Marton Csokas was born in Invercargill, New Zealand, to Margaret Christine (Rayner),a nurse, and Márton Csókás, a mechanical engineer. His father is Hungarian and his mother is Australian, with English, Irish, and Danish ancestry. Csokas inherited his talents from his father, who was also a trained opera singer and a trapeze artist in the Hungarian Circus.
He began his academic training at Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand, where he studied Art History, before transferring to Te Kura Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa/The New Zealand Drama School, graduating in December 1989. His first acting role was in Te Whanau a Tuanui Jones by Apairana Taylor at the Taki Rua Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1990.
Csokas has had an eclectic career in theatre, television, and film, appearing in numerous productions in both New Zealand and Australia. Some of his notable roles include Dennis in the 1994 movie Jack Brown Genius, Darko in the 1996 movie Broken English, and Tarlus in an episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. He also played the roles of Khrafstar and Borias in the 1997-1998 seasons of Xena: Warrior Princess.
Csokas has continued to work in film and television, appearing in shows such as Farscape, BeastMaster, Water Rats, Cleopatra 2525, and Xena: Warrior Princess, as well as movies like Hurrah, The Monkey's Mask, and The Farm. He is a citizen of the European Union and Hungary, and a permanent resident of the United States.
In recent years, Csokas has appeared in films such as The Equalizer, Noah, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and The Amazing Spiderman 2. He has also starred in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as Lord Celeborn, and has appeared in other notable films such as The Debt, The Bourne Supremacy, and Kingdom of Heaven.
On stage, Csokas has worked internationally, starring in productions such as Lillian Hellman's "Little Foxes" at The New York Theatre Workshop, Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" at the National Theatre of Great Britain, and Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" in his birthplace of New Zealand.
