Mark Ebulué is well on his way to becoming recognized as a fantastic actor. He appeared in Slingshot alongside Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne, the movie came out in August 2024. The storyline focuses on an astronaut’s struggles. He tries to maintain his grip on reality aboard a mission. This mission is possibly fatally compromised and aims to reach Saturn’s moon, Titan. Mark plays Gordon, who is a friend and fellow NASA space pilot. He is in the same space program alongside John (Casey Affleck). His character is that of an experienced NASA astronaut, a colleague of Affleck’s character.

His recent roles have also included Masters of the Air alongside Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Rafferty Law and Barry Keoghan as a sergeant in the Tuskegee Airmen faction of the US Airforce. Aside from that, he also starred in his first anime series starring role for Netflix – Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix. The series was inspired by Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon.

The iconic Ubisoft character remixed for the series are inspired by characters and franchises like Assassin’s Creed, WatchDogs and Rainbow Six Siege. Mark plays Marcus, alongside the other cast including – Adi Shankar, Balak, Nathaniel Curtis and Boris Hiestand.

Mark is also known for his performances in Death in Paradise on BBC One and Manhunt on ITV alongside Martin Clunes. He has a new feature film, North Star, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is a comedy starring Scarlett Johansen, Kristen Scott Thomas, Sienna Miller, and Emily Beecham. 

Mark is a classically trained actor. He studied at the prestigious Italia Conti drama school in London and graduated in the centenary year (it is the oldest drama school in the UK). Mark has performed in several Shakespeare plays, including Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth. He attended his graduating ceremony from Italia Conti. This happened while he rehearsed for a Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company production of Julius Caesar.

A Southeastern London guy, Mark has always done boxing and kickboxing and took it to a professional level. He is now a level two trained MMA Krav Maga Instructor. He is also a qualified Close Protection Officer. His martial arts experience and army cadet training were extremely useful. These skills were needed for his role as the male lead character, DSS Agent James Dawson, in the live global tour of Fast & Furious.

Mark and his co-star, Elysia Wren, who played Sofia Diaz, guided the audience through the show’s plot. They engaged the audience in an immersive and dynamic story line. It involved hunting down notorious criminal Cain, one of the last remaining thugs from Cipher’s crew. The show did a global live tour and included the London O2 Arena. Mark is also known for being in Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Doctor Who and Dark Ascension. 

We had the pleasure of speaking to Mark on his latest roles, character development processes, along with new exciting projects ahead.

Slingshot sounds like an intense project! Can you tell us more about Gordon, the character you play? What was it like stepping into the shoes of a NASA astronaut? 

Gordon is a laid-back down to earth friend of John (Casey’s character) who provides a little bit of comic relief from time to time. It was challenging as there wasn’t a lot of time to prep a lot of it. I learned a lot on the job, but it was a great experience. I had to hit the ground running, but I love a challenge.

Working alongside actors like Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne must have been incredible. What was the dynamic like on set, and how did it shape your performance? 

It was a great dynamic. Casey was so relaxed and chilled. Working with someone who is so well known at the highest level was really insightful. He was so professional but also so relaxed and friendly. He really had a great way of putting me and everyone else on set at ease, which helped everybody else do their best work. 

Slingshot explores themes of isolation and reality in space. Did you find this mentally challenging to portray, and how did you prepare for those aspects of the role? 

We originally filmed this in 2021, but we’re still experiencing lockdowns, so I drew the aspect of isolation and being alone on my personal experiences of isolation during COVID-19 to help my performance and keep it honest.

Masters of the Air is another huge project with an amazing cast. What drew you to your role in that series, and how does it compare to the other historical or action-heavy roles you’ve played?

Masters of the Air was a fantastic experience. A lot drew me to the role. I’ve never done a period drama based on real life events before, I’d only done sci-fi, but there was something about performing in a period drama, a production based on real people’s lives and real people’s experiences, that really put me in a focused state.

There was much preparation for this I had to listen to many interviews of airmen at the time as I was playing an African American fighter pilot, listening to how they sounded and what that accent was like at those times.

Also, what their cadences were, what they enjoyed the music they probably liked, getting into the mind frame of an African-American fighter pilot who has volunteered to be away from his friends and family to fight for his country and to fight for what he believed in was a constant I had to keep in my mind as it’s not just another role I’m playing. It’s a representation of people (real people) who had come before me. I really wanted to do them proud.

Captain Laserhawk is a completely different direction—a Netflix anime series! How did you approach voicing Marcus, and how does voice acting compare to on-screen roles for you? 

Approaching Marcus was again a different challenge for me because the character of Marcus I play him at two distinct points. One was when he was younger, and when he was older, his voice had to change quite a bit, yet still hold a  likeness of his younger self. most people work front to back to find the voice. I looked at where Marcus was now and worked my way back.

I had to find out how his voice would be in the present time when he was in his, say, ’40s or ’50s, and then work my way back to when he was in his twenties. That was the biggest challenge of the role. working in voice acting differs from TV in TV People can see you, but in a voice booth , no one can see you. It’s just you in the booth with a microphone.

You have no idea who you  are working with, you sometimes don’t even know the character you’re playing. You have to use a lot of your imagination and be (if you’re using an accent) really clear on what you say because the microphone picks up everything.

North Star premiered at TIFF and boasts an incredible cast. Can you share anything about your experience working on that film? 

It was such a great experience working on this film. I play a naval commander, a second-in-command maritime officer on a ship, most of my scenes was with Scarlett Johansson which was a amazing experience. Working with her was great she was hilarious, She had a perfect sense of humour. She cracked so many jokes while I was on set. She was also professional. I learned a lot from her. It was a great mix where I learned a lot but also had fun. Another part of the experience was getting to go on a proper warship I’d always wanted to be on one… fun. I have a brief naval background, I went to naval school and naval college and enjoyed it there, I considered joining the navy at one point, but things went differently. So, getting the opportunity to work on a warship was pretty cool not sure if I can say which one but all my navy friends will be jealous. In terms of what the audiences can expect, oh my gosh, I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s definitely some omg laugh-out-loud comedic moments.

You have such a diverse resume, from Shakespeare to sci-fi to anime. Do you approach classical roles like Hamlet differently from more contemporary or action-driven characters? 

Well, yes and no; my approach to the role definitely differs. But that’s only because the text is different, yet my process is always the same, which is to give myself completely to the text. A big variable in script work is that the text you’re going to be dealing with will always be different. The only demand is that you have to, in a way, surrender yourself to the text because that’s what you will say, and that’s ultimately all you have to affect your scene partner; for example, Shakespeare is 400 to 500 years old text. So there’s much material that’s going to be there that I’m not saying in my everyday walk of life or even know, so I need to research and look up and find out about it before I can say it with any confidence. With more contemporary text I won’t have to take that approach, but my process is always about text. What am I saying? What do I want and how do I get it? I kind of get the context and build from there.

Your martial arts background is impressive. How has that skill set shaped your acting career? Do you find yourself drawn to roles that require physicality and action? 

Yes, martial arts have had a significant affect on my career, not so much on the stage as I guess the roles were more classical, but for the screen, it’s been the opposite I do get roles for my martial arts, but I hold a close protection license ( I’ve had a CP license for a while). It wasn’t something I openly declared or spoke about publicly, as I wanted only to be known as an actor, but I accidentally mentioned it once on set, (the business is small), once “the cat was out of the bag” i started to get a lot more auditions for action/military roles now which I’m glad for, I love working as a CP (close protection). I take much pride in what I do and I’m good at it I get a “full circle”  kind of feeling when I get to use my actual life skills and apply it to acting work.

Fast & Furious Live is such a unique and immersive experience. What was it like to perform in front of a live, global audience for such a high-octane production? 

It was a surreal experience and not what I thought it would be. For one, I had zero nerves which was entirely unlike me, but I think it was because you really couldn’t see the audience; performing felt relatively isolated as there was so much space, but at the same time, it felt exciting, the stunts that we did workshoped and changed, the smell of petrol and the heat from the cars the live aspect of the show, it was genuinely made it different every night, it was as accurate as real performance could get, it’s something I can’t put into words exactly but something you just have to of felt. 

You’ve been part of iconic franchises like Doctor Who and Stan Lee’s Lucky Man. How does it feel to be part of stories with such devoted fanbases? 

It’s incredible and humbling being an actor. I never thought I would get fan mail, but I will never forget my first one. I never used to take a trip into the office  to see  my agents often, but I tried to make an effort now and again. On one of these trips, I sat across from him, and he just dumped a pile of envelopes in front of me. I assumed they were his and I thought, “That was quite dramatic….Those can’t be for me.” But he said “these are yours.” there must’ve been 50 to 100 letters from Doctor Who fans who had just written in specifically for my small role on the show. It was a pretty humbling moment I’ll always be grateful for as it was just not something I expected. I think I have a photo somewhere of all the mail I got. Of course, I answered every single letter, and I still do.

Italia Conti is one of the most prestigious drama schools. How did your training there prepare you for the incredible variety of roles you’ve taken on? 

What I liked about drama school was its “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” mentality. You are bombarded with so many methods and ways of doing things that by year three, you have your own method of acting. What works for you will ultimately differ from that of your classmates. You are also given the opportunity to fail or “fail big” as they Say Italy Conti has a “trial by error” mentality. We were encouraged to make mistakes in a safe environment to find an honest and productive way of working for ourselves and others.

From South East London to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and beyond—it’s quite the journey. Looking back, what were the highlights that shaped your career? 

My career has had many highlights, and working for the RSC was one of my highlights. I had always wanted to work there I assumed it take me at least 5 years i never thought it would be my first job out of drama school. My biggest highlight was the first time my father saw me on TV. I had done a show called Casualty, and it was my first lead role on a TV episode. My dad saw it when it aired I wasn’t with him as I was on stage doing another play, Macbeth. He waited until I got back and insisted we watch together I’d never seen him this keen ever so we  did, I could remember his smile, how happy he truly was, I wasn’t just grateful I was able to give him that.  I could feel his pride for me, it’s not a feeling you forget so that for me was the best highlight for me.

Many of your roles involve intense emotional or physical challenges. What do you do to stay grounded or prepare for the demands of these performances? 

My parents, my mom and my dad, keep me grounded. I try to remember lessons from both of them. My mother and my father come from a small town in Nigeria. It’s all farm land there, not much goes on, but it’s peaceful, and the people there are honest.I  go back there as much as possible but think about them and their principles. They both possessed great nobility and ethics and knew what to do in dicey situations. I try to pull from that and think of them and they always ground me.

You’ve worked on both large-scale productions and smaller, character-driven projects. Do you have a preference for one over the other? 

No, I can’t say I prefer bigger or smaller projects. I think I’m more focused on who I work with and relate to. That’s all acting is; you’re trying to affect the other person with your words that aren’t yours to tell a story that moves, captivates or affects someone and working with the right people will give you the best outcomes…at least that’s what I think, so I always look for that.

What’s next for you? With so many exciting projects behind you, are there any dream roles or genres you’d like to explore? 

What’s next for me? I want to put my stamp on the action genre properly but in a more personal niche way, playing a lead in a show heavily based on the espionage/action genre or a movie trilogy following those themes. I haven’t shown people what I’m capable of yet.

A role where I get to show my acting range, but also use my skills as a martial artist and bodyguard is really what i want to do, I know I will surprise people. As far as the next release, it will be North Star, with Scarlet Johansson. I’m also in the new series of a show on Apple TV called Foundation. I’ve also begun production on a Christmas comedy movie, which is something I’ve never done before, so I’m really looking forward to a new challenge. 

Photos: @mannphoto