Mark Frankel
| Mark Frankel | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Mark D. Frankel 13 June 1962 Pontrhydyfen, Wales, UK |
| Died | 24 September 1996 (aged 34) Chiswick, west London, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1991–1996 |
| Spouse(s) | Caroline Besson |
| Children | 2 sons – Fabien and Maximilien |
Mark Frankel (13 June 1962–24 September 1996) was a British actor, known for his leading roles in British film Leon the Pig Farmer and American TV series Kindred: the Embraced.
Mark Frankel was born to David Lionel Frankel (a former Royal Air Force pilot) and Grace Frankel on 13 June 1962 and was raised in London. His grandmother was a concert pianist, and his grandfather, a prominent violinist and conductor. He was cast in his first professional theater role at age 10, but he gave up acting at age 16 to concentrate on school Frensham Heights. When he was 20 he returned to the theatre. He studied amateur dramatics, took numerous classes, and studied with Jack Walzer from the Actors Studio in New York. At that point, he decided to attend drama school for classical training. He was awarded a full three-year scholarship to one of the top drama schools in England, London's prestigious Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts.
It was during a performance in a play that he was spotted by a British casting agent and cast in the TNT mini-series A Season of Giants, winning the lead role of Michelangelo over more than 80 actors screen-testing for the part. The mini-series took Frankel on location to Italy, where he spent five months filming and working with F. Murray Abraham, John Glover, Ian Holm, and Steven Berkoff. Mark describes his first big break: "After graduation, while doing four plays in London, I auditioned for a film called A Season of Giants which was a TNT film about the life of Michelangelo. That same evening the director came to my play and asked me to star in his film. That was my first big break. It was very exciting because I had been out of drama school for only a month."
Frankel also appeared in Maigret opposite Michael Gambon; the episode (Maigret and the Mad Woman) was shot in Budapest, Hungary for Granada Television. In Leningrad, Russia, he filmed TNT's Young Catherine playing the role of Count Orlov and starring opposite acting legends Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Plummer, Franco Nero, and Maximillan Schell. Catherine was played by Julie Ormond, also a graduate (1988) of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Frankel's feature film credits include the title role in Leon the Pig Farmer which was released in Europe in 1993 and won the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Charlie Chaplin Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival that same year.
...
Wikipedia