing the contact lenses for the whole film. I've also got black eyes, and it makes them look hard. So then I ended up with these sort of amphibious-looking eyes.

WAS THAT TOUGH WITH THE CONTACTS IN ALL THE TIME?

No, not really, I was sort of used to them from wearing them in STAR WARS.

I ASK THIS BECAUSE I SPOKE TO TYLER MANE, AND THEY LEFT THEM IN HIS EYES ONCE FAR TOO LONG AND THEY HAD TO PEEL THEM OUT.

Yes, I remember that. He had problems with them all right. But fortunately, nothing like that happened to me on this because I learned a big lesson on STAR WARS: not to leave the contact lenses in too long. I'd leave them in for just an hour, and the humidity would dry them out. But on STAR WARS I was told a lot about the lenses, so I knew really well what goes on with the eyes and what to do. It really comes down to looking after yourself. Without being a prima donna, you've got to ask, 'Aren't I leaving them in too long?'--till someone comes along and takes them out. And of course you've got to clean them out before you put them back in. So you have just got to look after it. I was fine.

YOU HAD A FIGHT WITH STORM?

Right.

HOW MANY FIGHTS DID YOU HAVE IN THE FILM?

That's the main one I've got, but actually there are three fights going on there.

IS SHE ATTACKING YOU WITH WEATHER?

I don't know how much I'm allowed to tell you. But I do have quite a rumble and it's pretty quick, but I'm utilizing my tongue because I have a 12-foot tongue in the film.

THAT WAS A SPECIAL EFFECT WASN'T IT?

Yes. But I also had a prosthetic, about 8 feet, but it could stretch, so it was 12 feet because it could reach out long a long way. Maybe that was used more as a reference shot for the cameras in preparation for the CGI shot. But that's just maybe.

SO WAS THAT A TONGUE YOU HELD BETWEEN YOUR TEETH OR...

You know like if you go to a dentist and they do a plate for your teeth, like you are going to get a crown or something? Well, they made a plate or a mold of my teeth, so they made a gag mouthpiece that I could bite on, which could fit in my bottom jaw, so I just bit on that. So it wasn't part of my tongue but actually my mouth, and molded to my mouth, and it was comfortable. Then there was a long plastic tongue attached to it.

WAS IT ANYTHING LIKE THE TOYS YOU BLOW IN AND IT UNWINDS AND IT ELONGATES

[laughs] No, no, just the long tongue, and they would gel it up to make it look slimy. Naturally they all hit me with their barrages of jokes about the tongue.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ABILITIES OF TOAD?

Basically he has the ability to run up walls, stick to the walls and slime you with his long tongue and use that tongue to maybe grab and swing on things and he can just leap more than the average person, because he is after all a toad.

DOES HE GRAB ONTO A TREE BRANCH AND SWING?

Maybe. [laughs]

ANY LINES?

Yes, about four lines. It's nothing like, 'Yes Master.' [laughs] They're not really conversing with any of the other characters, more of a happening in the scene, and I just say something like, 'Let them go.'

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE TOAD AS A CHARACTER AND WITHOUT SOUNDING CORNY, HOW DO YOU RELATE TO HIM, IF INDEED YOU DO?

Toad is more of a comic; he likes to be funny and enjoys it. People would laugh during the filming. But I am very critical of myself and the way I tried to do it make Toad a bit... Have you seen EASTERN CONDORS?

OH YES. GREAT HONG KONG ACTION FILM THAT STARS SAMMO HUNG AND HIS WIFE MINA.

I also thought the film was great. Do you remember the character that does those strange twitchy moves?

YES, THAT WAS THE VILLAIN, PLAYED BY YUEN HUA, SAMMO'S KUNG-FU BROTHER. HE WAS REALLY WEIRD.

That's the one. So I suggested to do things like that but perhaps to be a bit more cat-like, so he'd have these strange neck cringes. But again, at the beginning, I didn't know how Toad was going to be because they wanted evil but didn't want comic book and they didn't want Darth Maul. So I had to play about a bit more, and tried looking for that reptile thing or doing like my wu-shu movements, like looking that way we do [straight backed with taut neck movements and strains] to make it look more bird-like then translate into a toad-like creature. So they liked that. It's a bit more eyebally, and he'd be laughing, serious, but joking [flashes those wide-eyed serious, laughy, crazy looks], but really in the back of his head you know he is calculating. He's being funny but a bit of a nutter [British slang for crazy]. So that's how Toad is.

In terms of identifying with Toad or relating to him, well, to be honest, I don't know. Maybe not so much him but I relate to his abilities. But if I was going to be a nutter, and I was going to kill someone or beat someone up, with that crazy smiling thing, I think that is the only thing I could relate if I was going to be that way.

SPEAKING OF SMILING, DO YOU HAVE FALSE TEETH IN THE FILM?

They are discolored, more like greeny-white and they made it so I have got low gums, with little teeth. I don't think toads have teeth, so they are tiny teeth on me with greenish gums.

DO YOU EVER NOTICE IN THIS KIND OF FILM THAT THE HEROES DON'T EAT OR GO TO THE BATHROOM? DO THEY HAVE YOU EATING THINGS LIKE A FLY?

I can't say. But what I can say is, 'X-MEN, good movie, go see it.' Sorry for that obvious plug, but I'm sure you know that I've got to do it. [sheepish grin]