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The Full Monty
Background:
British actor Mark Addy rose to international fame with his
scene-stealing role as an obese exotic dancer on the the summer
British blockbuster hit “ The Full Monty” (1997). His
performance was critically applauded and he was handed a BAFTA, MTV
Movie and Golden Satellite nominations in addition to a Screen Actors
Guild Award. Since then, he has acted in several American films,
including the Michael Keaton vehicle “Jack Frost” (1998),
“The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas” (2000, starred as
Fred Flintstone), “A Knight's Tale” (2001, with Heath
Ledger), “The Time Machine” (2002, opposite Guy Pearce),
“The Order” (2003, again with Ledger) and “Around
the World in 80 Day” (2004, starred Jackie Chan). He is also
well-remembered by American public as Bill Miller on the CBS comedy
series “Still Standing” (2002-2006), along side Jami
Gertz. A stand-up comedian noticeable for his parched wit, Addy was a
fixture in the British television prior to his big screen
breakthrough. Among his credits were regular roles on “The Thin
Blue Line” (1996) and “The Heart Surgeon” (1997),
and guest roles in “A Very Peculiar Practice” (1988),
“Between the Lines” (1994), “Ghostbusters of East
Finchley” (1995). More recently, he played Tony Barker on the
short-lived sitcom “Bonkers” (2007).
Apart from his TV and film performances, Addy has worked in many
stage productions in England.
Addy has three young children with his wife of 12 years, Kelly.
York Boy
Childhood and Family:
Mark Addy Johnson was born on January 14, 1964, in York, England.
He attended Millthorpe School in York and later trained at the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He married wife Kelly in 1996.
Together they have three children: Ruby (born in 2000), Charlie (born
in 2003) and Oscar (born in 2005).
Still Standing
Career:
“I started backstage, was watching actors work night in,
night out, seeing how performances changed and how audiences altered
performances and how it all worked, and that fascinated me.”
Mark Addy
York-born and raised Mark Addy had his first taste of showbiz at
age 15, when he was hired as stage technician at the York Theatre
Royal, and after studying acting at London's RADA, he started working
extensively in theaters throughout England including the Royal
National Theatre and Hull Truck Theatre Company. Among directors he
has collaborated with include Richard Eyre, Nicholas Hytner, Tony
Harrison, Howard Davies, John Godber, Jude Kelly and Alan Ayckbourn.
After several years in the theater, Addy made his television debut
with a two-episodic role on the BBC series “A Very Peculiar
Practice” (1988), as Mal Prentis. He followed it up with
appearances in the long-running British police drama “The Bill”
(1990), the hit sitcom “Married with Children” (1992),
the BBC crime/drama series “Between the Lines” (1994)
before landing his first regular role on the HBO mystery series “Band
of Gold” (1995), which was shot in Bradford, Manchester and
London, England. He played a lawman named Sherrington.
Addy's next regular gig arrived a year later when he was cast as
DC Gary Boyle, the bungling docile behemoth, on the British police
sitcom “The Thin Blue Line,” which lasted 14 episodes.
The short-lived series starred Rowan Atkinson as the anachronistic,
yet pleasing and funny Inspector Raymond C. Fowler. In between “Band
of Gold” and “The Thin Blue Line,” Addy had
recurring roles on BBC's “Ghostbusters of East Finchley”
and “Heartbeat,” playing DC Newley and Norman Greengrass,
respectively. Besides, he acted on the 10-minute short “Bruised
Fruit” (1996).
After the demise of “The Thin Blue Line,” Addy could
be seen playing the role of Ken Sunnyside on the BBC comedy series
“Sunnyside Farm,” which debuted on April 18, 1997, and as
Phil Mycroft in “The Heart Surgeon” (1997), a
well-received TV film starring Nigel Havers as cardiac surgeon who
has to operate his friend who is also the husband of a woman he has
an affair with. However, the RADA alum did not hit the big time until
director Peter Cattaneo cast him as Dave Althorpe in the comedy “The
Full Monty” (1997), opposite Robert Carlyle. The film was a
surprise hit at the box office and picked up four Oscar nominations,
including Best Picture. Addy, who played the pleasing and tubby
laid-off steelworker who becomes a stripper along with his five other
mates, successfully impressed American audiences and took home a
number of nominations, including a BAFTA nomination for Best
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, an MTV Movie nomination
for Best Dance Sequence and a Golden Satellite nomination for Best
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture -
Comedy or Musical, He also jointly netted a Screen Actors Guild for
Outstanding Performance by a Cast.
Hollywood came calling after his promising debut, and in 1998,
Addy got his first major American role, as Mac MacArthur, on the
family fantasy “Jack Frost,” directed by Troy Miller and
starring Michael Keaton. He starred in the title role of a bigamist
in the British comedy “Married to Malcolm” (also 1998)
and played a jinxed hit man named Frank in the independent comedy
“The Last Yellow” (1999), opposite Samantha Morton and
Charlie Creed-Miles, before returning to television to support Dervla
Kirwan in the well-scripted film “The Flint Street Nativity”
(1999).
American audience next found Addy acting in the Troy
Miller-directed indie-drama “The Announcement” (2000) and
headlining the Steven Spielberg-produced “The Flintstones in
Viva Rock Vegas” (2000), the live-action prequel to the 1994
comedy hit “The Flintstones,” starring John Goodman in
the titular role. Many considers that Addy's Stone Age animated icon
Fred Flintstone is better than Goodman's. Following a brief return to
British TV in the sitcom “Too Much Sun” (2000), the
gifted comic supported Chris Rock and Regina King in the remake “Down
to Earth” (2001), portrayed Heath Ledger's side kick, Roland,
on Brian Helgeland's “A Knight's Tale” (2001) and
costarred as Guy Pearce's best friend in the Simon Wells-helmed
sci-fi “The Time Machine” (2002), about a 19th century
inventor, Alexander Hartdegen (played by Pearce), who creates a
machine that lets him to travel 800,000 years into the future.
Still in 2002, Addy enjoyed stellar mainstream exposure with his
starring role as Jamie Gertz's husband, Bill Miller, on the CBS
situation comedy “Still Standing.” The show ran for four
seasons until 2006, during which time it won two ASCAP for Top TV
Series and Addy co-won a Young Artist nomination in the category of
Most Popular Mom & Pop in a Television Series. In 2003, Addy
reunited with “A Kinght's Tale” director Helgeland and
costar Heath Ledger for the thriller “The Order,” in
which he played Ledger's best buddy, sacred co-worker and detecting
partner. He next appeared in the Jackie Chan vehicle “Around
the World in 80 Day” (2004).
Back to England after the death of “Still Standing,”
Addy costarred opposite Liza Tarbuck in the short-lived comedy
“Bonkers” (2007), playing Tony Barker. Recently, he
starred as Sgt. John Rook in the television film “Bike Squad”
(2008) for writer/director Guy Jenkin. On stage, he was discovered
playing Hjalmar Johansen in the National Theatre's production of
“Fram,” by poet/playwright Tony Harrison.
Awards:
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