Biography

Mark Cirillo is an American actor known for leading man roles in independent films (People You May Know, The Last Straight Man, The Seminarian) and cameo roles in major series (Netflix's Wet Hot American Summer: First Day at Camp, Will&Grace, How I Met Your Mother).

The great great great maternal grandson of Ulysses S. Grant, Cirillo was born and raised just outside Hartford, in Connecticut's first town, Windsor. There, he and his family survived a tornado, a hurricane, and carbon monoxide poisoning all before he reached the age of 14. He grew up acting in school plays and local theater productions. His second cousin, Ernie Cirillo, taught and directed Mark at Windsor High School and Ernie's son, Patrick Cirillo is a screenwriter (Tears of the Sun) in Los Angeles. After High school graduation, Mark moved to Los Angeles at 18 years old to attend Loyola Marymount University where he double majored in Film Production and Theater Arts (Bachelor of Arts Degree) with actors Linda Cardellini (ER), Brian Poth (CSI: Miami), actress/writer Gloria Calderon-Kellett (How I Met Your Mother) and producers Effie Brow. After college, Mark studied (and continues to study) with Arthur Mendoza (Stella Adler's protege) at the Actor's Circle Theater, The Groundlings, and Jack Plotnick.

His film credits include the lead/title role in The Seminarian, Academy Boyz (with Ed Asner and Donald Faison), Girls Will Be Girls (with Varla Jean Merman and Miss Coco Peru), the multiple award-winning shorts Making Changes (with Rosa Blasi) and Gay Propoganda (over 150 film festivals world-wide) and voice over work on Sam Mendes' American Beauty. On television, Mark has appeared on Will&Grace, Quintuplets (with Andy Richter and Ryan Pinkston), How I Met Your Mother (with Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan), Ashton Kutcher's Room 401 on MTV, and was a series regular in the independent Homwrecker Houseboy as the brain damaged Randy.

Mark's stage roles include Kenneth in Caught, Edmund in Long Day's Journey Into Night, Clov in Endgame, Andre in The Three Sisters, and Zachariah Rowen in The Kentucky Cycle.

Mark works in the community with non-profit organizations like the spcaLA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles), Project Angel Food providing free meals to the seriously ill, and ConnPIRG protecting consumers and the environment. Mark has appeared on several news shows as a representative for Project Angel Food and has appeared with animals up for adoption on LA7 ABC Eyewitness News at 11AM and Good Day L.A. on FOX 11 as a representative for the spcaLA.
- IMDb mini biography by: Spongeworks, LLC

Great, great, great maternal grandson of Ulysses S. Grant.

August 11, 2000 - Hit by a car at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Culver City, California, fracturing his pelvic bone in 3 places. The car was driven by a 78 year-old woman in line to retake the driver's test. He has completely healed.

Cousin of writer Patrick Cirillo

Vogue Actor Awards - Vogue Actor - 2013 - Nominee - Mark Cirillo - The Seminarian (2011).