We are delighted to announce that Mark Rylance has become an Honorary Patron of The Orchard Project in 2022. A well-respected actor with a long standing interest in grassroots efforts, Mark devotes much of his time off stage to making positive change in the world.
Mark’s personal connection to our work comes through his grandfather, who dreamt and prayed for an orchard during his time in a Prisoner of War camp. When Mark was a boy, he would help his grandfather with the orchard he survived the war to enjoy.
His recent stage role as Johnny “Rooster” Byron in Jerusalem played to packed houses in the West End. Born in England in 1960, Mark emigrated with his family to America two years later, living in Connecticut and Wisconsin before returning to London in 1978. He trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has his first job at The Glasgow Citizens Theatre.
In the 1980s he played for many theatres, including The RSC, where he played Hamlet, Romeo and a number of other roles. He founded his own cooperative theatre company, Phoebus Cart, and toured sacred sites such as The Rollright Stones. Throughout his career he has acted in more than 50 productions by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
Mark was the Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London for 10 years and is a trustee of The Shakespearean Authorship Trust. In 2007, he wrote his first play, I Am Shakespeare and since leaving the Globe he has primarily been interested in creating new drama, most recently, Dr Semmelweis, co-written with Stephen Brown and Tom Morris.
His film work includes three films with Steven Spielberg: Bridge of Spies, The BFG and Ready Player One, Ciro Guerra’s film Waiting for the Barbarians, Dunkirk, Trial of the Chicago 7, The Institute Benjamenta, Don’t Look Up, The Phantom of the Open and The Outfit.
Mark’s television appearances include three series with Peter Kosminsky: The Government Inspector, The Undeclared War and Wolf Hall.
He is an honourary bencher of Middle Temple Hall in London, Trustee of Intermission Youth Theatre and Patron of Survival, the International movement for Tribal Peoples. Mark is also a founding patron of the London-based charity Peace Direct, which supports peace-builders in areas of conflict. Lately his work has focused on Intermission Youth Theatre and The Wildfowl and WetlandsTrust. He will always be an active member of STOP THE WAR.
In 2017 he was knighted for services to the Theatre. We are looking forward to working with Mark over the coming year and tapping into his amazing spirit for encouraging people to take small steps that can make a real difference in the world.
Mark follows in the footsteps of our first honorary patron, Alys Fowler, the acclaimed author, broadcaster and horticulturalist who joined us during the challenging pandemic period in 2020 and offered us amazing support during our time with us.