Mark is an English actor who was born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands to British parents. He is based in London and Los Angeles.His early life sent him to the Far East where, between the ages of two and ten, he and his family lived in the tropics of Brunei before moving back to England where he attended The Birkenhead School. Then back to Holland where he enrolled at The British School in The Netherlands, Voorschoten, where he performed in various productions and Europe-wide acting competitions. This led to him studying a BA in English and Drama at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.Mark can next be seen as series regular ‘Isaac’ in “The Orville” for Twentieth Century Fox Television and Fuzzy Door Productions, opposite Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Scott Grimes, Halston Sage, J. Lee, Peter Macon and Penny Johnson Jerald.He has an extensive list of stage credits which include appearing with Celia Imrie and Robert Glenister in the award¬winning “Noises Off”, the international tour of “One Man Two Gunners” with Rufus Hound, performing opposite Robert Powell in Agatha Christie’s “Black Coffee,” and playing ‘Captain Stewart’ in the National Theatre’s acclaimed production of “War Horse”. Mark is also an accomplished voice over artist.

RAINE: What was it like wearing the robot costume?

JACKSON: In a show that sees many actors in full body prosthetics, I think I get off pretty lightly. The stages we shoot on are kept at sub zero temperatures, so the suit keeps my pleasant temperate and the helmet, due to an ingenious system of magnets, I can whip off instantly. I guess the short answer would be 'perfectly fine'. The other thing, of course, is that the suit made all the difference to how I moved as Isaac. He has an economy of movement that definitely derived from the suit's structure.

RAINE: You have a lot of stage credits to your name. What has been your most challenging role?

JACKSON: Without a doubt, it would be playing Alfie, an 87-year- old waiter, in the National Theatre's 'One Man, Two Guvnors'. Apart from the obvious challenges of playing such an old chap, the show drew on the high farce of comedia dell'arte, which saw me falling down flights of stairs backwards and being smacked in the face with doors. You need to build up a confidence for playing roles like that which can take some time. It was a real show stopper though and wonderful to perform for each night.

RAINE: Is there a process you undergo to develop your characters?

JACKSON: I'm constantly surprised how different the characters I end up playing are. I was sure that when I left drama school I'd always play the same sort of part, but it just hasn't been the case. I now consider myself very fortunate because of it - variety being the spice of life and all that. Because of the range of parts, I've found I've had to approach each one differently. I'm certainly not a method actor, wouldn't know where to begin with that! I think an actor should always trust their instincts. I've found that once you've made a choice, things tend to fall into place after that. Making sure you know your lines and where to stand helps too.

RAINE: What was it like working on the set of “The Orville” with Seth MacFarlane?

JACKSON: The man's pretty iconic in the world of comedy, so I'd be lying if I didn't say I was slightly daunted by the idea of working so closely with him. Fortunately, however, his comic genius is equally matched by his creative generosity. He's been very supportive of the choices I've made with Isaac. Everything was new - the Orville universe, the characters, the technologies and different species - which meant that, to some extent, we were building it all from scratch. To do that, you really need an environment that you feel safe to explore in, and Seth provided that in abundance.

RAINE: Tell more about your character, Isaac.

JACKSON: Well, he's not a robot. I'm expecting to get the robot thing quite a lot, so just getting that in early! He's an artificial life form from the planet Kaylon. Very much not human and very much alive. He's been sent as an ambassador to be the Orville's science officer with the task of reporting back about the Union and the different races that it's composed of. He's super clever and super aware of it. Not being human, he generally fails to comprehend the crew's idiosyncrasies, to hilarious effect of course. He combines a particular kind of innocence with a jaw- dropping arrogance, which I think the audience will find appealing.