Mark Little (Australian actor)

Mark Little (born 20 October 1959) is an Australian actor, television presenter, comedian and screen/stage writer. He is known for portraying the role of Joe Mangel from 1988-1991 and 2005 on the Australian soap opera Neighbours.

Mark Little
Born (1959-10-20) 20 October 1959
Brisbane, Queensland
OccupationActor, comedian and television presenter, writer
Years active1976-present
Spouse(s)Cath Farr
Children2

Career

Little appeared in a string of Australian films and TV series during the 1980s. He also performed his own comedy/performance in Melbourne's burgeoning comedy clubs throughout the eighties. His longest-running television role was as Joe Mangel in the soap opera Neighbours. He played the role for three years until 1991. The role gave his profile a big boost in the United Kingdom where Neighbours was being watched by ten million people every day at the time. He consequently has spent much of his career in the UK, living for much of the time near the seafront in Brighton and later north London.

He has taken many self-devised shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and toured them nationally throughout the UK. In 1994, he replaced Chris Evans as the presenter of The Big Breakfast. He has also narrated cult TV series The Villa on Sky TV.

He has worked on films such as Blackball and in the West End with his one-man show Defending the Caveman, which also won the Laurence Olivier Award in 2000. He returned to Neighbours as Joe for a brief period in 2005.

Little appeared as Roy in a production of Louis Nowra's play Così at The White Bear Theatre in Kennington, London, opening 29 July 2008.

Since 2009, Little has appeared regularly on the discussion show, The Wright Stuff.

As well as extended runs of Defending the Caveman at London's Leicester Square Theatre, he has extensively toured the play around the UK.[1]

In June 2010, he made his directorial debut starring in, designing and directing Jack Hibberd's A Stretch of the Imagination at The Cock Tavern Theatre in Kilburn to critical acclaim, receiving Time Out Critic's Choice. In the same year he appeared on Celebrity Masterchef, where he impressed in the first round but narrowly missed out on progressing. He won the theatre-land edition of "The Weakest Link" donating his winnings to Hove's Martlets Hospice of which he is a patron.

Little appeared as a regular on Big Brother's Bit On The Side.

In 2011, he wrote and directed the comedy film ROBIN. It was intended as a pilot for a comedy series but was rejected by both the BBC and Channel 4.

Little is also writing comedy films and poetry. He appeared in a documentary special celebrating Neighbours' 30th anniversary titled Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015.[2][3]

In December 2017, Little played the character of 'Fleshcreep' in a pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield.[4]

In 2019, Little took part in the eleventh series of Dancing on Ice, partnered with Brianne Delcourt. They become the first couple to leave after the judges choose to save ex-cricketer Ryan Sidebottom and his skating partner Brandee Malto in the skate-off.

Family

Little is married to Cath Farr, who is his collaborator, having produced his live shows and directed Defending the Caveman. She also produced the comedy film Robin. They have two children: Angus H Little, who is a stand up comedian and performer in the percussion show Stomp, and Jasper Valentine, a musician and film maker. Together, Mark and Cath Little won Brighton's Festival of Artist's Open Houses, 'Best Open House' Award for Cath Farr's The Art of Fun in 2008.

Awards
  • 1985 Australian Television Society Award, Best Actor for 'The Flying Doctors'
  • 1997 Paramount Comedy Award, Edinburgh Fringe for 'Psychobubble'
  • 2000 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, 'Defending the Caveman'
  • 2008 Contributing Artist: Brighton Festival of Artists Open Houses, Best Open House: Cath Farr's The Art of Fun
  • Australian Film Institute: Nominations for Best Supporting Actor: 1985 "An Indecent Obsession" (Ben Maynard) and 1987 "Short Changed" (Curly)
  • Australian Logie Awards: Nomination for Best Supporting Actor 1984 'Waterfront' (Alan)
  • Australian Television Society: Nomination for Best Actor 1990 "Neighbours" (Joe Mangel)

Filmography
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References
  1. "Defending The Caveman, starring Mark Little – National Tour 2010". Defendingthecaveman.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  2. Knox, David (28 February 2015). "Airdate: Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  3. Kilkelly, Daniel (4 March 2015). "Neighbours 30th anniversary schedule confirmed by Channel 5". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  4. 'Jack & the Beanstalk review at Palace Theatre', 'The Stage', 20 December 2017. https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2017/jack-beanstalk-review-palace-theatre-mansfield/
  5. "A Cry in the Dark (1988) - Release dates". IMDb.com. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
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