Peter Serafinowich appeared on a recent episode of the Classic Clowns podcast and reflected on his brief stint as the voice of the villain Darth Maul in 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Ray Park physically played the Sith villain on the set of George Lucas’s prequel, while Serafinowicz lent his voice to the role in both The Phantom Menace and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
“It was weird. This Darth Maul character…I don’t know what I was thinking,” Serafinowicz said. “The design…I wasn’t all that interested in it. When I saw the movie, it was the biggest disappointment of my life at that point. It really was. I mean, have you seen it? I was so excited that even being in it…I thought doing this thing was going to be this iconic thing. I had no idea. I think it’s kind of (symbolic). Maybe.”
“James Earl Jones has the best voice in human history, right?” Serafinowicz continued. “Then all of a sudden I was with George Lucas and he was like, ‘Peter, you’re the new James Earl Jones.’ And I thought, ‘Fuck you, me, right? Then why are you paying me all that shit, George?'”
Serafinowich was replaced by Sam Witwer as the voice of Darth Maul during the Star Wars animated series The Clone Wars. Witwer returned to the role in the Disney+ series “Maul – Shadow Lord,” which debuted earlier this year.
Variety recently reported that Serafinowich is set to join another mega-series courtesy of the HBO TV series Harry Potter, where he will play the poltergeist Peeves. The character is a cheeky ghost known for causing trouble in the halls of Hogwarts, and although he did not appear in the original Harry Potter films, he is a fan favorite.
Watch Serafinowicz’s full appearance on the “Class Clown” podcast in the video below.
