Martin Joseph Marquez (born 8 October 1964) is an English actor. He is best known on television for his role as Gino Primirola, the head barman, in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television comedy drama '' Hotel Babylon''. He also played Danny Pearce in ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' from 1993 to 1995, and Neil in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' in 2002, and he has appeared in '' Doc Martin'' alongside his real life brother John Marquez, '' The Catherine Tate Show'', '' Murder Most Horrid'', and ''

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...

''.

Early life

Marquez was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

to a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

father and an English mother. Marquez's father formerly worked as a waiter at the

Costa Brava The Costa Brava (; ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava. Usually it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeas ...

Ritz Hotel and later opened a chip shop when the family moved to Binley Woods. Martin attended King Henry VIII School in Coventry. He worked as a personal trainer and a barman, before beginning his career in acting.

Career

Marquez first appeared on television in ''

'', where he portrayed

Detective Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the Brit ...

Danny Pearce. He also had small roles in such series as '' Doc Martin'', '' The Catherine Tate Show'', ''

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

'', '' The Business'', ''

'' and '' Bedtime''. From 2006 to 2009, he played the character of head barman on the television series '' Hotel Babylon''. In 2013, he appeared in new ITV comedy drama '' The Job Lot'', playing security guard Paul. He is also known for his theatre work, including

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dir ...

's revival of '' Anything Goes'' in 2002, in which he played Moonface Martin and Terry Johnson's play '' Insignificance''. He has performed as a comedy team, The Brothers Marquez, with his brother John Marquez, who also portrayed his fictional brother in a "Doc Martin" episode. He has played the lead role of Dad in ''

Billy Elliot the Musical ''Billy Elliot: The Musical'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age stage musical based on the Billy Elliot, 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall (playwright), Lee Hall, who wrote th ...

'' at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London's West End since November 2010. In October 2013, he went on to play the role of Captain Dana Holmes in '' From Here to Eternity the Musical''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Personal life

He has three sons and two daughters, including Ramona Marquez, who is known for playing Karen Brockman in '' Outnumbered''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marquez, Martin 1964 births Living people Male actors from Coventry English dramatists and playwrights English male stage actors English people of Spanish descent English male soap opera actors