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Quick Facts
Biography
Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (pronounced GOS-ler; born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Zack Morris in NBC's Saved by the Bell, Detective John Clark in ABC's NYPD Blue, Jerry Kellerman in TNT's Raising the Bar, and Peter Bash in TNT's Franklin & Bash. He starred in the 1998 film Dead Man on Campus, and starred in Fox Broadcasting Company's Pitch.
Early life
Gosselaar was born in Panorama City, California, the son of Paula (van den Brink), a homemaker and hostess for KLM, and Hans Gosselaar, a plant supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. His Dutch father is of German and Dutch Jewish descent. Gosselaar's paternal great-grandparents, Hertog and Hester Gosselaar, were killed at the Sobibor extermination camp during the Holocaust. His mother, who is of Indonesian and Dutch descent, is from Bali, Indonesia. At one point, Gosselaar was fluent in Dutch (his older siblings were born in the Netherlands). Gosselaar's parents later separated.
Gosselaar's mother worked as his manager. He began modeling at the age of 5. As a child, he appeared in commercials for Oreo cookies and Smurf merchandise, and later won guest spots on television series. He spent his teenage years in the Santa Clarita Valley in Southern California, where he attended Hart High School.
Career
Gosselaar first came to public notice as the star of the hit television comedy series Saved by the Bell, in which he played Zack Morris, and which aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993. Gosselaar's character was adapted from the short-lived Disney Channel 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 1994, Gosselaar appeared 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, he starred in the feature film, Dead Man on Campus. Later that same year, 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 2001-05, he played Detective John Clark on ABC's NYPD Blue. After the series ended, he joined the cast of ABC's Commander in Chief, which lasted only one season. He 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 canceled in November 2009.
On June 8, 2009, Gosselaar appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 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 spearheaded by Fallon. 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. On February 4, 2015, Gosselaar reunited with Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Dennis Haskins and Tiffani Thiessen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where they appeared in a Saved by the Bell sketch with Fallon.
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.
Gosselaar began filming the TNT series Franklin & Bash on March 28, 2010. The series premiered on June 1, 2011. On November 11, 2014, it was announced that the series was canceled, after four seasons.
The FOX series Pitch cast Gosselaar in the main role of Mike Lawson, star catcher and team captain, in February 2016, and premiered on September 22, 2016.
Personal life
In a July 2009 interview with People magazine, Gosselaar 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 remains friends with his Saved by the Bell cast mates.
In 1996, Gosselaar married former model Lisa Ann Russell. Together they have two children: son Michael Charles (born 2004) and daughter Ava Lorenn (born 2006). After 14 years of marriage, Gosselaar and Russell announced their separation in early June 2010. Gosselaar filed for divorce June 18, 2010, and it became final in May 2011.
Gosselaar was engaged to advertising executive Catriona McGinn in August 2011. They married July 28, 2012 at the Sunstone winery in Santa Ynez, California. They have a son Dekker (born 2013), and a daughter Lachlyn (born 2015).
Gosselaar is 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.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II | Scott James | |
1994 | St. Tammany Miracle, TheThe 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 | |
2001 | Beer Money | Tim | |
2015 | Heist | Marconi | |
2016 | Precious Cargo | Jack |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Highway to Heaven | Rolf Baldt | Episode: "The Torch" |
1986 | Stingray | Eric Murray | Episode: "Below the Line" |
1986 | Twilight Zone, TheThe Twilight Zone | Tim Conrad | Episode: "What Are Friends For?" |
1988 | Necessary Parties | Chris Mills | Movie |
1988 | Wonder Years, TheThe 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 | Lead role (13 episodes) |
1989–93 | Saved by the Bell | Zack Morris | Lead role (86 episodes) |
1990 | Murphy Brown | Wes | Episode: "I Want My FYI" |
1992 | Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style | Zack Morris | Movie |
1992 | Blossom | Kevin | Episode: "Losing Your... Religion" |
1993–94 | Saved by the Bell: The College Years | Zack Morris | Lead role (19 episodes) |
1994 | For the Love of Nancy | Tommy Walsh | Movie |
1994 | Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas | Zack Morris | Movie |
1994 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | Zack Morris | Episode: "Goodbye Bayside" |
1996 | Brothers of the Frontier | Hiram Holcomb | Movie |
1996 | She Cried No | Scott Baker | Movie; also known as Freshman Fall |
1997 | Dying to Belong | Steven Tyler | Movie |
1997 | Born Into Exile | Chris | Movie |
1998–99 | Hyperion Bay | Dennis Sweeny | Main role (17 episodes) |
2000 | D.C. | Pete Komisky | Main role (7 episodes) |
2001 | Princess and the Marine, TheThe Princess and the Marine | Jason Johnson | Movie |
2001 | Beer Money | Tim Maroon | Movie |
2001 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Wesley Jansen / Peter Ivanhoe | Episode: "Sacrifice" |
2001–05 | NYPD Blue | Det. John Clark, Jr. | Main role (76 episodes) |
2002 | Alikes | ||
2002 | Atomic Twister | Dep. Jake Hannah | Movie |
2002 | Hitched | Michael | Unsold pilot |
2005 | Over There | John Moffet | Two episodes |
2005–06 | Commander in Chief | Richard 'Dickie' McDonald | Recurring role (10 episodes) |
2006 | House Next Door, TheThe House Next Door | Kim | Movie |
2007 | Law Dogs | Evan Marlowe | Unsold pilot |
2007 | John from Cincinnati | Jake Ferris | 3 episodes |
2008 | Robot Chicken | Zack Morris / Employee (voice) | Episode: "Boo Cocky" |
2008–09 | Raising the Bar | Jerry Kellerman | Main role (25 episodes) |
2010 | Rizzoli & Isles | Garrett Fairfield | Episode: "Money For Nothing" |
2010 | Weeds | Jack | Episode: "Gentle Puppies" |
2011–14 | Franklin & Bash | Peter Bash | Lead role (40 episodes) |
2011 | 12 Dates of Christmas | Miles | Movie |
2012 | Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 | Himself | Episode: "A Reunion" |
2013 | Men at Work | Tim | Episode: "Weekend at PJ's" (uncredited) |
2013 | Happy Endings | Chase | Episodes: "The Ex Factor", "Un-sabotagable" |
2014 | Flipping Out | Himself | Episode: "Due Date" |
2014–15 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Jared Briscoe / Paul Winthrop | Recurring roles (4 episodes) |
2015 | Truth Be Told | Mitch | Main role |
2016 | Pitch | Mike Lawson | Main role |
Awards and nominations
Young Artist Award
- 1989: Nominated, Best Young Actor in a Cable Family Series – Good Morning, Miss Bliss
- 1990: Nominated, Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast – Saved by the Bell
- 1991: Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell
- 1992: Nominated, Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell
- 1993: Nominated, Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell