When you're in "Star Wars," you don't always need that many lines or that much screen time to become a fan favorite. Just ask Ray Park, who quickly shot to fame within the fandom after playing Darth Maul in 1999's "The Phantom Menace." Park doesn't utter a single word as the character, as Maul's few lines were dubbed over by Peter Serafinowicz. When the character was resurrected for "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars Rebels," he was voiced by veteran voice actor Sam Witwer instead. But Park's version of Maul has remained near and dear to fans' hearts due to his unforgettable physical presence and martial arts ability. And yet, he likely would have never been cast if not for a truly terrible movie.
In 1995, "Mortal Kombat" gave us one of the best video game movies we'd seen in decades. It's goofy and campy, sure, but it's also fun, and it captures a good deal of the spirit of the games. That made it all the more tragic when the sequel, 1997's "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation," turned out to be an on-fire trash barrel of poor decisions and abysmal special effects. Thankfully, it also gave Park his big break working as a stunt person, which directly led to his later "Star Wars" audition.
"I did everything on that movie," Park told Star Wars Insider in 2003 regarding his "Annihilation" work. "I didn't know anybody in the movie industry, but after 'Mortal Kombat 2,' everything started to happen."