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Mark Adrian Holden-Aikhomu (né Cortis; 21 September 1962) is a British-born Canadian actor of Nigerian descent, who works in film, television, theatre and voice. He has worked extensively throughout Canada, UK, Europe and South Africa.[1][2] He is best known for playing CIA handler John Lynn in the Fox Networks Group television series Deep State[3] and playing James Morse on stage in the original London cast of Pretty Woman: The Musical at the Savoy Theatre in the West End. Most recently his voice can be heard playing Doctor Paradox in the 2020 video game Cyberpunk 2077, developed by CD Projekt,[4] and playing Nikolas in another eagerly awaited video game Dying Light 2: Stay Human developed by Techland.
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Mark Holden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mark Adrian Cortis 21 September 1962 Plymouth, England |
| Nationality | British-Nigerian-Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, voice actor, producer |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse |
Patsy McKay
(m. 2008) |
| Children | 4 |
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Holden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England on 21 September 1962, son of the late Admiral Augustus Akhabue Aikhomu, former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1986 to 1993 and the late Shirley Anne Holden (née. Cortis). He attended Burrington Secondary Modern School in Manadon from 1974 to 1979. His mother planted the acting bug, by frequently taking him to live theatre performances and movies at the local cinemas. At approximately 10 or 11 years of age, he began to tread the boards at a local amateur theatre company. He also started competing in sprint events and the high jump at the City of Plymouth Athletics Club.
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In his late 20s, he began his acting career, and was cast as Villac Umu in 1992 in The Royal Hunt of the Sun by the late Robin Phillips, Director General at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He was cast in a further six productions over the next three years at the Citadel Theatre, La Bête, Wait Until Dark, Oliver!, Macbeth, Caesar and Cleopatra and The Cherry Orchard.
His film credits include World War Z, Bang Bang You're Dead, The Infiltrator, Stalled[5] and Final Destination. He played William Rios in the 2013 biographical drama-thriller film Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi and Catherine Keener.[citation needed]
His television credits include Riviera, Stargate SG-1, 24: Live Another Day, Doctors, The X-Files, Casualty, Andromeda, Millennium and MythQuest.
From 2018 to 2019, he played the role of CIA handler John Lynn in the Fox Networks Group television drama series Deep State.
In 2014, Holden wrote and produced his own international award-winning short film, called The Double Deal, in which he also starred as the lead character, Matthew Calder, alongside Captain Phillips castmates Vincenzo Nicoli and David Webber. It can be viewed on YouTube.[6]
Prior to Holden becoming an actor, he was a police officer in two different countries. He served in the Metropolitan Police Service, London, United Kingdom from 1981 to 1987, and the Edmonton Police Service, Alberta, Canada from 1987 to 1996. Whilst Holden served as a police officer he was also an international bobsledder in two man and four man bob, and competed on the Great Britain Bobsleigh Team (1985-1987) on the World Cup Circuit, European Bobsleigh Championships 1986 in Igls, Innsbruck, Austria and achieved 16th place in GB3 in the 1986 World Bobsleigh Championships FIBT World Championships 1986 in Koenigsee, West Germany in the two man bob as the brakeman behind driver Peter Brugnani. Holden also competed on the Canadian Bobsleigh Team (1990-1991 season) on the World Cup Circuit.[citation needed]
Holden continued policing whilst he gained experience taking acting classes, and performing in productions and eventually gaining his Canadian Equity card at the Citadel Theatre, Edmonton, before moving to the West Coast of Canada to work in the film and television industry in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Holden emigrated to Canada in 1987, where he has two daughters from a previous marriage, and five grandchildren. In 2003 he returned back to the United Kingdom to further his acting career. After meeting Patsy McKay in 2005, he decided to stay in the London. They were married 3 years later and have twin boys.
In 2004, Holden climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for the charity Voluntary Services Overseas. He made it to Gilman's Point for sunrise, and succeeded in reaching the summit Uhuru Peak at mid morning, after leaving Kibo Huts Camp Site around midnight.
In 2009, Holden hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with his wife Patsy for the charity World Vision. One of the highlights is waiting in the early morning at the Sun Gate for the mist to clear across the valley to reveal the ancient ruins of the city of Machu Picchu.[citation needed]
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Film (selected)
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Misbegotten | Captain | |
| 2000 | Epicenter | Grant | |
| 2000 | Final Destination | Co-Pilot | |
| 2001 | Mindstorm | Agent Mark Taft | |
| 2002 | Bang Bang You're Dead | Officer Willow | |
| 2002 | The Stickup | Roy Freeman | |
| 2006 | The Road to Guantanamo | Kandahar Interrogator No. 2 | |
| 2009 | Knife Edge | Alfred | |
| 2013 | Stalled | Jeff From I.T. | |
| 2013 | Captain Phillips | William Rios | |
| 2013 | World War Z | UN Delegate | |
| 2014 | The Double Deal | Matthew Calder | Short film writer/producer |
| 2016 | The Infiltrator | Eric Wellman | |
| 2017 | The Prince Story: Icon, Genius...Slave | John Lewis Nelson | Docudrama |
| 2018 | Mars 1001 | Commander Robert McGee | Planetarium Full Dome Feature |
| 2020 | Satori [Awakening] | Warren Rogers | Short film |
| 2021 | Override | Mitchell | a.k.a. R.I.A. |
| 2024 | Damaged | Captain Ford |
Television (selected)
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Gone in a Heartbeat | Officer Kline | TV movie |
| 1997 | All The Winters That Have Been | Deputy Marshall | |
| Millennium | Agent Clark | Episode: "The Thin White Line" | |
| The X-Files | Agent Eugene Chandler | Episode: "Unrequited" | |
| Medusa's Child | Bill Andrews | TV movie | |
| 1998 | Millennium | Amadou | Episode: "Owls" |
| 1999 | Cold Squad | Ted Millman | Episode: "The Kowalchuck Boy" |
| Aftershock: Earthquake in New York | Firefighter Outside Station | Episodes: "Part 1" and "Part 2" | |
| Stargate SG-1 | Korra | Episode: "Deadman Switch" | |
| 2000 | The Inspectors 2: A Shred of Evidence | Hunter | TV movie |
| 2001 | Love and Treason | Major Harkey | |
| Andromeda | Brother Thaddeus Blake | Episode: "The Devil Take the Hindmost" | |
| MythQuest | Kabaila | Episode: "The Blessing" | |
| 2002 | Dead in a Heartbeat | Vice Principal | TV movie |
| Killer Bees | Fire Chief | ||
| 2005 | Doctors | Mr Julian Carter | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Casualty | Mr. Paolo Santoni | Episode: "The Personal Touch" |
| Hustle | Bouncer | Episode: "A Designers Paradise" | |
| 2014 | 50 Ways to Kill Your Lover | Dr. Chase | Episode: "Heavy Metal" |
| 24: Live Another Day | CIA Security Guard | Episode: "11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m." | |
| 2018 | No Easy Days | Evan Clark | 6 episodes |
| Riviera | Martin Sinclair | Season 2 | |
| 2018–2019 | Deep State | John Lynn (CIA handler) | Seasons 1 & 2 |
| 2020 | The Show Must Go Online[7] | Aaron/Mark Antony | Episodes: "Titus Andronicus" & "Antony & Cleopatra" |
| 2021 | A Discovery of Witches | Wilf | Season 2 |
| 2022 | His Dark Materials | Customs Officer Alexander | Season 3 |
Theatre (selected)
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Titus Andronicus | Aaron, a Moor | Onion Theatre Company, Edmonton AB Canada | Director: Michael Clarke |
| 1992 | The Royal Hunt of the Sun | Villac Umu | Citadel Theatre Edmonton, AB Canada | Director: Robin Phillips |
| 1993 | La Bête | Servant | Citadel Theatre, Edmonton AB Canada | Director: Robin Phillips |
| 1993 | Wait Until Dark | 1st Policeman | Citadel Theatre, Edmonton AB Canada | Director: Stephen Heatley |
| 1993 | Macbeth | Seyton | Citadel Theatre, Edmonton AB Canada | Director: Robin Phillips |
| 1994 | Caesar and Cleopatra | First Porter | Citadel Theatre, Edmonton AB Canada | Director: Robin Phillips |
| 1996 | The Merchant of Venice | Prince of Morocco | Bard on the Beach, Vancouver, BC Canada | Director: Douglas Campbell |
| 1996 | Much Ado About Nothing | Conrad | Bard on the Beach, Vancouver, BC Canada | Director: Christopher Gaze |
| 1997 | Othello | Othello | Way Off Broadway Theatre Company, Edmonton, AB Canada | Michael Wener |
| 2004 | Fame | My Myers | UK National Tour | Adam Spiegel Productions |
| 2006 | The Jungle Book | Baloo | UK National Tour | The Birmingham Stage Company |
| 2009 | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Aslan | Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex UK | Bruce James Productions |
| 2016 | The Bodyguard | Bill Devaney | Dominion Theatre, West End, London UK | West End revival/David Ian & Michael Harrison Entertainment |
| 2021–2023 | Pretty Woman: The Musical | James Morse | Piccadilly Theatre & Savoy Theatre, West End, London UK | Original West End cast/Ambassador Theatre Group |
Video games (selected)
| Year | Title | Role | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Crysis | US Soldier | Crytek |
| 2010 | So Blonde: Back to the Island | Guama | Wizarbox |
| 2013 | Killzone: Mercenary | ISA Assault Captain | Guerrilla Games |
| 2016 | Homefront: The Revolution | Sidney Cook & James Johnson | Dambuster Studios |
| Battlefield 1 | US Soldier | EA DICE | |
| Galaxy on Fire: Manticore | Kyrrk Tast | Fishlabs | |
| 2017 | Ghost Recon: Wildlands | Boyer 'Boston' Reed | Ubisoft |
| 2020 | Cyberpunk 2077[8] | Doctor Paradox[9] / Various | CD Projekt |
| 2022 | Dying Light 2: Stay Human | Nikolas | Techland |
| 2023 | RoboCop: Rogue City | The Old Man | Teyon |
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| Year | Participation | Film Festival | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Writer/Producer | International Film Festival of Spirituality, Religion and Visionary | Award of Excellence | The Double Deal | Won |
| 2015 | I Filmmaker International Film Festival | Special Mention | Won | ||
| San Diego Black Film Festival | Best Short Film | Won | |||
| 2016 | Canada International Film Festival | Award of Excellence | Won | ||
| Producer | San Diego Black Film Festival | Best Short Film | Phalure Inc. | Nominated | |
| San Francisco Black Film Festival | Best Short | Huey & Louis | Nominated | ||
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