Mark Sheppard

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Mark Sheppard
Sheppard at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Mark Andreas Sheppard

London, England
Other namesMark A. Sheppard
Occupation(s)Actor, musician
Years active1976–present
Spouses
Jessica Sheppard
(m. 2004; div. 2014)
Sarah Louise Fudge
(m. 2015)
Children3
Parent

Mark Andreas Sheppard is an English actor and musician. Sheppard is known for playing the demon/King of Hell Crowley on Supernatural and for his recurring roles as lawyer Romo Lampkin on the Battlestar Galactica reboot, Interpol investigator James Sterling on Leverage, and small-time crime lord Badger on Joss Whedon's Firefly.

Early life[edit]

Mark Andreas Sheppard was born in London, England, the son of actor W. Morgan Sheppard and Regina Lisa (née Scherer) Sheppard.[1] He is of Irish and German descent.[2]

Career[edit]

Music[edit]

Sheppard became a drummer as a teenager, buying his first drum kit in 1976, and spent many years recording and touring with artists including Robyn Hitchcock, the Television Personalities, the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks, and the Irish group Light a Big Fire.[3] In 1985, Sheppard played drums on Light a Big Fire's second album,[2] and was with them as the opening act for some stops on U2's 1987 The Joshua Tree Tour.[3]

He had stepped away from music when his abuse of drugs and alcohol took over his life, and stayed away after he regained sobriety and his acting career began to flourish.[3] In the 2010s, while appearing in Supernatural, he would attend fan conventions with his cast mates; co-star Rob Benedict, whose band played at the conventions, convinced Sheppard to sit in on a song in front of 3,000 attendees, and Sheppard was back. By 2017 he had rejoined Robyn Hitchcock's band on tour.[3]

Television[edit]

Sheppard's television work includes the following: the "Fire" episode of The X-Files,[4] a year on the Jerry Bruckheimer action series Soldier of Fortune, guest-starring and recurring roles on The Practice, The Invisible Man, Special Unit 2, JAG,[4] Star Trek: Voyager,[4] The Chronicle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,[4] CSI: NY, Monk, and Las Vegas, among others. He played a demon named Arnon on an episode titled "Witches in Tights" on the TV series Charmed. He played Badger, a semi-comical cockney-style crime boss in the short-lived Joss Whedon show Firefly[4] and later cast again in another Whedon show, Dollhouse as Paul Ballard's dismissive FBI superior. He appeared as a villain in season five of the Fox show 24 and as Patricia Arquette's reincarnated Jack the Ripper-style serial killer nemesis on Medium.[5] He appeared as Romo Lampkin in seasons three and four of Battlestar Galactica, and had a recurring role as Manservant Neville in ABC Family's short-lived The Middleman. He has been seen as Anthony Anthros on Bionic Woman,[6][7] as Sterling the nemesis character on Leverage, and as the King of Hell Crowley on Supernatural.[4]

He appeared in the pilot episode of White Collar[4] as a villainous master forger and as the Director of the Ring criminal organisation in Chuck. He appeared in the SyFy series Warehouse 13 as Regent Benedict Valda. He appears in the 2011 Doctor Who episodes "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day of the Moon" playing the character Canton Everett Delaware III.[8] In October 2013, Sheppard returned to White Collar, reprising his 2009 role as master forger Curtis Hagen.[4]

Film[edit]

His film credits include the Jim Sheridan film In the Name of the Father,[4] starring opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson as Guildford Four member Patrick Armstrong; the romantic comedy Lover's Knot; the Russian historical drama Out of the Cold; the thriller Unstoppable;[4] and with Heather Graham and Jeremy Sisto in the dark independent, Broken.[4] He also starred in Megalodon and New Alcatraz.[4]

Mark Sheppard directed his father, actor W. Morgan Sheppard.[9] in the film Room 101, and co-starred with him in the psychological thriller Nether World, which the younger Sheppard also co-produced. The elder Sheppard played the older version of his son's character in the aforementioned Doctor Who and NCIS episodes.[4]

Video games[edit]

He voiced the role of protagonist Michael Ford in The Conduit, whose mentor, John Adams, was voiced by W. Morgan Sheppard.

Double casting[edit]

Sheppard was cast with his father (who died in 2019) as the same character on three occasions, each playing the character at different ages:

In the Macgyver reboot episode, "Cigar Cutter", which first aired 14 April 2017, he plays an assassin who assumes the identity of murder victim "Dr. Zito",[10] a role his father played in the original series, except "Dr. Zito" was the name of the killer.

Voice[edit]

Since 2011, Mark Sheppard has been "The Voice" of BBC America promos and announcements.[11]

Personal life[edit]

On 9 November 2015, Sheppard married Australian heiress Sarah Louise Fudge.[12] In March 2016, their daughter, Isabella Rose, was born,[12] and the couple held a wedding ceremony in November of that year in Malibu, California.[13]

On 1 December 2023, Sheppard suffered a total of six heart attacks at his home in Los Angeles. He needed to be resuscitated by first responders. Doctors discovered a complete blockage in his left anterior descending artery.[14][15][13]

Filmography[edit]

Film roles[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1993 In the Name of the Father Paddy Armstrong
1996 Lover's Knot Nigel Bowles
1997 Nether World "California"
1999 Out of the Cold "Fang"
2000 Farewell, My Love M.J.
2001 Lady in the Box Doug Sweeney
New Alcatraz Yuri Breshcov
2002 Megalodon Mitchell Parks Direct-to-video film
2004 Evil Eyes Peter
Unstoppable Leitch
2006 Broken Malcolm
2010 Xtinction: Predator X Dr. Charles LeBlanc
2012 Jules Verne's Mysterious Island Young Captain Nemo Also director
War of the Worlds: Goliath Sean O'Brien (Voice)
2013 Sons of Liberty Ackley

Television roles[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1992–1993 Silk Stalkings Eric / Eddie Bryce Episodes: "In Too Deep", "Schemes Like Old Times"
1993 The X-Files Bob / Cecil L'Ively Episode: "Fire"
1995 M.A.N.T.I.S. C. Flayton Ruell Episode: "Spider in the Tower"
1997 Soldier of Fortune Christopher "C.J." Yates TV film
1997–1998 Soldier of Fortune, Inc. Christopher "C.J." Yates Main role (season 1)
1998 Sliders Jack Episode: "Net Worth"
1999 Martial Law Clay Sullivan Episode: "Thieves Among Thieves"
The Practice Eddie Wicks Episode: Day in Court
2000 Star Trek: Voyager Leucon Episode: "Child's Play"
JAG Deputy Director of Air Operations / Young General Parker Episodes: "A Separate Peace: Parts 1 & 2"
2001 The Invisible Man Yuri Gregorov Episode: "Diseased"
The Chronicle "Nitro" Episode: "Bring Me the Head of Tucker Burns"
Special Unit 2 "The Chameleon" Episode: "The Skin"
Lost Voyage Ian Fields TV film
2001–2002 V.I.P. Nero Episodes: "A.I. Highrise", "48½ Hours"
2002 UC: Undercover Mitchell Reeves Episode: "Manhunt"
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Rod Darling Episode: "The Hunger Artist"
Charmed Arnon Episode: "Witches in Tights"
Firefly "Badger" Episodes: "Serenity", "Shindig"
2003 Fastlane Ronan Dennehy Episode: "Simone Says"
Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle Man In Car TV film
Deep Shock Chomsky TV film
Jake 2.0 Hartman Episode: "Whiskey – Tango – Foxtrot"
2004 Las Vegas George Beckwahr Episode: "Degas Away with It"
Monk Chris Downey Episode: "Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra"
2005 CSI: NY Kevin Hannigan Episode: "Hush"
2005–2006 Medium Dr. Charles Walker Episodes: "Penny for Your Thoughts", "Doctor's Orders", "Blood Relation"
2006 24 Ivan Erwich Recurring role (season 5), 6 episodes
Without a Trace Ioannis "Johnny" Patani Episode: "Requiem"
2007–2009 Battlestar Galactica Romo Lampkin Recurring role, 7 episodes
2007 Bionic Woman Anthony Anthros Episodes: Pilot, "Sisterhood"
2008 Shark Rupert Stone Episode: "One Hit Wonder"
In Plain Sight Russell Episode: "To Serge with Love"
The Middleman Neville, The Manservant Episodes: "The Clotharian Contamination Protocol", "The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome"
2008–2012 Leverage Jim Sterling Recurring role, 10 episodes
2009 NCIS Young Marcin Jerek Episode: "Broken Bird"
Burn Notice Tom Prescott Episode: "Bad Breaks"
Dollhouse Tanaka Episodes: "The Target", "Man on the Street", "Omega"
2009–2014 White Collar Curtis Hagen Recurring role, 6 episodes
2009 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Dimitri Sadesky Episode: "The Lost Girls"
2009–2014 Warehouse 13 Benedict Valda Recurring role, 6 episodes
2009–2017 Supernatural Crowley Recurring role (seasons 5–9); main role (seasons 10-12)[16]
2010 Chuck Ring Director Episodes: "Chuck Versus the American Hero", "Chuck Versus the Other Guy"
2011 Doctor Who Canton Everett Delaware III Episodes: "The Impossible Astronaut", "Day of the Moon"
Prime Suspect "Blackjack" Mullins Episode: "A Gorgeous Mosaic"
2017 MacGyver Fake Dr. Zito / Jason Tennant Episode: "Cigar Cutter"
2018 Mania City Richard Johnson Recurring role
2019–2023 Doom Patrol Willoughby Kipling Recurring role, 8 episodes
2022-2023 Walker: Independence Nathaniel Hagan 5 episodes

Video game roles[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2009 The Conduit Michael Ford
2021 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Roman "Knight" Grey DLC

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Mark Sheppard Biography". Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Light a Big Fire". Irish Punk and New Wave Discography. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d Budofsky, Adam (August 2018). "Mark Sheppard of Robyn Hitchcock and His L.A. Squires". Modern Drummer. Vol. 24, no. 8. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Mark Sheppard Credits". Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  5. ^ Rohan, Virginia (13 February 2006). "No Mr. Nice Guy". The Bergen County Record. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012.
  6. ^ Dodd, Stacy (26 July 2007). "Players: Mark Sheppard". Daily Variety.
  7. ^ Owen, Rob (26 September 2007). "TV Review: 'Bionic Woman' dark, but intriguing". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  8. ^ "Casting Update: Mark Sheppard". Doctor Who News Page. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  9. ^ a b Martin, Dan (23 April 2011). "Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut – Series 32, episode 1". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2011. ...the older Canton on the beach is actually Mark Sheppard's dad, William Morgan Sheppard.
  10. ^ ""Zito Zives!" - MacGyver S01E21 News". TV.com. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Mark Sheppard on Being a Voice for BBC America". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  12. ^ a b Vulpo, Mike (20 November 2016). "Supernatural's Mark Sheppard Is Married! All the Details on His "Fantastic" Sunset Wedding". E! Online. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  13. ^ a b Jones, Callum (4 December 2023). "Supernatural star Mark Sheppard brought back to life after six 'massive' heart attacks". UNILAD. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  14. ^ Flemming, Tessa (4 December 2023). "Supernatural star Mark Sheppard recovering after six 'massive' heart attacks". ABC News (Australia) . Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  16. ^ Fowler, Matt (23 May 2014). "Supernatural: Mark Sheppard Promoted to Series Regular". IGN. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

External links[edit]