Mark Lewis Jones (born 31 August, 1964) is a Welsh actor, whose roles include that of a

First Order In mathematics and other formal sciences, first-order or first order most often means either: * "linear" (a polynomial of degree at most one), as in first-order approximation and other calculus uses, where it is contrasted with "polynomials of hi ...

Captain Moden Canady in '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', a police inspector in BBC drama series ''

55 Degrees North ''55 Degrees North'' is a BBC television drama series starring Don Gilet as DS Nicky Cole, a London detective relocated to Newcastle upon Tyne after exposing police corruption. Dervla Kirwan co-stars as Claire Maxwell, an ambitious solicito ...

'', a whaler in the film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'', soldier Tecton in ''

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

'' and Rob Morgan in the series '' Stella''. He is known for being the voice of Letho of Gulet the King Slayer in ''

The Witcher 2 ''The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings'' ( pl, Wiedźmin 2: Zabójcy królów) is a 2011 action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red, based on ''The Witcher'' series of fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. It is the sequel to the 20 ...

'' and '' 3''.

Early life

Mark Lewis Jones was born in

Rhosllannerchrugog RhosllanerchrugogDavies, Jenkins and Baines (eds) ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales'', 2008, p.752 (also spelled Rhosllannerchrugog, or simply Rhos) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies within the histo ...

near

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, Wales. He began acting as a teenager with the Clwyd Youth Theatre and trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Career

Jones has acted with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, and at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. His television roles include appearances in '' This Life'', ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...

'', '' Spooks'', '' Murphy's Law'', '' Waking the Dead'' and ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

.'' Perhaps his most significant role for BBC television was as Detective Inspector Russell Bing in the police drama ''

'', in which he played an outspoken, opinionated and at times humorous police officer, in a complex and intricately crafted series. He also played Detective Sergeant Ray Lloyd in police drama '' Murder Prevention''. His two most renowned appearances in Hollywood blockbusters were as Hogg the Whaler in ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'', and Tecton, a soldier in ''

''. In 2001, he portrayed Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur and second husband of Igraine, in the American TV miniseries ''

The Mists of Avalon ''The Mists of Avalon'' is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine (M ...

''. He played Irfon in S4C's '' Con Passionate'', Josi in Sian James' ''Calon Gaeth'', and Bryan Jones in '' Y Pris''. In 2009 he was a guest in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, broadcast on 11 June on BBC Two Wales. Jones auditioned for '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015) but did not get the part. However, he was later offered the part of Captain Canady for the sequel, '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi''. He appears prominently in the opening sequences and says he played the part with "a posh Welsh accent". In 2016, Jones won a

BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

award for Best Actor in The Passing / Yr Ymadawiad. He was nominated in the same category at the 2013 Awards for ''Stella'', 2017 Awards for ''The Lighthouse'', 2018 Awards for ''Keeping Faith'' and in 2021 for ''Gangs of London''. Jones was awarded a Fellowship from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in June 2022.

Stage

*''Lord Grey'' and ''Henry'' (Earl of Richmond), ''Richard III'',

, London, 1993 *''Leontes'', ''The Winter's Tale'',

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and ...

, London, 1997 *''Milantius'', ''The Maid's Tragedy'',

, 1997 *''Mark Antony'', ''Julius Caesar'',

, 1999 *''Taurus'', ''Diomedes'', and ''Sextus Pompeius'', ''Antony and Cleopatra'',

, 1999 *Appeared as ''Billy'', Cardiff East, as ''Willy Nilly'', ''Under Milk Wood'', and as ''Bonario'', ''Volpone'', all National Theatre, London; as ''Costard'', ''Love's Labour's Lost'', as ''Lorenzo'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', and as ''Ferdinand'', ''The Tempest'', all

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

, England; as ''Tristram'', ''Morte d'Arthur'', and as ''Florizel'' and ''Antigonas'', ''The Winter's Tale'', both Lyric Theatre, London; as a pioneer, ''Ingolstadt'',

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...

; and as ''Danton'' and father, ''Snow Palace'', Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn, Yorkshire, England *''Aston'', ''

The Caretaker ''The Caretaker'' is a play in three acts by Harold Pinter. Although it was the sixth of his major works for stage and television, this psychological study of the confluence of power, allegiance, innocence, and corruption among two brothers a ...

'', Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, 1990 *''JB Feller'' in ''

The Man Who Had All the Luck ''The Man Who Had All the Luck'' is a play by Arthur Miller, his second major play (after '' No Villain''). ''The Man Who Had All the Luck'' follows protagonist David Beeves’ existential exploration into the enigmatic question of how fate and t ...

'' by ''Arthur Miller'' at The Donmar Warehouse, 28 Feb – 5 April 2008 *''Sergeant-Major Reg Drummond'' in '' Privates on Parade'' by ''Peter Nichols'' at Noël Coward Theatre, 1 December 2012 – 2 March 2013

Radio

* Appeared in radio broadcasts of ''Cadfael and Cocaine''. *''Samson'' in Julian Simpson's ''The Listener''

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Self

Personal life

In 2014, Jones took part in the Marathon des Sables, in the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, with fellow Welsh actor Richard Harrington. In April 2018 he ran the inaugural Wales Marathon held in Newport. Jones is an Ambassador for ''Believe Organ Donor Support'', ''Marie Curie UK'' and ''Cerebral Palsy Cymru''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Mark Lewis 1964 births Living people People from Rhosllanerchrugog Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Welsh male film actors Welsh male stage actors Welsh male television actors 21st-century Welsh male actors 20th-century Welsh male actors Welsh-speaking actors