Mark Rylance facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Rylance
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Rylance promoting the movie The BFG at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival
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| Born |
David Mark Rylance Waters
18 January 1960 Ashford, Kent, England
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| Education | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1980–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Claire van Kampen
(m. 1989; |
| Relatives | Susannah Waters (sister) Jonathan Waters (brother) Juliet Rylance (stepdaughter) |
| Awards | Full list |
Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a famous English actor, playwright, and theatre director. As a playwright, he writes plays, and as a director, he guides actors in how to perform them. He is known for his amazing work on both the stage and in movies.
Rylance has won many major awards for his acting. These include an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Olivier Awards, and three Tony Awards. In 2016, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II gave him a knighthood for his contributions to theatre, which is why he is called "Sir" Mark Rylance.
He was the first artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe in London, a recreation of the theatre where William Shakespeare's plays were first performed. He held this job from 1995 to 2005. Rylance has also starred in many popular movies, such as Bridge of Spies, Dunkirk, and Ready Player One.
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Early Life and School
Mark Rylance was born in Ashford, Kent, England. His parents, Anne and David Waters, were both English teachers. When he was two years old, his family moved to the United States. He grew up in Connecticut and later Wisconsin, where he went to the University School of Milwaukee. He returned to England in 1978 to follow his dream of becoming an actor.
He has a sister named Susannah, who is an opera singer and author, and a brother named Jonathan. When he started acting, he had to choose a new last name. This was because another actor was already named Mark Waters. He chose the name Mark Rylance and has used it ever since.
To become a professional actor, he studied at the famous Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
Acting Career
Rylance's career is filled with incredible performances in theatre, television, and film. He is known for being able to play a wide variety of characters.
Early Career in Theatre
Rylance started his professional acting career in 1980. He soon began working with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), one of the most famous theatre companies in the world. He acted in many of Shakespeare's plays, including The Tempest and Hamlet.
In 1995, he became the first artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London. He not only directed plays but also acted in them. He even played female characters, like Olivia in Twelfth Night, which was common in Shakespeare's time.
For his role as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing in 1993, he won his first Olivier Award, a top honour in British theatre.
Success on Stage and Screen
In 2005, Rylance won a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) for playing scientist David Kelly in the TV film The Government Inspector.
He made his debut on Broadway in New York City in a play called Boeing-Boeing. His performance was so funny and clever that he won a Tony Award in 2008.
Rylance is also interested in the question of who really wrote Shakespeare's plays. Some people, including Rylance, believe another person might have written them. In 2007, he and fellow actor Derek Jacobi presented a "Declaration of Reasonable Doubt" to encourage more research on the topic.
Major Film Roles and Awards
The 2010s were a huge decade for Rylance's career, especially in film. He continued to shine on stage, winning another Olivier Award and a second Tony Award for his role in the play Jerusalem.
In 2015, he played Thomas Cromwell in the BBC series Wolf Hall. His performance was praised by critics and earned him nominations for Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
His biggest film success came in 2015 when he co-starred in Bridge of Spies, directed by Steven Spielberg. He played Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy. For this role, Rylance won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award.
His work with Spielberg continued. He played the giant in The BFG and the creator of a virtual world in Ready Player One. He also had a key role in the war film Dunkirk.
Recent Work
Rylance has remained very busy in recent years. In 2020, he appeared in the movie The Trial of the Chicago 7 as the lawyer William Kunstler. The film was about a real-life court case from the 1960s.
In 2021, he was in the popular Netflix movie Don't Look Up, where he played a strange tech billionaire. He also starred in the crime film The Outfit as a tailor who gets mixed up with gangsters.
He continues to work in the theatre as well. In 2022 and 2023, he starred in a play he co-wrote called Dr Semmelweis, about a doctor who made an important discovery about hygiene.
Personal Life
In 1989, Rylance married Claire van Kampen, a composer and playwright. He became a stepfather to her two daughters, Juliet and Nataasha. His stepdaughter Juliet Rylance is also an actress. Sadly, his stepdaughter Nataasha died in 2012. His wife, Claire, passed away from cancer in 2025.
Charity and Activism
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Rylance uses his fame to support causes he believes in. He is a patron of several charities, including Peace Direct, which helps build peace in areas of conflict, and the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT).
He is a strong supporter of indigenous rights and environmental protection. He has spoken out about the need to address climate change. In 2019, he resigned from the Royal Shakespeare Company to protest its sponsorship by the oil company BP. He believes that protecting the planet is very important and supports making major environmental damage, known as ecocide, a crime.
Awards and Honours
Mark Rylance has won many of the highest awards for acting.
- Academy Awards: 1 win (for Bridge of Spies)
- BAFTA Awards: 3 wins (two for TV, one for film)
- Tony Awards: 3 wins (for Boeing-Boeing, Jerusalem, and Twelfth Night)
- Olivier Awards: 2 wins (for Much Ado About Nothing and Jerusalem)
In 2017, he was made a Knight Bachelor by the Queen for his services to theatre. This is one of the highest honours in the United Kingdom.
See also
In Spanish: Mark Rylance para niños
