Mark Ferguson

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Mark Ferguson

Born February 28, 1961
Sydney, Australia
Height 6'4" (1,91 m)
Official site markferguson.net
Notable roles Gil-galad in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Mark Ferguson is an New Zealand based Australian actor.

[edit] Biography

Mark was born on 28 February 1961 in Sydney, Australia. He attended the NIDA National Institute of Dramatic Arts together with his friend Hugo Weaving, another star-to-be.

1981 they graduated from NIDA and Mark started his acting career. His had a part in the TV series Sons and Daughters, played alongside Michael York in the film The Far Country and starred in The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. He also portrayed the twin brothers Darryl and Damian Neilson in the popular New Zealand soap Shortland Street and had a stint in the award-winning animation short film When Ponds Freeze Over.

In 1994 he made his first appearance in Hercules - The Legendary Journeys, playing Prometheus in Hercules and the Circle of Fire - a somewhat un-challenging role with nothing to say and nothing to do except sitting on a kind of throne (which, however, he might have liked a lot). In the same year he continued this career as a Greek God, this time as 'Hades' in the TV movie Hercules in the Underworld. As is common for a Kiwi-actor this was followed by many guest appearances in episodes of both Hercules - The Legendary Journeys and Xena - Warrior Princess. These parts so often ended with the death of his character that it became almost a trademark: according to rumour he's a sought-after cast for 'guys who have to die'. Also in that year, Mark and Jim McLarty founded their own production company 'Spontaneous Productions'.

Always fond of improvisation theatre, which is very popular in Australia, Mark was one of the founders of Theatresports in New Zealand, also developing many of their programmes. Later, in 1999, he produced and hosted the TV improv show Scared Scriptless.

In 1999/ 2000 Mark, like many of his fellow Kiwis, booked a role in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Two roles, actually, as he did not only play the Elvenking Gil-galad, but also filmed some scenes as the Witch-king of Angmar. Unfortunately, the Witch-king material wasn't used in the end and even the several months of being an Elvenking resulted in nothing more but two short scenes, leading to the assertion that his credit-time would be longer than his screen-time. The Dos and Don'ts as far as Mark and The Lord of the Rings are concerned: dos: ask Mark how it was to be King of the Elves and what role Hugo Weaving played in fact; don'ts: ask Mark about the death of his character. (Unless you're Craig Parker, then it's vice versa.) Yet this relatively small role would have unforeseeable consequences - conventions all over the world and in their wake both Mark's own yahoo-group (the notorious evil elvenprincesses) and this website.

In 2001 audiences saw him as New Zealand-host of reality shows Big Brother and The Mole, followed by several TV Specials of Big Brother in 2001 and 2002. Also in 2001 Mark played Andrew Couch in the TV series Spin Doctors, a parody show set in an imaginative PR-agency (not entirely liked by real PR-managers).

At the end of 2002, Mark did one of the few things he had never done before: he went to a convention. It was Ring*Con 2002 in Bonn, Germany, and apparently something must have been to his liking as since then he can be found at conventions all over the world. Which also means, of course, that likewise his performance was appreciated by the fans.

One of Mark's specialities is his versatility. His work includes - apart from acting - business seminars, comedy shows, presentations for every sort of company event, commercials and much more. At the moment he focuses mostly on his business work. Mark is boss (elf) of his own company, Ovation Business Theatre, which has specialised on translating business messages into entertaining and remarkable events.

But life isn't work alone. In his free time Mark plays his favourite role as 'the proud father', co-starred by his two sons, Liam and Cam.

Today he permanently lives in New Zealand, with various attempts to deny citizenship of Australia by repeatedly losing his passport.

[edit] Filmography


(to be completed)

[edit] External links

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