Mark-Paul Gosselaar Biography

Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Zack Morris in NBC's Saved by the Bell, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years; Detective John Clark in ABC's NYPD Blue, Jerry Kellerman in TNT's Raising the Bar, and Peter Bash in the TNT series Franklin & Bash.

Early life

Gosselaar, the youngest of four children, was born in Panorama City, California, the son of Pauline (van den Brink), a homemaker and hostess for KLM, and Hans Gosselaar, a plant supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. His father, who is from the Netherlands, is of Dutch Jewish and German descent. Gosselaar's paternal great-grandparents, Hertog and Hester Gosselaar, were killed at the Sobibor extermination camp during the Holocaust. His mother, who is of Dutch-Indonesian descent, is from Bali in Indonesia. At one point, Gosselaar was fluent in Dutch (his older siblings were born in the Netherlands). Gosselaar's parents later separated.

Gosselaar's mother worked as his manager. He began modeling at the age of 5. As a child, he appeared in commercials for Oreo cookies and Smurf merchandise, and later won guest spots on television series. He spent his teenage years in the Santa Clarita Valley in Southern California, where he attended Hart High School.

Career

Gosselaar first came to public notice as the star of the hit television comedy series Saved by the Bell, in which he played Zack Morris, and which aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993. Gosselaar's character was adapted from the short-lived Disney sitcom Good Morning, Miss Bliss; although that show was cancelled after one season, NBC executives believed that a similar show, with Zack Morris as the series lead, had potential for success. He reprised the role in two TV movies and a less-successful spin-off, Saved by the Bell: The College Years. In 1994, Gosselaar appeared as Zack Morris in a second spin-off series Saved by the Bell: The New Class in the episode "Goodbye, Bayside " Part 2", along with Mario López as A.C. Slater and Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle.

In 1996, Gosselaar appeared in the TV-film She Cried No as a college student who date-rapes his best friend's sister at a fraternity party. In 1998, he starred in the feature film, Dead Man on Campus. Later that same year, Gosselaar played the central character in the TV drama Hyperion Bay, which lasted 17 episodes. In 2001, he starred in the movie The Princess and the Marine, with Marisol Nichols. He also starred in the short-lived WB series D.C.

From 2001 to 2005, Gosselaar played Detective John Clark on ABC's NYPD Blue. After the series ended, he joined the cast of ABC's Commander in Chief, starring Geena Davis; however, that series lasted only one season. Gosselaar also appeared on the HBO series John from Cincinnati. He then gained the starring role of defense attorney Jerry Kellerman in the Steven Bochco-produced Raising the Bar, which debuted on September 1, 2008, on TNT. It was cancelled in November 2009.

On June 8, 2009, Gosselaar appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in character as Zack Morris to promote his show Raising the Bar, indicating that the name Mark-Paul Gosselaar is his stage name and declaring as Zack that he would participate in a Saved by the Bell "Class" reunion that is being spearheaded by Fallon. He has since agreed to participate in the reunion being organized by Jimmy Fallon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon along with four fellow castmembers to date.

In October 2009, he made his Off-Broadway stage debut in Theresa Rebeck's play The Understudy with The Roundabout Theatre Company. The show extended its limited New York run until January 17, 2010.

On March 28, 2010, Gosselaar began filming the TNT series Franklin & Bash. The series premiered on June 1, 2011, and has been renewed for a third season.

Personal life

In a July 2009 interview with People magazine, Gosselaar revealed that when Saved By the Bell was in production, he dated, at different times, his three female co-stars: Lark Voorhies, Tiffani Thiessen, and Elizabeth Berkley. He remains friends with his Saved by the Bell cast mates.

In 1996, Gosselaar married former model Lisa Ann Russell. Together they have two children: son Michael Charles (born in 2004), named after Mark-Paul's elder brother; and daughter Ava Lorenn (born in 2006). After 14 years of marriage, Gosselaar and Russell announced their separation in early June 2010. Gosselaar filed for divorce on June 18, 2010, and it became final in May 2011. Russell has since remarried, to Survivor host Jeff Probst.

Gosselaar became engaged to advertising executive Catriona McGinn in August 2011. They married on July 28, 2012 at the Sunstone winery in Santa Ynez, California. On March 11, 2013, it was announced that the couple is expecting their first child together, due in September 2013.

Gosselaar is a sports car enthusiast, race car driver, track cyclist, dirt biker, and pilot. In 2005, he competed in the Far West Championships for track cycling. He won the Category 4/5 Sprint Championship event at the Encino Velodrome.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
1993	White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II	Scott
1994	'	Carl
1995	Twisted Love	D.J.
1996	Specimen	Mike Hillary
1996	Sticks & Stones	Dale
1996	Kounterfeit	Paco/Danny
1998	Dead Man on Campus	Cooper Frederickson
2002	Atomic Twister	Jake Hannah

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Highway to Heaven	Rolf Baldt	Episode: "The Torch"
1986	Stingray	Eric Murray	Episode: "Below the Line"
1986	'	Tim Conrad	Episode: "What Are Friends For?"
1988	Necessary Parties	Chris Mills	Movie
1988	'	Brad Gaines	Episode: "Dance with Me"
1988	Punky Brewster	Walker Wimbley	Episode: "One Plus Tutor Is Three"
1988	Charles in Charge	Philip	Episode: "Runaround Charles"
1988"89	Good Morning, Miss Bliss	Zack Morris	Lead role
1989"93	Saved by the Bell	Zack Morris	Lead role
1990	Murphy Brown	Wes	Episode: "I Want My FYI
1992	Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style	Zack Morris	Movie
1992	Blossom	Kevin	Episode: "Losing Your... Religion"
1993"94	Saved by the Bell: The College Years	Zack Morris	Lead Role
1994	For the Love of Nancy	Tommy Walsh	Movie
1994	Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas	Zack Morris	Movie
1994	Saved by the Bell: The New Class	Zack Morris	Episode: "Goodbye Bayside"
1996	Brothers of the Frontier	Hiram Holcomb	Movie
1996	She Cried No	Scott Baker	Movie; also known as Freshman Fall
1997	Dying to Belong	Steven Tyler	Movie
1997	Born Into Exile	Chris	Movie
1998"99	Hyperion Bay	Dennis Sweeny	Lead role
2000	D.C.	Pete Komisky	Lead role
2001	'	Jason Johnson	Movie
2001	Beer Money	Tim Maroon	Movie
2001	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Wesley Jansen/Peter Ivanhoe	Episode: "Sacrifice"
2001"05	NYPD Blue	Det. John Clark, Jr.	76 episodes; lead role
2002	Alikes
2002	Atomic Twister	Dep. Jake Hannah	Movie
2002	Hitched	Michael	Unsold pilot
2005	Over There	John Moffet	Two episodes
2005"06	Commander in Chief	Richard 'Dickie' McDonald	10 episodes, recurring character
2006	'	Kim	Movie
2007	Law Dogs	Evan Marlowe	Unsold pilot
2007	John from Cincinnati	Jake Ferris	3 episodes
2008	Robot Chicken	Zack Morris / Employee	Voice role; episode: "Boo Cocky"
2008"09	Raising the Bar	Jerry Kellerman	Lead role
2010	Rizzoli & Isles	Garrett Fairfield	Episode: "Money For Nothing"
2010	Weeds	Jack	Episode: "Gentle Puppies"
2011" present	Franklin & Bash	Peter Bash	Lead role
2011	12 Dates of Christmas	Miles	Movie
2012	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23	Himself	Episode: "A Reunion"
2013	Men at Work	Tim	Episode: "Weekend at PJ's"; uncredited
2013	Happy Endings	Chase	Episodes: "The Ex Factor", "Un-sabotagable"

Awards and nominations

Young Artist Award

• 1989: Nominated, "Best Young Actor in a Cable Family Series" " Good Morning, Miss Bliss
• 1990: Nominated, "Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast" " Saved by the Bell
• 1991: Won, "Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series" " Saved by the Bell
• 1992: Nominated, "Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series" " Saved by the Bell
• 1993: Nominated, "Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series" " Saved by the Bell