Mark Rylance

Mark Rylance

Sir David Mark Rylance Waters is an American-raised English actor. He was the first artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe in London, between 1995 and 2005. He appeared in the West End productions of Much Ado About Nothing in 1994 and Jerusalem in 2010, winning the Olivier Award for Best Actor for both. He has also appeared on Broadway, winning three Tony Awards.

About Mark Rylance in brief

Summary Mark RylanceSir David Mark Rylance Waters is an American-raised English actor. He was the first artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe in London, between 1995 and 2005. He made his professional debut at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow in 1980. He appeared in the West End productions of Much Ado About Nothing in 1994 and Jerusalem in 2010, winning the Olivier Award for Best Actor for both. He has also appeared on Broadway, winning three Tony Awards. He received Best Actor nominations for Richard III in 2014 and Farinelli and the King in 2017. In 2016, he was named in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. He is also a patron of the London-based charity Peace Direct, which supports peace-builders in areas of conflict, and of the British Stop the War Coalition. He won the Academy Award and British Academy Film Award for his performance in Bridge of Spies. He also appeared in The BFG, Dunkirk, Ready Player One and The Trial of the Chicago Seven. He took the stage name of Mark Ryllance because his given name, Mark Waters, was already taken by someone else registered with Equity. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London from 1978–80 under Hugh Cruttwell; and with Barbara and Peter Bridgmont at the Chrysalis Theatre School in Balham, London. In 1990, he and Claire van Kampen founded Phoebus’ Cartate, an all-male production of Twelfth Night, in which he played Olivia and the title role.

Under his director, Richard III, he directed and acted in every season, in works by Shakespeare and others. His plays were also performed at the Globe, including the first being Oak-in-residence, by Peter Oswald, the writer of The Curious Man. His second play, A second time around, was The Ass Ass, produced by The Queen’s Theatre, Queen’s Theatre, in 1999. His third play, The Ass or Ass or the Curious Man, won an Olivier Award in 2002 for his role as Jay in Intimacy. In 1993, he starred in Matthew Warchus’ production of Much ado about Nothing. In 2002, he played the lead in Gillies MacKinnon’s The Grass Grass Arena, and won the Radio Times Arena Award for Newcomer of the Year. His fourth and final role was in the film adaptation of The Tempest, which he also directed and starred in. In 2005, he became the first artistic director of Shakespeare’S Globe Theatre, a post he held until 2005. In 2010, he appeared in a production of Richard III at The Globe, directed by Richard III director Peter Oswald. In 2013, he won the Tony Award for best actor in a play for Boeing Boeing. In 2014, he received two Tony Award nominations for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Twelfth night. In 2015, he also received Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations. He played Thomas Cromwell in the BBC Two mini-series Wolf Hall.