Mark Christopher Lawrence facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Christopher Lawrence
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Lawrence at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con
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| Born | May 22, 1964 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor, stand-up comedian, voice-over artist |
| Years active | 1987–present |
Mark Christopher Lawrence (born May 22, 1964) is a talented American actor, stand-up comedian, and voice-over artist. He is famous for playing many different types of characters in movies and TV shows. You might know him best as Big Mike from the TV series Chuck.
He has also appeared in popular films like Child's Play 3 (1991), Crimson Tide (1995), Garfield: The Movie (2004), and The Island (2005). Mark Christopher Lawrence has also made guest appearances on many TV shows, including Heroes, My Name Is Earl, and Seinfeld. He also voices "Ed Washington" in the radio series Adventures in Odyssey.
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Early Life and How He Started Acting
Mark Christopher Lawrence grew up in Compton, California, with his two siblings. Their single mother raised them. In high school, he joined the debate team. This meant he spent a lot of time in public speaking and theater competitions. He became very good at speaking in front of people.
After winning a big competition in his school district, Lawrence continued to compete in college. He even won a national award for being the best community college speaker in the country! His talent caught the eye of coaches from the University of Southern California. They offered him a full scholarship to study there.
While at USC, he traveled across the country for tournaments. At the same time, he was gaining acting experience at the Los Angeles Theater Center. A Hollywood talent agent saw him perform there. This led to his very first TV role on the show Hill Street Blues.
After college, he worked with a theater group called the San Francisco Mime Troupe. He also performed stand-up comedy all over the United States, Australia, and Canada. He even opened shows for famous comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Rodney Dangerfield. His stage work earned him awards, including a Dramalogue Award and an NAACP award. His role in the play The Glass House got the attention of director James Cameron. Cameron then cast him in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Notable Film and Television Roles
Mark Christopher Lawrence has had a long and busy career in both movies and television. He often plays memorable supporting characters.
On the Big Screen (Films)
Some of his well-known movie roles include:
- Tone Def in the comedy Fear of a Black Hat (1993).
- A Burly Attendant in the action classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
- A Cop in the horror film Child's Play 3 (1991).
- Rono, Chief Culinary Specialist in the submarine thriller Crimson Tide (1995).
- Christopher Mello in the family movie Garfield: The Movie (2004).
- A Construction Worker in the science fiction film The Island (2005).
- Wayne in the inspiring movie The Pursuit of Happyness (2006).
- Mr. Pederson in the zombie comedy Cooties (2014).
- Pastor Dave in the family comedy Family Camp (2022).
On Television (TV Shows)
Mark Christopher Lawrence is perhaps most famous for his role as Michael "Big Mike" Tucker in the spy-comedy series Chuck. He was a recurring character in the first season and then a main character for the rest of the show.
He has also appeared in many other popular TV shows, often as a guest star:
- Skycap and Boss in two episodes of Seinfeld (1992, 1994).
- Security Guard in Martin (1993).
- Russell in Men Behaving Badly (1997).
- Sheriff #1 in Malcolm in the Middle (2000).
- Arnold in Dharma & Greg (2001).
- Rob Morton in Crossing Jordan (2004).
- Jack Knox in My Name Is Earl (2006).
- Mr. Lamont in Heroes (2007).
- Bernie in Good Luck Charlie (2013).
- Coach Batchelder in Kirby Buckets (2014-2015).
- Marty Dankles in Malibu Dan the Family Man (2017).
- Gene Marks in All the Queen's Men (2021-2025).
- Hank in Sprung (2022).
