Mark Atkinson is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

who appeared the films ''Pulp Friction'' (2021), ''Skin: The Movie'' (2020), and produced the

Dick Shawn Dick Shawn (born Richard Schulefand, December 1, 1923 – April 17, 1987) was an American actor and comedian. He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s, he played small roles in madcap come ...

biopic ''

Leave 'Em Laughing ''Leave 'Em Laughing'' is a 1928 two-reel silent film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Produced by the Hal Roach Studios, it was shot in October 1927 and released January 28, 1928 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Opening title ''What's worse t ...

'' (2020). Atkinson won Best Supporting Actor at

World Music & Independent Film Festival ''World Music & Independent Film Festival'' is an international film festival that takes place annually in Washington D.C.. Held in the third week of August the seven-day festival is a showcase of independent filmmakers and musicians from around ...

and received acting nominations at

Austin Revolution Film Festival Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous cit ...

and

Oceanside International Film Festival The Oceanside International Film Festival (OIFF) is an annual film festival based in Oceanside, a town in North County of San Diego. It was founded in 2009 by the Oceanside Cultural Foundation. History Executive director Lou Niles curates the ...

Personal life

After graduating from

South Kingstown High School South Kingstown High School (SKHS), originally known as the Wakefield High School is a public high school located in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Approximately 931 students attend South Kingstown High School in grades 9–12. South Kingstown Hi ...

in 1997, Atkinson received a bachelor's degree to conclude four years at

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

. He moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and briefly studied comedy in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

The Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniq ...

and

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre o ...

. Atkinson later settled in

Ocean Beach, San Diego Ocean Beach (also known as O.B.) is a beachfront neighborhood of San Diego, California. Geography Ocean Beach lies on the Pacific Ocean at the estuary of the San Diego River, at the western terminus of Interstate 8. Located about northwest of ...

Career

Atkinson worked as a lifeguard in

South Kingstown South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

and had a job at

Marriott Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hotel ...

for a short period. He moved to California after doing

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

at locations such as

AS220 As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voice ...

and The Station. In 2007, Atkinson did commercial work that aired on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Years later he started his own production company and produced the films ''92115'', ''

'', and ''

The Power Agent ''The Power Agent'' is a 2020 comedy short film written and directed by Mark Atkinson. The film stars Atkinson, Jeff Krapf and Charlie Krapf. Plot An actor seeks advice from his agent. Cast * Mark Atkinson * Jeff Krapf * Charlie Krapf P ...

''. In 2020, he was cast as a

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a coffee shop under th ...

manager in '' Selena: The Series''. In 2021, Atkinson starred alongside

Randy Davison Randy Lee Davison (born ) is an American actor who appeared in the films ''The United States vs. Billie Holiday'' (2021) as Joseph McCarthy, ''Mank'' (2020), ''Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' (2023), '' Not This Part of the World'' (199 ...

in ''Pulp Friction'', a film he also wrote and produced. In 2022, he played Marv in ''Kung Fu Ghost'' and voiced an animated character in a film called ''The Gools'', featuring Caroline Amiguet and

Brian Patrick Butler Brian Patrick Butler is an American actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is known for creating '' Friend of the World'' and his performances in ''We All Die Alone'' and ''South of 8''. Life and career While pursuing a degree ...

Filmography

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Mark Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male comedians American male film actors Comedians from Boston Comedians from Los Angeles Comedians from Rhode Island Comedians from San Diego Film directors from California Film producers from California Film directors from Rhode Island Film producers from Rhode Island Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from Rhode Island Male actors from San Diego People from South Kingstown, Rhode Island Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Rhode Island University of Rhode Island alumni Writers from San Diego