Quick Facts
Biography
Marton Paul Csokas (Hungarian: Csókás Márton, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈt͡ʃoːkaːʃ ˈmaːrton]; born 30 June 1966) is a New Zealander actor of Hungarian descent. His roles include Celeborn in The Lord of the Rings film series (2001–03), Yorgi in xXx (2002), Guy de Lusignan in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Trevor Goodchild in Æon Flux (2005), Hora in Romulus, My Father (2007), Nico in Dead Europe (2012), Jack Barts in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), Lieutenant Barnes in Pawn (2013), and Nicolai Itchenko in The Equalizer (2014).
Early life
Marton was born in Invercargill, New Zealand, the son of Margaret Christine (née Rayner), a nurse, and Márton Csókás, who worked as a mechanical engineer. His father was Hungarian and his mother had English, Irish, and Danish ancestry. Csokas has a younger brother, Robert. He holds dual New Zealand and Hungarian citizenship.
Career
Csokas made his acting debut in the New Zealand drama series Shark in the Park as Terry Mercer. He appeared in one episode titled "Technical K.O.". For two years (from 1993 until 1995), he portrayed Leonard Rossi-Dodds in the soap opera Shortland Street. In 1996, he starred in the romantic drama film Broken English. From 1997 to 2001, he maintained a recurring role in Xena: Warrior Princess, portraying Xena's past love and ally Borias. Csokas portrayed Lord Celeborn in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and played the role of Guy de Lusignan in Kingdom of Heaven (2005). Csokas has also played the villain Yorgi in XXX (2002), Mr. Smith in Kangaroo Jack (2003), Jarda in The Bourne Supremacy (2004), and Trevor Goodchild in Æon Flux (2005).
Csokas' stage credits include plays by Tom Stoppard and William Shakespeare in the 1990s in New Zealand, and in Australia: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2007) and Peribáñez (2006) with Company B.
In 2007, he portrayed Hora in the drama film Romulus, My Father, for which he won an AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2010, he appeared in the Tim Burton-directed fantasy film Alice in Wonderland, the French-Australian drama The Tree, the French romantic comedy With Love... from the Age of Reason, the romance film South Solitary, and the drama-thriller The Debt. In 2011, Csokas starred in the psychological thriller Dream House. The following year, he appeared in the fantasy action horror Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and the drama film Dead Europe. For his role in Dead Europe, he was again nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
In 2013, Csokas co-starred in the crime-thriller Pawn with Forest Whitaker and Michael Chiklis, and portrayed Jimmy Laszlo in the DirecTV police drama Rogue, starring opposite Thandie Newton. In 2014, he starred in the films Noah, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Also in 2014, Csokas played the role of the villain Nicolai Itchenko in The Equalizer. That same year, he starred as Sam Steele in the Discovery Channel's scripted miniseries Klondike. Csokas then portrayed General Thomas Gage in History Channel's 3-part miniseries Sons of Liberty.
In May 2015, Csokas joined the main cast of AMC's martial arts drama series Into the Badlands, playing the major role of Quinn. In 2016, he co-starred with Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga in the Jeff Nichols-directed drama film Loving, starred alongside Vera Farmiga in the comedy-drama Burn Your Maps. Csokas stars alongside Emilia Clarke in the supernatural thriller Voice from the Stone, scheduled for release in April 2017.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | A Game with No Rules | Kane | Short film |
| 1994 | Jack Brown Genius | Dennis | |
| 1995 | Twilight of the Gods | Soldier | Short film |
| 1996 | Broken English | Darko | |
| 1998 | Hurrah | Raoul Trujillo | |
| 2000 | The Monkey's Mask | Nick Maitland | |
| 2000 | Accidents | Chug | Short film |
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Lord Celeborn | |
| 2001 | Rain | Cady | |
| 2002 | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | Poggle the Lesser | Uncredited; voice |
| 2002 | XXX | Yorgi | |
| 2002 | Garage Days | Shad Kern | |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Lord Celeborn | |
| 2003 | Timeline | Sir William De Kere | |
| 2003 | Kangaroo Jack | Mr. Smith | |
| 2004 | The Bourne Supremacy | Jarda | |
| 2004 | Evilenko | Vadim Timurovic Lesiev | |
| 2005 | Æon Flux | Trevor Goodchild | |
| 2005 | Kingdom of Heaven | Guy de Lusignan | |
| 2005 | The Great Raid | Captain Redding | |
| 2005 | Asylum | Edgar Stark | |
| 2007 | Romulus, My Father | Hora | |
| 2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Charles Kingsleigh | |
| 2010 | The Tree | George Elrick | |
| 2010 | With Love... from the Age of Reason | Malcolm | |
| 2010 | South Solitary | Jack Fleet | |
| 2010 | The Debt | Young Stefan Gold | |
| 2011 | Dream House | Jack Patterson | |
| 2012 | Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter | Jack Barts | |
| 2012 | Dead Europe | Nico | |
| 2013 | Pawn | Lieutenant Barnes | |
| 2014 | Noah | Lamech | |
| 2014 | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | Dr. Ashley Kafka | |
| 2014 | Sin City: A Dame to Kill For | Damien Lord | |
| 2014 | The Equalizer | Nicolai "Teddy" Itchenko | |
| 2016 | Loving | Sheriff Brooks | |
| 2016 | Burn Your Maps | Connor Firth | |
| 2016 | True Crimes | Kozlow | |
| 2017 | Voice from the Stone | Klaus Rivi | |
| 2017 | Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House | L. Patrick Gray | In post-production |
Television
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Shark in the Park | Terry Mercer | Episode: "Technical K.O." |
| 1992 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Sid | Episode: "By The Numbers" |
| 1993–95 | Shortland Street | Leonard Rossi-Dodds | Unknown episodes |
| 1996 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Tarlus | Episode: "Promises" |
| 1996 | G.P. | Paul Deacon | Episode: "The Ceremony of Innocence" |
| 1997–2001 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Borias | 10 episodes |
| 1999 | Water Rats | Robert Tremain | Episode: "Shark Bait" |
| 1999 | Wildside | Larry Lodans | Episode: "2.18" |
| 1999 | All Saints | Brother Thomas | Episode: "More Things in Heaven and Earth" |
| 1999 | Halifax f.p. | John Garth | Episode: "Swimming with the Sharks" |
| 2000 | The Three Stooges | Ted Healy | Television film |
| 2000 | The Lost World | Kenner | Episode: "Tourist Season" |
| 2000 | BeastMaster | Qord | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | Farscape | Br'Nee | Episode: "Bone to be Wild" |
| 2001 | Cleopatra 2525 | Krider | Episode: "No Thanks For The Memories" |
| 2001 | The Farm | Adrian Beckett | Miniseries |
| 2012 | Falcón | Javier Falcón | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Rogue | Jimmy Laszlo | 10 episodes |
| 2014 | Klondike | Sam Steele | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Covert Affairs | Ivan Kravec | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Sons of Liberty | General Thomas Gage | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | Into the Badlands | Baron Quinn | 16 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters | Thaal Sinestro | Voice |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Romulus, My Father | Won |
| 2008 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Supporting Actor | Won | |
| 2013 | AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Dead Europe | Nominated |
| Australian Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |