| Mark-Paul Gosselaar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar March 1, 1974 Panorama City, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse | Lisa Ann Russell (1996-2010)[1][2] (2 children) |
Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Zack Morris in NBC's Saved by the Bell, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Detective John Clark in NYPD Blue, Jerry Kellerman in TNT's Raising the Bar, and more recently Peter Bash in TNT's Franklin & Bash.
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Gosselaar was born in Panorama City, California. His father Hans is Dutch and his mother Paula is Dutch-Indonesian.[3]
Gosselaar has three siblings. He began acting at a young age.[3] He spent his teenage years in the Santa Clarita Valley in Southern California, where he attended Hart High School.
Gosselaar first came to public notice in the role of Zack Morris, the star of the hit series Saved by the Bell, which aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993. Gosselaar's character was adapted from the short-lived Disney sitcom Good Morning, Miss Bliss; although that show was cancelled after one season, NBC executives believed that a similar show, with Zack Morris as the series lead, had potential for success. He reprised the role in two TV movies and a less-successful spin-off, Saved by the Bell: The College Years. In 1995, Gosselaar did a Cameo as Zack Morris in a second spin-off series Saved by the Bell: The New Class in the episode "Goodbye, Bayside - Part 2", along with Mario López as A.C. Slater and Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle.
In 1996, Gosselaar appeared in the TV-film She Cried No as a college student who date-rapes his best friend's sister at a fraternity party.
In 1998, Gosselaar starred in the feature film, Dead Man on Campus.
In 1998, Gosselaar played the central character in the TV drama Hyperion Bay, which lasted 17 episodes. In 2001, he starred in the movie The Princess and the Marine, with Marisol Nichols. He also starred in the short-lived WB series D.C. From 2001 to 2005, Gosselaar played Detective John Clark on ABC's NYPD Blue. After the series ended, he joined the cast of ABC's Commander in Chief, starring Geena Davis; however, that series lasted only one season.
On February 8, 2002 Gosselaar appeared as a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien .
Gosselaar also appeared on the HBO series John from Cincinnati. He then gained the starring role of defense attorney Jerry Kellerman in the Steven Bochco-produced Raising the Bar, which debuted on September 1, 2008, on TNT. It was cancelled in November 2009.
On June 8, 2009, he appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show in character as Zack Morris to promote his show Raising the Bar, indicating that the name Mark-Paul Gosselaar is his stage name and declaring as Zack that he would participate in a Saved by the Bell "Class" reunion that is being spear-headed by Fallon.[4] In October 2009, he made his Off-Broadway stage debut in Theresa Rebeck's play "The Understudy" with The Roundabout Theatre Company. The show extended its limited New York run until January 17, 2010.
As of March 28, 2010, Gosselaar was in Atlanta filming the new TNT series Franklin & Bash. The series has a ten-episode order from the network and premieres on June 1, 2011.
Gosselaar guest-starred in the 2010 "Gentle Puppies" episode of Weeds, which featured a sex scene with star Mary Louise Parker.[5]
On August 9, 2010, Gosselaar guest-starred on an episode of TNT's series, Rizzoli & Isles.[6]
On June 10, 2011, Gosselaar appeared as a guest on the daytime talk show The Talk (U.S. TV series). He shared memories with host Leah Remini who appeared with him in six episodes of the TV series Saved By The Bell in 1991. Remini played Stacey Carosi, a romantic interest of Gosselaar's character Zach Morris.
Gosselaar married Lisa Ann Russell on August 26, 1996. They have a son named Michael Charles Gosselaar (born January 31, 2004) and a daughter, Ava Lorenn Gosselaar (born May 7, 2006). On June 3, 2010, it was announced that Gosselaar and Russell had separated.[7][8] Two weeks later, the couple filed for divorce.[1][2] On August 11, 2011 the actor announced his engagement to advertising executive Catriona McGinn. It was reported that he presented her with a 5-carat Neil Lane engagement ring.[9]
Gosselaar dated Saved by the Bell co-star Lark Voorhies for three years.[10] During a guest appearance [11] on Late Night with Conan O'Brien he revealed that when Saved By The Bell was in production, he dated, at different times, his three female co-stars: Lark Voorhies, Tiffani Thiessen, and Elizabeth Berkley. He also indicated that he met his wife Lisa Ann Russell, when she appeared as an extra in Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He remains friends with his Saved by the Bell cast mates, and has not written off the possibility of some type of reunion.[3] He has since agreed to participate in the reunion being organized by Jimmy Fallon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon along with four fellow castmembers to date.[4]
Gosselaar is also a sports car enthusiast, race car driver, track cyclist, dirt biker, and pilot. In 2005, he competed in the Far West Championships for track cycling. He won the Category 4/5 Sprint Championship event at the Encino Velodrome.[12]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II | Scott |
| 1994 | The St. Tammany Miracle | Carl |
| 1995 | Twisted Love | D.J. |
| 1996 | Specimen | Mike Hillary |
| 1996 | Sticks & Stones | Dale |
| 1996 | Kounterfeit | Paco/Danny |
| 1998 | Dead Man on Campus | Cooper Frederickson |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Highway to Heaven | Rolf Baldt | Episode: "The Torch" |
| 1986 | Stingray | Eric Murray | Episode: "Below the Line" |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Tim Conrad | Episode: "What Are Friends For?" |
| 1988 | Necessary Parties | Chris Mills | Television film |
| 1988 | The Wonder Years | Brad Gaines | Episode: "Dance with Me" |
| 1988 | Punky Brewster | Walker Wimbley | Episode: "One Plus Tutor Is Three" |
| 1988 | Charles in Charge | Philip | Episode: "Runaround Charles" |
| 1988–89 | Good Morning, Miss Bliss | Zack Morris | 13 episodes |
| 1989–93 | Saved by the Bell | Zack Morris | 86 episodes |
| 1990 | Murphy Brown | Wes | Episode: "I Want My FYI |
| 1992 | Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style | Zack Morris | Television film |
| 1992 | Blossom | Kevin | Episode: Losing Your... Religion |
| 1993–94 | Saved by the Bell: The College Years | Zack Morris | 19 episodes |
| 1994 | For the Love of Nancy | Tommy Walsh | Television film |
| 1994 | Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas | Zack Morris | Television film |
| 1994 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | Zack Morris | Episode: "Goodbye Bayside" (2) |
| 1996 | Brothers of the Frontier | Hiram Holcomb | Television film |
| 1996 | She Cried No | Scott Baker | Television film; also known as Freshman Fall |
| 1997 | Dying to Belong | Steven Tyler | Television film |
| 1997 | Born Into Exile | Chris | Television film |
| 1998–99 | Hyperion Bay | Dennis Sweeny | 17 episodes |
| 2000 | D.C. | Pete Komisky | 7 episodes |
| 2001 | The Princess and the Marine | Jason Johnson | Television film |
| 2001 | Beer Money | Tim Maroon | Television film |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Wesley Jansen/Peter Ivanhoe | Episode: "Sacrifice" |
| 2001–05 | NYPD Blue | Det. John Clark, Jr. | 76 episodes |
| 2002 | Alikes | ||
| 2002 | Atomic Twister | Dep. Jake Hannah | Television film |
| 2002 | Hitched | Michael | Unsold pilot |
| 2005 | Over There | John Moffet | Two episodes |
| 2005–06 | Commander in Chief | Richard 'Dickie' McDonald | Ten episodes |
| 2006 | The House Next Door | Kim | Television film |
| 2007 | Law Dogs | Evan Marlowe | Unsold pilot |
| 2007 | John from Cincinnati | Jake Ferris | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Robot Chicken | Zack Morris/Employee | Voice role; Episode: Boo Cocky" |
| 2008–09 | Raising the Bar | Jerry Kellerman | 25 episodes |
| 2010 | Rizzoli & Isles | Garrett Fairfield | Episode: "Money For Nothing" |
| 2010 | Weeds | Bar man | Episode: "Gentle Puppies" |
| 2011 | Franklin & Bash | Peter Bash | Ten episodes |