Blockbuster director says real villains must have

Aug 2 2009 John Millar

MOVIE director Stephen Sommers has revealed why he made his latest baddie a Scot - because he can't understand the accent.

Former Dr Who Christopher Eccleston is Caledonian arms dealer James McCullen in summer smash G.I. Joe.

Stephen admits he was inspired to make Chris, from Lancashire, a Scot because he had previously cast John Hannah in The Mummy.

He joked: "After working with John in so many movies and because I could never understand him, I just thought, I'm going to get somebody else to play Scottish."

Ironically the one genuine Scot in the all-star cast of G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra does not have a single line.

Glasgow-born Ray Park, who was Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Toad in X-Men 2, plays martial arts wizard Snake Eyes who doesn't utter a word.

But even if he did have lines, it's unlikely that Ray would give away his tartan roots because he was brought up in London and has an English accent.

He didn't mind not having a speaking role because he was such a huge fan of G.I. Joe - the combat doll known over here as Action Man - that this was a dream job.

Ray said: "When I was young I had the 12-inch Action Man doll, the massive tank, the big helicopter, and he had Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow and the Cobra Commander."

Marlon Wayans, who plays Ripcord, reveals that he never owned any of the military toys - as his parents couldn't afford them.

The stars alongside a trio of beautiful actresses including Victoria's Secret supermodel Karolina Kurkova, Sienna Miller and rising star Rachel Nichols.

They squeeze into a series of skintight outfits for the movie.

And 29-year-old Rachel, who plays Scarlett, reveals that it was a struggle to get into the sexy costumes. Rachel said: "The suits were very tight and there was kind of a process to get into the battle gear."

"They were not the most comfortable outfits but they definitely look fantastic and I think the fans new and old will be happy about that."

Leggy Karolina, who has been called the sexiest woman in the world, makes her big screen breakthrough as Cover Girl, the assistant to General Hawk who is in charge of the G.I. Joe squad.

"She can kick some ass, but she's always very composed," says the 25 year-old Czechborn beauty.

"I was the smart one with the gadgets but I was kind of upset that I didn't get to fire a gun."

Sienna, who plays iconic baddie The Baroness, reckoned a downside to the fabulous figure-hugging outfits was that they got a bit hot and sticky.

But the 28-year-old's biggest challenge was turning herself into a convincing action girl. She said: "Initially for me, firing guns was quite a big deal.

"I found that pretty intimidating, not coming from a gun culture, and I couldn't do it without squinting."