Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Ricci.
Q: Mark, share your story with us. How did you get your start?
I grew up in a household of 4 in the Greater Toronto Area. I was the “wild kid” in school unless I had a teacher that scared me. I played hockey on the weekends but did it because my friends did it. I found it semi-enjoyable, but more like as a once-or-twice-a-month thing, not 6 times a month. And don’t get me started with soccer in the summer. You could find me picking dandelions while I was supposed to be defending the goalie.
I loved watching movies, especially the behind-the-scenes featurettes on the DVD. There’s a home video of me watching the behind-the-scenes documentary of “Monsters, Inc.” at 4 years old. I was utterly fascinated with the process and wanted to learn more. I always reenacted scenes from my favorite movies at family get-togethers and found items around the house to create costumes. One example that comes to mind is throwing together a Woody hat and an oversized gray jacket to portray Inspector Gadget. There was never any question that I would join this industry.
Q: What were your first opportunities in this industry, and tell me about the recent jobs you have done.
My parents were wise enough to put me into theater camp around age 8. I really felt like I was in my element. And that allowed me to audition for Disney, YTV, and Teletoon television shows, because the casting directors went through the camp to look for kids. That’s how I ended up with my first 3 gigs, Skatoony, Splatalot and Japanizi: Going Going Gong. A few years later, I signed with my first agency and landed Discovery channel shows Fear Thy Neighbor, Web of Lies, If I Should Die, as well as national and worldwide commercials for Beyblade, Little Potatoes, Zelle, and Swiss Chalet. I also dived into the world of animation, landing a main role on the Netflix series Fireman Sam and the film Fireman Sam: Set for Action, which grossed $2 million overseas. I also just did a voice on the Warner Bros. animation show Super Wish!
Q: Tell us about your producing role on your YouTube channel and Six Side Studios.
One of the things artists will learn during their journey is that there is a lot of downtime between jobs, so it’s great if you can create your own content. YouTube has been a life changing platform for me, allowing me to create a brand for myself on Movie Man Mark and also star and write for the Spider-Man fan films on Six Side Studios. Both channels have a very different pace and tone. Movie Man Mark has consistent improv-style adventures whereas it takes sometimes 6 months to a year to create content on Six Side Studios because we are creating all-out feature-length films. I get to experience the best of both worlds as a producer and actor, which is very fulfilling creatively.
Contact info: MarkRiccicomedy.com
Instagram: @moviemanmark
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKanmMixVNgdrFHZaoTRTUg
Imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7201417/
