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:

• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Cast, “The Full Monty,” 1998