Blucas Mark: the way from professional basketball to cinema

He was a professional basketball player who was going to change his life and make a career as a lawyer, but fate interfered and changed plans. Before the entrance exam to law school, Mark decided to watch the film "Several Good Guys" (1992), the events of which unfold in the courtroom. To his surprise, he realized that he admired not the work of a lawyer, but the play of an actor performing his role. A few years later, Blukas Mark became a popular actor with notable works on television and cinema and took a worthy place in the Hollywood community.

Childhood and youth

Mark was born on January 11, 1972. He spent his childhood and youth in the small town of Girard, Pennsylvania. Son of a school inspector and administrator by education, he made his debut on stage in the school play "Hansel and Greta", as a third grade student. With a suitable growth for basketball, Mark naturally got carried away by this popular sport in the USA and became a star of the school. As the leading player in the team that has become the best basketball school in the US, Blokas Mark received a scholarship to enter Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina). There he majored in business and continued to play in the university basketball team as an attacking quarterback. Playing in the Wake Forest basketball team, he led her to victory in four tournaments and received from the University a prize and a scholarship from the Weaver James Corrigan Foundation. His sport career Mark decided to continue, becoming a member of the NBA, but did not qualify and accepted the offer to join the English basketball club Manchester Giants. As part of the team, Mark played one season, but then decided to use the program to help professional athletes and returned to his homeland to get a legal education and make a career in this field. In the plans of Blukas, the case interfered, and instead of entrance examinations to law school, he went to the movies.

The first works in the cinema

The debut of Blokas took place in 1995. He got an episodic role in the television movie "It's easy to ignite." In 1996, the producers Ronald M. Bozeman and Whoopi Goldberg were looking for a comedy "Eddie" basketball player with a childish face. When Mark, who has excellent external data, appeared on the samples, he was immediately approved. Blucas Mark was perfect for the role of the reserve player for the New York Nix team and made him a feature of the film.

Then there was work as a technical consultant on the NBC-SPORT channel during the filming of the biographical film "Never Give Up: The History of Jimmy Vee" (1996). Mark continued to work with producers as a consultant, and also appeared in the episodic roles of television series. Wanting to achieve more, he attended courses in acting and various seminars for movie celebrities.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Finally, in the fall of 1999, Mark was invited to work on a television series about the adventures of the girl Buffy, who has extraordinary abilities to recognize and destroy vampires. Mark was faced with a hard work, because his character Riley Fin appears in the fourth season of the series and the story becomes not only a brave fighter against the forces of darkness, but also the beloved of the main character. During the show of previous seasons fans of the series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" watched the development of the love story between Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel (David Borianaz), and this turn was very disappointing. Wrathful letters flew to Mark and the creators of the series. Despite the difficulties, the actor coped with the role. Work in the series brought him popularity, Mark became recognized and got fans. At the end of the actor's work in the fourth season of the telefilm, the producers began to receive letters from the fans of the series asking them to return Mark's character back.

Mark Blukas: Movies

Becoming a popular actor, Mark in 2001 takes the lead in the film with the baseball theme "Summer Games". Then in the same year he is removed in a melodrama "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back". The year 2002 was marked for the actor working on one set with the famous Mel Gibson in the film "We were soldiers" and Gwyneth Paltrow in the comedy "Top view is better". In 2004, Blukas Mark was given the lead role in the comedic melodrama "The First Daughter", where Katie Holmes becomes his partner on the site , and starred in the historical film "Fort Alamo". The detective drama "Three keys" (2006) and the protagonist Kevin Parson performed by Mark bring the actor the recognition of the European audience. After working in this film, director Gideon Ruff invites Blukas to the main role in the criminal thriller "The Damned House" (2007).

In addition to working in the big cinema, Mark continues to work in the television series. So, in 2011, the actor accepts the offer of Kevin Dowling to participate in the series "Necessary cruelty." Mark Blukas plays in it one of the main male roles - coach Matthew Donelly. For three seasons, fans of the series are following the development of relations between the main character, psychotherapist Dani Santino (Callie Thorne), and football coach Donelly. In his interview, the actor admitted that he likes to work on this role, because the theme of sports is still close to him, and the events of the series allow you to look at professional sports from a different angle.