Mark Collier(III)

Mark Collier was born in Boynton Beach, Florida. He is of Danish, English, Irish and Choctaw ancestry. His father, a CPA, and his mother, a nurse, eventually moved the family to Ocala, Florida, where he spent most of his childhood. At age 10 Mark got his start in local theater productions. As he entered high school his focus shifted toward sports, and he excelled in wrestling and soccer. Mark attended Georgia Southern University where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and graduated with a degree in Accounting. Shortly thereafter his desires turned back to acting, and at the age of 28 he moved to Los Angeles and began studying. While juggling three jobs as a bouncer, waiter, and Pilates instructor, he continued studying and became a member of the Blue Sphere Alliance theater company. After a few small roles and an appearance in a Dixie Chicks video, he got his break in 2002 when he was cast as the rebel-turned-good guy Mike Kasnoff in the long-running CBS daytime drama As the World Turns (1956). In 2003, Mark garnered a Soap Opera Digest nomination for outstanding newcomer. While working in New York, Mark completed a two-year Meisner program taught by William Esper, and he also attended the Actors Movement Studio. In 2005, he was a presenter at the The 31st Annual People's Choice Awards (2005). Mark lives in Los Angeles where he is a contributor and supporter of Free Arts for Abused Children and is also a lifetime member of the Surfrider Foundation.