Mark Durbin(I)

Born Mark Anthony Durbin in Washington, D.C. Married to professional ballet dancer Nicole Harlan whom he met in 1995 while she was doing the role of Helena in the ballet, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at the Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles. He has three children with her. He grew up working tobacco farms in Maryland. He graduated from the University of Maryland where he studied business, agriculture and theatre. He also was a walk-on for the football team, having never played in high school. Under Coach Jerry Claiborne, in 1981 he became one of the All-Time Lettermen. Interested in the theater, Mark left Maryland and headed south to see Stacy Keach in a production of Barnum in New Orleans. Mark ended up living there for a while on St. Anne's just off Bourbon St. in the Quarter. He then headed to Florida to enter Burt Reynolds theater in Jupiter. After that he headed to the Florida Keys because he heard Tennessee Williams had a school there. He ended up working on various scuba boats, shrimp trawlers and giving tours in Key West. He volunteered help looking for the wreck of the Atocha with Mel Fisher. Years later, it was actually discovered loaded with treasure. While walking to the docks one day he was spotted by Frank Romano, the owner of Key West Aloe; a pioneer in the Aloe Vera industry. He was asked to do a modeling campaign for them. He did their line of advertising internationally, then continued to model in New York and Italy doing runway and appearing in various magazines such as GQ and Italian Uomo. He lived in New York and later Los Angeles where he studied with the late Peggy Feury and Stella Adler. He studied voice, and was good friends with, radio show actress, Lurene Tuttle before she passed away. While pursuing acting, he also worked as a bodyguard for Elton John whom he has said is one of the nicest, and most generous people. He also trained briefly in ballet and once performed a small part in Petrouchka with the Joffrey Ballet at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. He has worked internationally acting in TV commercials for more than 25 years. He has appeared in commercials alongside actresses such as Meg Ryan and Kelly LeBrock and models Christy Turlington, Iman, Rebecca Broussard and Mitzi Martin. He has also worked with directors such as Clint Eastwood, Edward Burns, Marek Kanievska, Leslie Dektor and Paul Giraud.