Mark Ferguson

Born on February 28, 1961, in Sydney, Australia, Mark Ferguson is an actor and tv presenter, popularly known for his portrayal of Paul Shepard within the 1982 Television series ‘Sons and Daughters’. He graduated from the National Institute of theatre (NIDA) in 1981. A hefty part of his career was spent working in New Zealand, juggling between the genres of drama and comedy. With a background in improvisational comedy, the actor has captured the eye of the audience by multifarious performance, be it on-screen or off-screen. Along the way, the now 60-year-old bachelor has played varied villains on Shortland Street, Gloss, and Spin Doctors and even performed as live master of ceremonies, onscreen presenter, and offscreen narrator.

To elaborate more on his career, Ferguson had his breakthrough, when he played the role of the millionaire Paul Shepard, in the Australian soap ‘Sons and Daughters’, followed by his role in ‘Gloss’ as a ‘greasy, cunning’ Australian. Later, he went on to play the role of Darryl Neilson, in the 1992 soap, ‘Shortland Street’. Darryl was the son of receptionist Marj Brasch (played by Elizabeth McRae). Mark’s success in inculcating empathy among the audience for his screen mother, by truly capturing the essence of the role, earned him the title of “the show’s first great villain”.

He has also done minor roles, such as, a centaur in the Hercules tele-movie and its spin-off Xena, did one season of the "very bizarre", David Lynch-inspired Neighbourhood Network, three of the "amazing" Spin Doctors, wo seasons of hit comedy Letter to Blanchy (as a car racing bogan) and 2004's Living the Dream. He hosted the Television series ‘Scared Shitless’ in 1999. He has also narrated in several programmes and documentaries. He went on to host the Kiwi version of The Mole. He also played the role of Gil-gad in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Mark often spends time on the convention circuit, retelling his stories and experiences as the elven hero.

Ferguson used to run his own events company and his last work was as a group account director at the Auckland conference and marketing group Extra Mile Company, in 2017.