Mark Gottlieb (Neighbours)
| Mark Gottlieb | |||||||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Bruce Samazan | ||||||||
| Duration | 1993–1995 | ||||||||
| First appearance | 13 August 1993 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | 29 November 1995 | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Alan Coleman | ||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Other names | Marcel Amadieu | ||||||||
| Occupation | Head chef at Lassiter's Hotel (1993–1995) Owner of The Holy Roll (1995) |
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| Home | Sydney | ||||||||
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| Father | Dave Gottlieb |
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| Mother | Sally Dawes |
| Brothers | Stephen Gottlieb |
| Sisters | Serendipity Gottlieb |
Mark Gottlieb is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Bruce Samazan. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 August 1993. He departed on 29 November 1995.
Actor Bruce Samazan joined the cast of Neighbours as Mark, shortly after the cancellation of rival soap E Street in which he starred as Max Simmons. Samazan told Shelli-Anne Couch of The Sydney Morning Herald that he hoped a stint on Neighbours would help him further his aspirations of becoming a popular Australian actor. Samazan initially signed a six month contract, but he wanted to extend it to make it a year and then decide whether he would continue in the role or look for a new acting job. Joining Neighbours meant Samazan had to relocate to Melbourne from Sydney for filming.
Speaking to Brett Thomas from The Sun-Herald, Samazan admitted that he was "a little bit rusty" because he had not worked for two months after E Street, but thought it was a good thing as the nerves helped him to get his lines right. He continued, "That's the best way to get rid of cobwebs. I'm almost nervous and that makes for a better performance because you're really thinking – you're thinking all the time. It makes it more of a challenge when you've got to adjust to a new situation." Samazan made his debut screen appearance on 13 August 1993.
Samazan departed Neighbours in 1995, along with several other cast members. On-screen, Mark decided to leave Ramsay Street to pursue a career as a television chef.
Upon his introduction, Mark assumed a French persona as part of a ruse. Samazan had to act with a French accent that he developed with the help of real life experiences. He told Thomas, "A lot of the accent is from just listening to my father – he has such a rich French accent, even after 15 years of living here and people still have trouble understanding him. So I know how a Frenchman is going to say an English word." It was not long before Mark's real identity was revealed and it emerged that he had come to Erinsborough to reconcile with his brother Stephen (Lochie Daddo). The brothers had fallen out when Mark spiked Stephen's drink, so he was incapable of driving himself and his fiancee Libby home. Libby took a taxi instead, but it crashed and Libby was killed. Stephen blamed Mark for causing Libby's death. While talking about their days living with their parents in a hippy commune, where Mark was called Cosmic, the brothers realised that they had lots in common and finally made up.
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