WORDS : DAVE ALLAN MAIN IMAGE : MARTIN WALKER
TEESSIDE-BORN ACTOR MARK BENTON ’ S ADVICE IF YOU ’ VE GOT A DREAM IN YOUR HEART
JUST
Looking back - Mark wishes he ’ d believed in himself more as a young aspiring actor .
GO FOR IT !
“ I get knocked down but I get up again .” The lyrics to the hit song by indie band Chumbawamba pretty much sum up the advice wellknown TV actor Mark Benton gives to anyone with a dream in their heart .
When asked what advice he ’ d give to any young Teessider with an ambition , he gives a wry smile .
“ You know what , it ’ s a difficult one , because it ’ s hard enough coming from our area . It can be hard to break out .
“ But it ’ s about believing in yourself . You ’ ve got to be able to take the knocks and stand back up again .
“ When I was a young actor , I had plenty of knock-backs but I kept going and going and going .
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Tees pride – Mark says he always call Teesside “ home ”.
“ I ’ ve been relatively successful but I still get the knocks now .”
He is , of course , being extremely modest when he refers to his “ relative success ”.
From Hollywood films such as Cyrano alongside Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage and Breaking and Entering with Ray Winstone and Jude Law , to TV blockbusters including Early Doors , Waterloo Road , The Syndicate , Northern Lights , The Halcyon and Vera , Mark has enjoyed a hugely successful acting career .
As we speak , he has just finished filming Smoggie Queens , a new BBC comedy series set in Middlesbrough .
“ It ’ s great ,” he says . “ Usually when you get told a show will be set in the North-East , too often what they actually mean is Newcastle . But this one is set in Middlesbrough , about a bunch of friends who are all drag queens .