Mark graduated from the Three Year Acting Course in 2013. His first professional role was at Hampstead Theatre in Tu I Teraz. Since then, his work has all been on screen: in the feature film Northmen – A Viking Saga and then on television as regular Will Whittaker in the second series of The Mill for Channel 4. In 2016 Mark played Stefan, one of the two leads in New Blood, Antony Horowitz’s series for the BBC.
What made you chose The Oxford School of Drama over other schools?
I was on the Foundation Course at the School and when I asked them, they sent me a reading list, a year before I got onto the Three Year Course. I was touched that they cared about nurturing my curiosity, that it matters to them. You get a feel for a place – it has heart it has soul, you wear black, it gets tough. It gets cold. It’s on a farm. These were all exciting prospects.
What do you think makes the training at The Oxford School of Drama so special?
The tutors. The care. The ambition. The environment. The students. Oxford. The school bus. Secret Santa.
Can you remember something about the school that was of particular significance for you?
It was something my Mum said to me. After our final production at Soho she said ‘I can hear you now’. She had sat through many of my secondary school productions, not being to hear a single word. I was a mumbler. So, after three years, it may seem very simple, but for Mum, it was a huge difference.
Looking back, what aspects of the training do you particularly value now you are in the profession?
I’ve only been out three years. I needed to train. Without it, I simply wouldn’t have been able to give myself the structure to work in. The tutors still sit in ‘my rehearsals’, I still ‘talk’ to them. I go to work.
It is an everyday occurrence. I think they walk you to base camp, they help pack your bags – then off you go, but they don’t leave you.
