BORN January 14th 1960 in Western Sydney, Mark’s first hint of his future vocation came when he won a writing competition at school aged 13 years old for his play ‘Time Machine’. This should have been enough encouragement for him to pursue his eventual chosen career, however his sporting prowess diverted his talents as he went on to play professional rugby league.
In 1984 his football career took him to Yorkshire, England where he played for English club Bramley. A friend called him from London asking him to come visit, it was this visit that changed Mark’s life.
Invited to London’s Aldwych theatre in West End Mark watched Mister Bean’s Rowan Atkinson perform in the play ‘The Nerd’. It was a profound experience, one that Mark describes as subliminal.
In 1985 Mark auditioned for the prestigious Sydney Acting School where he won a place and immersed himself into the three-year course, here he developed a penchant for writing.
Graduating in 1988 Mark went on to perform in over thirty plays in Australia and has written/directed several theatrical productions. He also appeared in many Australian television shows, mini-series and films, working alongside some great talents including Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger and Jackie Chan.
In 1992 Mark took a script-writing course at the University Of Technology Sydney, which unearthed his edgy, hard-hitting style.
In 1999 Mark did what no other person in Australia has done. He went behind the bars of a maximum-security prison to direct a half hour short film with Australia’s most notorious juvenile prisoners cast in the roles.
Mark has been in the film industry for over twenty-four years now, engrossing himself into all aspects of filmmaking. His unique style and creativity has set him apart from most filmmakers in Australia.
He has written up to eighteen feature film scripts in the past twenty years. One of his scripts ‘The Nothing Men’ received three Australian Film Commission grants, going into production in 2008. This same script attracted offers from Hollywood production company Pacific Western, (ARMAGEDDON, TERMINATOR, ALIEN), to purchase rights for the feature script: Mark declined those offers so he could direct the film himself.
Always adventurous Mark took the opportunity to pioneer the new technology RED camera, he was the first in Australia and only the second in the world behind Steven Soderbergh.
He was invited to Hollywood to screen the film and received a standing ovation. ‘The Nothing Men’ caught the attention of David Valdes’, Producer of three Oscar winning films, who raved about Mark’s talent not only as a writer but also a wonderful director.
David set up a meeting with his good friend David Ladd and Mark to talk about Mark’s next project ‘Descendance’. After reading the script David Ladd immediately came on as Producer. Mark has since honed the script in readiness for production.
Mark also has three other projects in development ‘Frank’s Mother’ ‘Crisis’ and ‘The Bigot Tree’ all of which have been optioned.