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Mark Rylance Headshot

Mark Rylance

Birth Place: Ashford, Kent, England, UK

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BIO

He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Olivier Awards and three Tony Awards. In 2016 he was included in the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people. In 2017 he was made a knight by Queen Elizabeth II.



He was the first artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe in London, between 1995 and 2005. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he made his professional debut at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in 1980. He appeared in the West End productions of Much Ado About Nothing in 1994 and Jerusalem in 2010, winning the Olivier Award for Best Actor for both. He has also appeared on Broadway, winning three Tony Awards: two for Best Actor for Boeing Boeing in 2008 and Jerusalem in 2011, and one for Best Featured Actor for Twelfth Night in 2014. He was Tony-nominated for his roles in Richard III in 2014 and Farinelli and the King in 2017.

Rylance's early roles include Prospero's Books (1991), Angels & Insects (1995), Institute Benjamenta (1996), Intimacy (2001) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). He won the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rudolf Abel in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies (2015). He subsequently collaborated with Spielberg acting in The BFG (2016) and Ready Player One (2018). He also appeared in films such as Dunkirk (2017), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), Don't Look Up (2021), Bones and All (2022) and The Outfit (2022).

On television, Rylance won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his role as David Kelly in the 2005 Channel 4 drama The Government Inspector and for playing Thomas Cromwell in the 2015 BBC Two mini-series Wolf Hall; for the latter role, he also received Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. Rylance is a patron of the London International Festival of Theatre; of the London-based charity Peace Direct, which supports peace-builders in areas of conflict; and of the British Stop the War Coalition.

Photos

STAGE CREDITS

Juno and the Paycock Juno and the Paycock
[West End]
Jack Boyle ()
Dr Semmelweis Dr Semmelweis
[West End]
2023
IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS [Replacement]
[Replacement]
Pinter at the Pinter Pinter at the Pinter
[West End]
London Tenth Anniversary Celebration, 2018
Performer
Farinelli and the King Farinelli and the King
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 2017
King Philippe V
Nice Fish Nice Fish
[West End]
West End Transfer, 2016
Performer
Nice Fish Nice Fish
[Off-Broadway]
New York City Premiere, 2016
Ron
Richard III Richard III
[Broadway]
Broadway Transfer, 2013
Richard III
Twelfth Night Twelfth Night
[Broadway]
Broadway Transfer, 2013
Olivia
Richard III Richard III
[West End]
Globe Theatre Transfer, 2012
Richard III
Twelfth Night Twelfth Night
[West End]
2012
Olivia
Jerusalem Jerusalem
[West End]
Return Engagement [West End], 2011
Johnny "Rooster" Byron
Jerusalem Jerusalem
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 2011
Johnny 'Rooster' Byron
La Bete La Bete
[Broadway]
Broadway Revival, 2010
Valere
La Bete La Bete
[West End]
London Production, 2010
Boeing-Boeing Boeing-Boeing
[Broadway]
Broadway Revival, 2008
Robert
Two Gentlemen of Verona
[Off-Broadway]
1997
Proteus
Henry V
[Off-Broadway]
1993
King Henry the Fifth

Writing

Nice Fish
Author

Movies

Hearts of Fire
[ 1987 ] Fizz
Prospero's Books
[ 1991 ] Ferdinand
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream That One Calls Human Life
[ 1995 ] Jakob
Angels and Insects
[ 1995 ] William Adamson
Intimacy
[ 2001 ] Jay
The Other Boleyn Girl
[ 2008 ] Sir Thom Boleyn
Anonymous
[ 2011 ] Condell
Blitz
[ 2011 ] Roberts
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre: Twelfth Night
[ 2013 ] Olivia
Days and Nights
[ 2014 ] Stephen
Bridge of Spies
[ 2015 ] Rudolf Abel
The Gunman
[ 2015 ] Terrance Cox
The BFG
[ 2016 ] BFG
Dunkirk
[ 2017 ] Mr. Dawson
Ready Player One
[ 2018 ] Anorak, Halliday
Waiting for the Barbarians
[ 2019 ] Magistrate
The Trial of the Chicago 7
[ 2020 ] William Kunstler
The Phantom of the Open
[ 2021 ] Maurice Flitcroft
Don't Look Up
[ 2021 ] Peter Isherwell
Inland
[ 2022 ] Dunleavy
The Outfit
[ 2022 ] Leonard
Bones and All
[ 2022 ] Sully

TV Shows

Bing
Flop, Flop UK & US
Wolf Hall
Thomas Cromwell

Awards and Nominations

Tony Awards - 2018 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Mark Rylance, Farinelli and The King

Olivier Awards - 2016 - Best Actor

Mark RylanceFarinelli And The King

Outer Critics Circle Awards - 2014 - Outstanding Actor in a Play

Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night


winner
Tony Awards - 2014 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night

Tony Awards - 2014 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Mark Rylance, Richard III

Olivier Awards - 2013 - Best Actor

Mark RylanceTwelfth Night


winner
BroadwayWorld Awards - 2011 - Best Leading Actor in a Play

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem

Drama Desk Awards - 2011 - Outstanding Actor in a Play

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem


winner
Drama League Awards - 2011 - Distinguished Performance Award

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem


winner
Drama League Awards - 2011 - Distinguished Performance Award

Mark Rylance, La Bete


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 2011 - Special Citations

Mark Rylance, La Bête and Jerusalem

Olivier Awards - 2011 - Best Actor

Mark Rylance, La Bete


winner
Outer Critics Circle Awards - 2011 - Outstanding Actor in a Play

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem


winner
Tony Awards - 2011 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem


winner
Olivier Awards - 2010 - Best Actor

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem


winner
Olivier Awards - 2010 - Best Actor

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem


winner
Evening Standard Awards - 2009 - Best Actor

Mark Rylance, Jerusalem


winner
Drama Desk Awards - 2008 - Outstanding Actor in a Play

Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing

Olivier Awards - 2008 - Best Actor

Mark Rylance, Boeing Boeing


winner
Theatre World Awards - 2008 - Performance

Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing


winner
Tony Awards - 2008 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing

Olivier Awards - 2003 - Best Actor

Mark RylanceTwelfth Night


winner
Olivier Awards - 1994 - Best Actor

Mark RylanceMuch Ado About Nothing

Olivier Awards - 1983 - Actor of the Year in a Supporting Role

Mark RylanceArden Of Faversham

Videos

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News


BLACKBIRD to Play a Limited Off-Broadway Engagement at Theatre Row Photo
BLACKBIRD to Play a Limited Off-Broadway Engagement at Theatre Row
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Nov 3, 2025

Diaspora House will present a limited engagement of Blackbird, David Harrower’s searing psychological drama, running for eight performances only at Theater Row.
Review: THE MAIDS, Donmar Warehouse Photo
Review: THE MAIDS, Donmar Warehouse
by Cheryl Markosky - Oct 22, 2025

An exhilarating new satire on social media, class and how we live in unreal worlds bursts onto the Donmar stage in a frenzy of must-see vigour. Writer/director Kip Williams – who made his West End debut with Olivier and Tony award-winning The Picture of Dorian Gray, starring Succession's Sarah Snook – returns with his bang up-to-date adaptation of Jean Genet's play based on sisters Christine and Lea Papin, who murdered their employer and her daughter in 1933.
Review: ENDGAME, Starring Douglas Hodge, Theatre Royal Bath Photo
Review: ENDGAME, Starring Douglas Hodge, Theatre Royal Bath
by Cheryl Markosky - Sep 24, 2025

Douglas Hodge commendably leads a star-studded cast in Lindsay Posner's new adaptation of Endgame at Theatre Royal Bath's intimate Ustinov Studio.
EDINBURGH 2025: Simon Kane Guest Blog Photo
EDINBURGH 2025: Simon Kane Guest Blog
by Natalie O'Donoghue - Jul 28, 2025

Inspired by the Book of Jonah – and probably God – award-winning shunt veteran, Mitchell and Webb writer, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programmer (and Keith Darren Dean in Ghosts), Simon Kane, regurgitates his highly acclaimed, horrifyingly evergreen divine comedy about the extremist in us all.
Theater Resources Unlimited to Present Introduction To Producer Development & Mentors Photo
Theater Resources Unlimited to Present Introduction To Producer Development & Mentorship Program
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jul 22, 2025

A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is celebrating its fifth year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings. Up next is a Free Introduction to their Producer Development & Mentorship Program.
Cast Set For THE LAST STAND OF MARY WHITEHOUSE at Nottingham Playhouse Photo
Cast Set For THE LAST STAND OF MARY WHITEHOUSE at Nottingham Playhouse
by Stephi Wild - Jun 18, 2025

Nottingham Playhouse has announced that Tony and Olivier-nominated Samuel Barnett completes the casting for the world premiere of Caroline Bird's The Last Stand of Mrs. Mary Whitehouse, alongside the previously announced Maxine Peake.
ECHOES OF NUWA: The Last Human Project Makes Edinburgh Fringe Preview at The Omnibus Photo
ECHOES OF NUWA: The Last Human Project Makes Edinburgh Fringe Preview at The Omnibus Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Jun 3, 2025

When Nüwa created humanity, she believed they would live in joy and harmony forever. She mended the sky with five-colored stones, halted the great Catastrophe, and ascended-confident her work was complete. But thousands of years later, humanity obliterated itself with the press of a few tiny buttons
Xian Zhang Conducts Mozart, Bach, And Abels with New Jersey Symphony Photo
Xian Zhang Conducts Mozart, Bach, And Abels with New Jersey Symphony
by A.A. Cristi - Apr 4, 2025

New Jersey Symphony will present Music Director Xian Zhang conducting Mozart, Bach and Abels, with the Symphony’s principal violins, Eric Wyrick and Francine Storck, stepping up to perform Bach’s Double Concerto with the orchestra.
The Dryden Ensemble Welcomes New Artistic Director Daniel Swenberg Photo
The Dryden Ensemble Welcomes New Artistic Director Daniel Swenberg
by A.A. Cristi - Feb 14, 2025

The Dryden Ensemble is entering an exciting new chapter as lutenist Daniel Swenberg steps into the role of artistic director, succeeding founder and former artistic director Jane McKinley.
Composer & Musical Director Claire van Kampen Has Passed Away Photo
Composer & Musical Director Claire van Kampen Has Passed Away
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 18, 2025

Claire Louise van Kampen, Lady Rylance, has died this morning, Saturday the 18th of January at 11:47, in the ancient town of Kassel, Germany, surrounded by her family. Learn more about her life and legacy.
Frances Mercanti-Anthony Brings One-Woman Show FRANCES FLOATS To 54 Below In February Photo
Frances Mercanti-Anthony Brings One-Woman Show FRANCES FLOATS To 54 Below In February
by A.A. Cristi - Jan 8, 2025

54 BELOW will present Frances Mercanti-Anthony in Frances Floats on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 9:30PM. Frances Floats is one woman's voyage to finding the life she always wanted in her 40's, and only looking back to write more material.
Critics' Choice: Cheryl Markosky's Best Shows of 2024 Photo
Critics' Choice: Cheryl Markosky's Best Shows of 2024
by Cheryl Markosky - Dec 12, 2024

Grand dame Sian Phillips stealing the show, Adam Cooper giving an unexpected twirl and smaller theatre spaces punching above their weight. These are some of BroadwayWorld reviewer Cheryl Markosky's favourite theatre moments of 2024.
Save Up To 43% on Tickets to JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK at the Gielgud Theatre Photo
Save Up To 43% on Tickets to JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK at the Gielgud Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Nov 25, 2024

Save up to 43% on tickets to Juno and The Paycock at the Gielgud Theatre. Tickets are available from £25. Learn more about how to get discount tickets here!
Kristin Scott Thomas and Johnny Flynn Join Mark Rylance in VENUS AND ADONIS Photo
Kristin Scott Thomas and Johnny Flynn Join Mark Rylance in VENUS AND ADONIS
by Stephi Wild - Nov 6, 2024

Kristin Scott Thomas and Johnny Flynn will perform alongside Mark Rylance – the venue's Patron – in Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis on Sunday 17 November at 7.00pm, as part of a fundraiser in aid of the theatre.
Show of the Week: Save Up to 41% on JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK at the Gielgud Theatre Photo
Show of the Week: Save Up to 41% on JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK at the Gielgud Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Oct 28, 2024

Save up to 41% on Juno And The Paycock at the Gielgud Theatre. Tickets are available from £25!
The Criterion Mobile Closet Sets Brooklyn as Next Stop Photo
The Criterion Mobile Closet Sets Brooklyn as Next Stop
by Josh Sharpe - Oct 8, 2024

In celebration of their 40th anniversary, Criterion will continue traveling the Criterion Closet Picks show to Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27 from 10am-6pm daily, in partnership with St. Ann’s Warehouse, where Criterion will also screen the best of its 15 years of Closet Picks.
Review Roundup: Did Mark Rylance and J. Smith-Cameron Impress in JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK Photo
Review Roundup: Did Mark Rylance and J. Smith-Cameron Impress in JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK?
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Oct 7, 2024

Tony award-nominee J. Smith-Cameron stars as Juno Boyle opposite Mark Rylance as ‘Captain’ Jack Boyle in a highly anticipated new production of Juno and the Paycock, Seán O’Casey's timeless masterpiece, directed by Tony and Olivier award-winner Matthew Warchus. So what did the critics think? Read the reviews.
Review: JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK, Gielgud Theatre Photo
Review: JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK, Gielgud Theatre
by Aliya Al-Hassan - Oct 7, 2024

A cost of living crisis, people being fit to work but choosing not to, poverty, nationalism and women's control of their own bodies. Seán O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock may have first been performed at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924, but a century later, his tragicomedy resonates more strongly than ever.
Photos: J. Smith-Cameron, Mark Rylance, & More in JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK Photo
Photos: J. Smith-Cameron, Mark Rylance, & More in JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK
by Blair Ingenthron - Oct 6, 2024

Check out photos from the West End production of JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK starring J. Smith-Cameron, Mark Rylance, and more here!
Review Roundup: THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA by Jez Butterworth Opens on Broadway Photo
Review Roundup: THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA by Jez Butterworth Opens on Broadway
by Blair Ingenthron - Sep 30, 2024

The New York premiere of Jez Butterworth’s new play The Hills of California, directed by Sam Mendes, opened on Broadway tonight, Sunday, September 29th at the Broadhurst Theatre. Check out what the critics had to say here!
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many Broadway shows has Mark Rylance been in?

Mark Rylance has appeared on Broadway in 6 shows.

How many West End shows has Mark Rylance been in?

Mark Rylance has appeared on London's West End in 8 shows.

What was Mark Rylance's first West End show?

Mark Rylance's first West End show was La Bete which opened in 2010

What awards has Mark Rylance been nominated for?

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for Farinelli and The King, Best Actor (Olivier Awards) for Farinelli And The King, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Outer Critics Circle Awards) for Twelfth Night , Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for Twelfth Night, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for Richard III, Best Actor (Olivier Awards) for Twelfth Night, Best Leading Actor in a Play (BroadwayWorld Awards) for Jerusalem, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Jerusalem, Distinguished Performance Award (Drama League Awards) for Jerusalem, Distinguished Performance Award (Drama League Awards) for La Bete, Special Citations (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for La Bête and Jerusalem, Best Actor (Olivier Awards) for La Bete, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Outer Critics Circle Awards) for Jerusalem, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for Jerusalem, Best Actor (Olivier Awards) for Jerusalem, Best Actor (Olivier Awards) for Jerusalem, Best Actor (Evening Standard Awards) for Jerusalem, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Boeing-Boeing, Best Actor (Olivier Awards) for Boeing Boeing, Performance (Theatre World Awards) for Boeing-Boeing, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for Boeing-Boeing, Best Actor (Olivier Awards) for Twelfth Night, Best Actor (Olivier Awards) for Much Ado About Nothing and Actor of the Year in a Supporting Role (Olivier Awards) for Arden Of Faversham.

What awards has Mark Rylance won?

Mark Rylance has won several prestigious awards throughout his career. He received the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for Twelfth Night. For Jerusalem, he earned multiple honors including the BroadwayWorld Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play, the Distinguished Performance Award from the Drama League Awards, Special Citations from the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, the Olivier Award for Best Actor, and the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor. He also won the Distinguished Performance Award from the Drama League Awards and Special Citations from the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for La Bête. For Boeing-Boeing, Rylance was awarded the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Theatre World Award for Performance, and the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play. Additionally, he secured the Olivier Award for Best Actor for Much Ado About Nothing.

How many shows has Mark Rylance written?

Mark Rylance has written 1 shows including Nice Fish (Author).

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