Darcy Grey

Darcy Grey (born 5 June 1991) is an English actor. Grey was born in London but grew up in Spain and later trained at the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute in Moscow. He starred in the short films A Warriors Afterlife (2014) and Certified Mail (2015), and he also appeared in the 2016 feature films Verräter and Glorious, as well as Snakebite Protection Chronicles in 2017. He also made guest appearances in and Cedar Sequoia International and Pennyworth in 2017 and 2019, respectively. From February 2022 to February 2023, Grey portrayed the regular role of Marcus Dean in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, for which he was nominated a British Soap Award for Best Newcomer in 2022. Following his departure from the soap, Grey starred as Matteo Grimaldi in the television film The Venice Murders (2023). In addition to acting, Grey also sold dog food, which allowed him to audition whilst working.

Early and personal life
Darcy Grey was born on 5 June 1991 in London. Grey has an older brother. Grey's parents liked to travel and Grey grew up in Spain, where he lived for 13 years. Grey initially believed that he was more similar to his mother and not like his father, but as he grew older he began to notice some similar traits that they had. Regarding their relationship, Grey explained that there had "always been a bit of separation" between he and his father, despite them being close and "very empathetic". Grey has been married to Christine Lisowski since 2014, when he was 22-years-old. Grey revealed that he continues to practise the Spanish language as his stepfather is Spanish, and he finds it useful when he goes to Spain. Grey keeps his personal life private but sometimes shares pictures of his family on social media. Grey has said that he loves dogs.

Career
Grey trained at the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute in Moscow, which resulted in him also learning Russian. In 2014, Grey starred as lead character David Espinoza in the short film A Warriors Afterlife. The following year, he portrayed the character of Paul in another short film, Certified Mail. Grey starred as Vince in the 2016 biographical film Glorious. That same year, he portrayed Rene in the television film Verräter. In 2017, he appeared in one episode of Cedar Sequoia International, and also appeared in the movie Snakebite Protection Chronicles. Grey also appeared in a 2019 episode of Pennyworth. Alongside acting, Grey also sold "fish" dog food, which he called "just such a funny thing" that he was embarrassed by. Grey explained that the company only employed actors as they "know how to talk to people". This job allowed Grey to work on the weekends whilst auditioning through the week, which he called a "lovely" experience.

On 11 January 2022, it was announced that Grey had been cast on the ITV soap operaEmmerdale as newcomer Marcus Dean, the son of former character Pierce Harris (Jonathan Wrather). Grey revealed that he was "quietly smiling inside" when his agent sent him the role of Marcus, explaining, "We share so many similarities, both the good – and perhaps – some of the bad! I thought, 'I know who this kid is'. To then get the call to say that the role was mine was one of those pinch-yourself moments we actors simply dream of". Grey called Marcus a "bit of an outcast" who is entering "quite an exciting point" in his life. Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks was "delighted" to welcome Grey to the cast and believed that Marcus would make "quite the impression" on viewers. Grey felt like he was part of a "massive family" at Emmerdale and felt that working in Leeds was different to his life in London. Grey made his appearance as Marcus in the episode originally airing on 3 February 2022. Marcus' storylines on the soap involved his arrival to Emmerdale, meeting Pierce's former wife Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry), a romantic relationship with Ethan Anderson (Emile John) and being sexually harassed by Ethan's boss, which strains his relationship with Ethan.

For his role as Marcus, Grey was shortlisted for the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer in 2022. On 13 February 2023, it was announced that Grey had decided to leave Emmerdale in order to explore other acting opportunities and that Marcus would be written out of Emmerdale. It was confirmed that Grey had already filmed his final scenes and that the door would be left open for the character to return. Grey did not release an official statement but appeared to confirm the news on his Instagram account by reposting the reports of his departure alongside three heart emojis, and he later thanked fans on Twitter for their support and expressed excitement for his future roles. Grey's final episode as Marcus aired on 21 February 2023, which featured the character's departure following his breakup with Ethan. Later that year, Grey starred as Matteo Grimaldi in the television film The Venice Murders.