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Mark Heap

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Mark Heap
Heap in The World's End in 2013
Born (1957-05-13) 13 May 1957 (age 67)[1]
Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India
NationalityBritish
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active1983–present

Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957)[1] is a British actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including Brass Eye, Big Train, Spaced, Jam, Green Wing, Friday Night Dinner, Upstart Crow, and Benidorm.

Early life

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Heap was born in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India,[2] to an English father and American mother, the youngest of four boys.[1] He began acting in the 1970s as a member of the Medieval Players,[3] a touring company performing medieval and early modern theatre, and featuring stilt-walking, juggling and puppetry.[3] His brother Carl Heap, who is also an actor, was the artistic director of the company.[3] After its demise, he became part of the street theatre duo The Two Marks (with Mark Saban).[4]

Career

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Television

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Heap starred in the BBC sketch show Big Train, where he performed a barefoot gymnastics routine and other sketches between 1998 and 2002, alongside other burgeoning comedy stars Simon Pegg, Julia Davis, Kevin Eldon, Catherine Tate, Amelia Bullmore, Rebecca Front, Nick Frost and Tracy-Ann Oberman.[5] He appeared as struggling artist Brian Topp in Spaced (1999–2001),[6] and the pompous Dr. Alan Statham in Green Wing (2004–07).[6]

Heap worked with Chris Morris, in Blue Jam, radio predecessor to Jam,[2] and the documentary parody series Brass Eye.[1] He voiced the lead character of Eric Feeble in the animated comedy Stressed Eric. Other recurring roles included: Terry Roche in Paul Whitehouse's comedy-drama Happiness and Derek Few in How Do You Want Me?.[1] He played Harry in the short-lived Rob Grant TV series The Strangerers, in 2000.[2] He also guested in the second series of the BBC comedy Look Around You as Leonard Hatred.[2]

He appeared as an unsuccessful businessman who became a bellboy, in the 2007 BBC One drama Hotel Babylon.[2] Between 2008 and 2010 he appeared as head postman Thomas Brown, in 32 episodes of the BBC period drama Lark Rise to Candleford.[1] He was the super villain Lightkiller, in an episode of the sitcom No Heroics.[2] He also appeared as the father of Chris Miles in the Channel 4 programme Skins.[2] Heap played the love interest of the main character in the second series of the BBC comedy Love Soup.[2] He played the role of Charles Dickens in the 2009 BBC Two drama Desperate Romantics.[2] He also played Jessica Hynes' husband in the one-off comedy written by Hynes and Julia Davis: Lizzie & Sarah.[2]

In 2010, Heap appeared as Bob Stevens, the leader of a rambling group in the BBC4 series The Great Outdoors.[2] He also appeared as a psychiatrist in Miranda Hart's BBC2 comedy Miranda.[2] In October 2010, he appeared as Robin in the four-part BBC drama Single Father.[2] From 2011 to 2020 Heap played eccentric neighbour Jim Bell in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, alongside Simon Bird, Paul Ritter, Tom Rosenthal and Tamsin Greig.[6] He also played Andrew Thorogood in the BBC Four comedy Holy Flying Circus,[2] and Jonas in the eighth episode of E4's sci-fi comedy-drama Misfits in Series 3.[2] He appeared as a misguided church minister during an outbreak of smallpox in the BBC series The Indian Doctor.[2] In 2012, he joined the cast of the Sky1 original series Spy,[2] for its second series commencing in October 2012, replacing Tom Goodman-Hill as Philip Quil, Judith's partner and Marcus' headteacher.[2]

He appeared in the spin-off episode of Outnumbered,[2] the Christmas special episode, aired on 24 December 2012 in which he portrayed Norris, for this single episode.[2] He played the owner of a pet crematorium in Sue Perkins's 2013 comedy Heading Out.[2] He had a leading role in BBC Radio 4's adaptation of Gogol's Dead Souls.[2] He appeared as Robert Greene in three series of Upstart Crow (2016–18),[2] a BBC Two sitcom about Shakespeare, written by Ben Elton.[1] He also appeared as Dr John Hall in the stage show based on the programme.[1]

From 2017 to 2018, Heap also appeared in the sitcom Benidorm,[1] playing the character Malcolm Barrett, the controlling and manipulative boyfriend of Pauline Maltby.[1] In 2019, he appeared in Acorn TV's Queens of Mystery alongside Olivia Vinall.[2]

In 2020, Heap appeared in Intelligence,[2] and played headmaster and husband in ITV's The Trouble with Maggie Cole.[2]

Film

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In 1983, Heap made a brief appearance as a torch-juggler in the James Bond film Octopussy. He played Duncan, Rik Mayall's hapless personal assistant, in Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis (1997).[2] He played a school teacher in the 2002 film About a Boy.[2] He made a cameo appearance with Kevin Eldon in Tim Burton's 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.[2] He played supporting roles in Confetti (2006), Tunnel of Love (2004), Stardust (2007).[2] In 2008 he co-starred in the surreal sci-fi B-movie spoof Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth, and was a publican in The World's End.[2]

Other acting

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In 1993, Heap played a villain, Hans Schultze, in an episode of Crimewatch File, “Double Identity”. Schultze was the German alter ego of an Englishman, John Calton. Schultze/Calton led a gang of kidnappers who robbed banks and a Tesco branch, holding families hostage.

In 2008 Heap played the role of Widmerpool in a Radio 4 serialisation of Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time. He played Eliza's husband in 2006 Radio 4 play The Eliza Stories and appeared as Marmite the Dwarf in the short-lived Radio 4 sitcom The Sofa of Time. He starred in the music video for Four Tet's single "Smile Around the Face" in 2005, contributed a multitude of character voices in the audiobook "Do Ants Have Arseholes?". In 2012 he starred as Martin in the Radio 4 play Cordite for Breakfast, a comedy about Napoleonic-era battle re-enactments.[7] In March 2013, he appeared as Rincewind in a 4-part Radio 4 adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Eric. He also played the angel Aziraphale in the 2014 BBC radio adaption of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens.[8] He also was the lead in a series of radio advertisements for telecommunications company TalkTalk.[9]

Filmography

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Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 Octopussy Torch juggler
1997 Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis Duncan
2002 About A Boy Maths teacher
2004 The Calcium Kid Sebastian Gore-Brown
2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Man with Dog
2006 Confetti Registrar
Scoop MC
2007 Stardust Prince Tertius
2008 Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth Scrutty Baker
2013 The World's End Publican 7
All Stars Simon Tarrington
2016 The Comedian's Guide to Survival Pick up Driver
2022 The House Mr. Thomas
The School for Good and Evil Professor Bilious Manley
Your Christmas or Mine? Railway Conductor
TBA The Magic Faraway Tree Mr. Oom Boom Boom Filming

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 The Les Dennis Laughter Show The Two Marks 1 episode
1990 Up Yer News Film Assistant 1 episode
1992 Packing Them In Fire eating stiltwalker 1 episode
1993 Viva Cabaret The Two Marks 1 episode
1994 The Bill Chris Boxer 1 episode
Seaforth Capt. Karl Von Berner 2 episodes
How High the Moon
1995 The World of Lee Evans Platform Guard 1 episode
1997 Hospital Dr. Ralph Crosby
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman DS Maskell 1 episode
1997–1998 Smith and Jones 2 episodes
1997–2001 Brass Eye Various roles
1998 Kiss Me Kate Peter 3 episodes
1998–1999 How Do You Want Me? Derek Few
1998–2000 Stressed Eric Eric Feeble
1998–2002 Big Train Various roles
1999 All Along the Watchtower Mr. Carter 1 episode
People Like Us Graham Atkinson 1 episode
1999–2001 Spaced Brian Topp
2000 The Strangerers Harry
Jam Various roles
2001 The Ultimate Stress Show: Managing Stress
Doc Martin Mitch
2001–2003 Happiness Terry Roche
2003 Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie Mitch
Spine Chillers Balfus 1 episode
2004 Dalziel and Pascoe Julian Finch 1 episode: "The Price of Fame"
Swiss Toni Terry Fragment 1 episode
Tunnel of Love Gibson
Out of Time Charlie
2004–2007 Green Wing Alan Statham 17 episodes & 1 special
2005 Blake's Junction 7 Avon Short
Look Around You Leonard Hatred 2 episodes
Casanova Doctor Gozzi 1 episode
Animal Hugo Getner
2006 Alpha Male Darwen
2007 Hotel Babylon Robert Kane 1 episode
Marple: At Bertram's Hotel Mr. Humfries
2007–2008 Skins Graham Miles 2 episodes
2008 Love Soup Douglas McVitie
No Heroics Lightkiller 1 episode
The Pro Short
2008–2011 Lark Rise to Candleford Thomas Brown
2009 Desperate Romantics Charles Dickens
Cast Offs Darren 1 episode
2010 Lizzie and Sarah Michael
The Great Outdoors Bob
Single Father Robin
2010, 2015 Miranda Anthony 2 episodes
2011 Holy Flying Circus Andrew Thorogood
Misfits Jonas 1 episode
Miso Soup Shash Short
2011–2020 Friday Night Dinner Jim Bell Main role, 37 episodes
2012 The Indian Doctor Rev Herbert Todd Series 2, 5 episodes
A Moody Christmas Heathrow Passenger 1 episode
Outnumbered Norris 1 episode
Spy Philip
Is This a Joke? Short
2012–2016 The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret Lord Mountford 4 episodes
2013 Heading Out Brian 1 episode
Midsomer Murders Simon Fergus-Johnson 1 episode (series 16 episode 1)
2014 Death in Paradise Alec Burton 1 episode (series 3 episode 6)
2015 We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story Clive Dunn
2016 Endeavour Felix Lorimer 1 episode (series 3, episode 4)
Maigret Doctor Moers
2016–2018 Upstart Crow Robert Greene
2017 Murder on the Blackpool Express Graham
2017–2018 Benidorm Denis Walker (Malcolm Barrett) 3 episodes (series 9, episodes 7 and 8 and series 10, episode 7)
2018 The Midnight Gang Sir Quentin TV movie
Zapped[10] Dragon spotter
2019 Queens of Mystery Kurt Lee 2 episodes "Death by Vinyl"
2020 Intelligence Barnaby Bailer
The Trouble with Maggie Cole Peter Cole
2023 Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway The Butler Series 19, episode 3
Significant Other Ray
2024 Renegade Nell Newspaper Editor 2 episodes
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin John Turpin Main role
Sister Boniface Mysteries Kirk Fabricant 1 episode (series 3, episode 3)
Piglets Superintendent Bob Weekes Lead role[11]

Video Games

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Fable III Brian

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mark Heap - Biography". Hello!. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae "Mark Heap Credits". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Heap, Carl (12 June 2014). "Finding the method in medieval theatre's madness". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. ^ Love, Catherine (2 April 2014). "Mark Heap: Mr Zany buttons up". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  5. ^ Victoria Gooch (25 April 2012). "Big Train: a cult comedy that proved an early platform for top talent". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Francesca Shillcock (10 April 2020). "All you need to know about Friday Night Dinner star Mark Heap". Hello!. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Cordite for Breakfast". BBC Radio 4. 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  8. ^ Brown, Brigid (5 September 2014). "BBC Radio Brings Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens to Life". BBC America (Press release). Archived from the original on 25 January 2021.
  9. ^ Johnston, Rich (18 June 2024). "Terry's Story, a series of radio ads for TalkTalk, starring Mark Heap, written by Rich Johnston". YouTube.
  10. ^ "Zapped Series 3 Guest Stars". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Piglets". British Comedy Guide. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
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