Original Darth Maul Voice Actor Calls This Star Wars Film the “Biggest Disappointment” of His Life

Peter Serafinowicz is looking back at his time as the voice of Darth Maul in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” and he has some strong feelings about the experience.

The actor recently appeared on the “Classic Clown” podcast, where he talked about joining one of the biggest movie franchises in history. While playing Darth Maul became a memorable part of “Star Wars” history, Serafinowicz admitted that his first reaction to the film was far from positive.

In the 1999 movie, Ray Park played Darth Maul physically on screen, while Serafinowicz provided the character’s voice. The Sith villain became one of the most recognizable parts of the prequel trilogy, despite having limited screen time.

However, Serafinowicz explained that he did not feel the excitement many fans had when they first saw the movie.

“It was weird. This character Darth Maul… I don’t know what I thought,” Serafinowicz said on the podcast. “The design of it… I wasn’t that into it. When I saw the film it was the biggest disappointment of my life at that point.”

The actor said the role seemed like it could become something legendary while he was working on it, but the final movie did not match his expectations.

“It was so exciting that even being in it, doing this thing, what I thought would be this iconic thing. Just unimaginable… I guess it sort of is [iconic]. I suppose,” he added.

Serafinowicz also shared a funny but frustrating memory involving director George Lucas. According to the actor, Lucas compared his voice to the legendary voice of Darth Vader actor James Earl Jones.

“James Earl Jones has got the best voice of any human ever, right?” Serafinowicz said. “Then, suddenly there I was with George Lucas, and he was like saying, ‘Well, Peter, you’re the new James Earl Jones.’” The compliment left Serafinowicz with a question about his paycheck. “I was like, ‘Fucking hell, am I? Then why are you paying me such shit money, George?’” he joked.

Although Serafinowicz was the original voice of Darth Maul in “The Phantom Menace,” he did not continue with the character in later animated projects. The role was later taken over by Sam Witwer, who became the main voice of Maul in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and other projects.

Witwer also returned as Maul for the Disney+ animated series “Maul – Shadow Lord,” which continued exploring the character’s story.

Despite his mixed feelings about his original experience, Serafinowicz’s connection to “Star Wars” remains an important part of the franchise’s history. Darth Maul went on to become one of the most popular villains from the prequel era, with fans continuing to celebrate the character decades after “The Phantom Menace” was released.

The actor is now preparing to join another major franchise. Serafinowicz has been cast as Peeves the Poltergeist in HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” television series. The character is a fan-favorite ghost from the books who was missing from the original movies.

While Darth Maul may not have been the experience Serafinowicz hoped for at the time, his voice helped create a character that remains one of the most remembered figures in the “Star Wars” universe.

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