Mark Rylance

January 18, 1960 — Ashford, Kent, England, UK

Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960 in Ashford, Kent, England) is an English actor, theatre director, and playwright. He was the first artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe in London, between 1995 and 2005. His film appearances include Prospero's Books (1991), Angels and Insects (1995), Institute Benjamenta (1996), and Intimacy (2001). Rylance won the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rudolf Abel in Bridge of Spies (2015). Rylance played the title role in Steven Spielberg's The BFG (2016), a live-action film adaptation of the children's book by Roald Dahl, and appeared in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk (2017), based on the British evacuation in World War II. He appeared as James Halliday in Spielberg's 2018 film Ready Player One, based on the novel of the same name.