Paul Warren

Paul Warren (born 28 October 1974) is a British actor known for roles in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres, often wearing heavy prosthetic makeup and/or creature suits.He is probably most known for playing 'Varmik' a hassk thug in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but has also appeared in such films as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: The Dark World, Clash of the Titans, World War Z and Ghost Stories

Paul was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, United Kingdom.

He began his film career as a body double for Daniel Radcliffe on the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: "I spent much of my time 20ft up in the air on the hydraulic broomstick system and doing other physically demanding activities during the shoot, whilst building a good rapport with the cast/crew and a reputation as a versatile performer".

In 2007, he was recommended to the legendary Stan Winston Studio as a good choice to portray an emaciated version of the title character (played by Mike Vogel) in The Deaths of Ian Stone. Crediting Winston and his team, he said, "This door opening into the world of acting under silicone and foam latex, is what ultimately led to a film career playing characters in heavy prosthetics and creature suits".

His first creature performing role was in 2009, where he played a tortured soul who pulls the boat across the river styx in the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans.

In 2010, Paul was used as a visual effect double for skinny Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger. He was the original template for Skinny Steve in the pre-production VFX head replacement tests and was on set for the recruitment scene as a visual reference. Body double duties for the rest of production (which total about 5% according to director Joe Johnston) were performed by stage actor Leander Deeny.

On getting the role of Varmik, one of the Hassk triplet's in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he says, "It felt very surreal. I wasn’t told what it was that I was being asked to go in for; only that the production was putting together a team of core creature performers for a film at Pinewood Studios.I had been recommended to them by creature designer and makeup artist Martin Rezard, who I had worked with previously on Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: The Dark World."

Varmik is of particular interest to Star Wars fans due to his origin: "The character is based on 2 classic pieces of Ralph McQuarrie's Star Wars production art from 1975. The cantina showdown and early Chewbacca designs. The former is a particular favorite of J. J. Abrams' that he wanted to bring to life on screen."

In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Paul plays a Dowager alien in the Canto Bight casino.The character created quite a buzz online when it was revealed by director Rian Johnson that the animatronic space pug it holds was based on Carrie Fisher's very own pet pooch Gary, affectionately known on set as Space Gary.