- In July 2011, Mark gave the Tony Award he had earned in "Jerusalem" to Mickey Lay, a 71-year-old builder and resident of Pewsey, a small village west of London. Lay had inspired and helped him to create the Gypsy character he played in his acclaimed Broadway role.
- Although he's generally regarded as one of the greatest Shakesperean actors, he is a somewhat controversial figure among scholars due to his support for the Oxfordian theory, which is one of many schools of thought stating that Shakespeare wasn't the author of any of the works attributed to him. He agreed to appear in the film Anonymous (2011), which is based on the Oxfordian theory, in order to draw more attention to the authorship debate.
- He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Theatre. He is an actor in London, England. This is the second highest order of chivalry the Queen can award for contributions to the arts.
- His family moved to the US in 1962, when his father was hired to teach at the Choate School, in Connecticut. They moved to Milwaukee in 1969, where his father was in charge of upper-level English at the University School.
- University School of Milwaukee (Wisconsin), Class of 1978.
- He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1994 (1993 season) for Best Actor for his performance in Much Ado About Nothing.
- Announced he will be leaving his position as artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London at the end of 2005. He has served as the theatre's artistic director for 10 years and is the only one who has filled the position so far. (October 2004)
- In 2014 he won his third Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play. He won for his performance as Olivia in William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night".
- In 2013 he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a play. He was nominated for his performance as Olivia in William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". This nomination gave him the rare distinction of being nominated twice for the same role. His previous nomination was ten years previously in 2003 in the same category.
- When he won his Tonys in 2008 and 2011, he didn't give standard acceptance speeches or thank people. Instead, both times he gave Zen-like, non sequitur recitations of works by poet Louis Jenkins. In 2008, he recited "Backcountry". In 2011, he recited "Walking Through a Wall".
- Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since 2016.
- Graduated from RADA.
- In 1989, played both Hamlet and Romeo in repertoire for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
- Won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for "Jerusalem".
- Became an Associate Member of the RSC.
- In 1983 he was nominated for an Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a supporting role. He was nominated for his performance as Michael in the Elizabethan play "Arden of Faversham".
- Stepfather of actress Juliet Rylance (from his marriage to her birth mother Claire).
- In 2014 he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play. He was nominated for his performance as King Richard in William Shakespeare's Richard III.
- Mark Rylance is actually his middle names. His first and last name, David Waters, he shares with his father.
- Rylance is his paternal grandfather's middle name.
- In 2008 he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a play. He was nominated for his performance as Robert in Boeing Boeing.
- Just finished a limited engagement of "La Bete" in London's West End, along with David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley. The play is about to open on Broadway in New York for an 18-week run starting September 23, 2010. (September 2010)
- He was awarded the 2002 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Special Award for the 2002 Globe Season of Cupid and Psyche.
- In July 2018, he will return to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London (where he was the first Artistic director) to play the role of Iago in a new production of Othello. He will also act as mentor, (along with his successor Dominic Dromgoole) to the Globe's newly appointed Artistic director, Michelle Terry.
- May-September 2004: Shakespeare's Globe, London: playing Duke Vincentio in "Measure for Measure" (August 2004)
- He was awarded the 2002 London Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Shakespearian Performance for his role in Twelfth Night performed at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
- Won a Tony Award in 2008 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Play for "Boeing-Boeing".
- He is currently playing the title role in "Peer Gynt" at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (February 2008)
- In 2010 he won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a play. He won for his performance as Johnny "Rooster" Byron in Jez Buttersworth's "Jerusalem".
- In 2011 he was nominated for an Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a play. He was nominated for his performance as Valere in David Hirson's "La Bete".
- He was nominated for a 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor of 2002 for his performance in Twelfth Night performed at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
- With his best supporting acting Oscar win for Bridge Of Spies, he is only one of two people to win an academy award for a Spielberg film. The other is Daniel Day Lewis for Lincoln.
- As of 2024, he has been in four films that were Oscar nominated for Best Picture: Bridge of Spies (2015), Dunkirk (2017), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), and Don't Look Up (2021).
- Stars as "Robert" in the New York production of "Boeing, Boeing" (May 2008)
- His grandmother was Irish.
- Mark is one of 6 performers to receive two acting Tony nominations in different categories in the same year. In 2014 he was nominated for "Twelfth Night"(Featured Actor in a Play) and "Richard III"(Lead Actor in a Play), winning for "Twelfth Night". The other performers to share this distinction are Amanda Plummer, Dana Ivey, Kate Burton, Jan Maxwell and Jeremy Pope. Only Mark and Amanda Plummer have won one of their nominations, and no one has won both.
- Stars as "Robert" in the London revival of "Boeing, Boeing" (February 2007)
- The presenters of his three Tony Awards were Mary-Louise Parker in 2008; Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2011; and Orlando Bloom and Anna Gunn in 2014.
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