Draft:Derek Lyons (actor)

Derek Lyons born 25 September 1958 is an English actor, stuntman, and martial artist from London, England. He is most notable for his role in Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope.. as the Massassi Temple Guard, Voren Na'al. He has appeared in over 100 feature films and was a regular on long-running British police drama, The Bill as P.C. Craig Lovell

Acting
Derek Lyons began his career in entertainment at the age of 18 through his father's contact with notable stuntman, Nosher Powell. He signed with an agent in 1975 and met Assistant Director Terry Madden who was casting for Star Wars. He filmed on the production for two weeks at Shepperton Studios, skipping university, where he studied drama, to take part. Lyons was one of the youngest actors on set. His time on Star Wars was documented in 2015 feature documentary Elstree 1976

Following Star Wars, Lyons had roles in The Shining, Superman 2, Flash Gordon, Octopussy, Little Shop of Horrors, Who Framed Rodger Rabbit, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and GoldenEye.

Television
Lyons first appears on Television in 1980 on British Comedy Minder as a dancer. He later had roles in Private Schulz, The Professionals, Magnum, P.I., and French and Saunders. In 1985, Lyons appeared on The Six O'Clock Show as a Stan Laurel impressionist. In 1990, Lyons featured in British sitcom, Red Dwarf before starring in 26 episodes of The Bill as P.C. Craig Lovell.

Stunt Work
In 1985, Lyons was hired as a stuntman in A View to Kill. He later performed stunts in Mona Lisa, Murder Rooms, and Second Nature.

Personal Life
In 2001 Lyons became a Triathlon Swimming Pyramid Coach. Combining the principles of swimming techniques and his 30 years of training in Martial Arts, he founded the fitness system, Zen-Swim. He currently offers training online via YouTube.