Mark Rylance was born in Ashford, Kent, England, to English teachers Anne (née Skinner) and David Waters, with Irish ancestry on his grandmother's side. His parents relocated to Connecticut in 1962 and Wisconsin in 1969, where his father taught English at the University School of Milwaukee, which Rylance attended. He starred in numerous school plays, including Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.
Rylance began his professional career at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in 1980. He went on to become the first artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe in London from 1995 to 2005. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards and nominations, including three Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play for Boeing Boeing, Jerusalem, and Twelfth Night.
On television, Rylance won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for his role in The Government Inspector and was nominated for an Emmy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, and BAFTA TV Award for his performance in Wolf Hall.
