His face looks familiar but not everyone knows Mark Pellegrino, the 45-year old Hollywood actor who played the villain in cult TV shows like Dexter, Lost, and Supernatural.
In Dexter, Mark portrayed Paul, the abusive ex-husband of Rita, the girlfriend of the show's protagonist. In Lost, he was Jacob, a mysterious character who was the island's protector. And in Supernatural, he played the role of Lucifer, a fallen angel who plotted the world's end.
Mark depicts another bad guy in the US TV show, Being Human. He will play Bishop, a high-ranking vampire who wants to rule the streets just like in the old days.
Being Human is a TV series about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost who rent an apartment, work, socialize and attempt to be, well, human.
PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) had a chance to do a 20-minute phone interview with the U.S.-based actor last Friday, January 21. Mark discussed his various villainous roles.
"I think there's a certain amount of luck [in my roles]. I have been very fortunate to get Jacob, Lucifer, and now Bishop. I think they're very interesting roles, there's a lot of interesting values in the roles and they're big roles, they're leaders of men, and I think those are very important roles," he explained.
While he is open to playing any role, Mark said he enjoys playing the bad guy.
"I'm open to anything, but it's kind of fun to be a mysterious mastermind. I think you can't get any better than that. It's like heaven to able to play characters like that.
"I try to be good, like the characters in the stories try to be good," he said. "I may not always make it, but I do my best."
Mark said he believes he shares the fatherhood instinct of his most current character, Bishop, a high-ranking vampire.
"I think Bishop's main drive is very simple and very human. One thing I can relate to is he's a father, whose 'son' has decided to reject his values and go his own way. He is a father who thinks his 'son' is doing the wrong thing and he's trying to bring him back to the family."
DREAM ROLES. Mark also revealed his dream roles. He is a fan of American author Ayn Rand who wrote best-selling novels that championed individualism.
"I'd love to play a character in The Fountainhead... or Atlas Shrugged, one of my favorite novels. These are the characters I would love to do, anything from Ayn Rand I would love to do," he said.
He also wants to work in The Walking Dead, a new TV series about life after a zombie apocalypse.
"I'm a big zombie apocalypse fan. I'm dying to do something like that. Frank Darabont is one of my favorite directors," Mark said of the show's director.
He ended the interview with his thoughts on Being Human.
"Being human is tough because you do what you ought to do and not what you feel like doing. And I think the characters in the show are constantly dealing with what they should do as opposed to what they feel like doing. I think that's the essential struggle of being human," he said.
Being Human premieres on Feb 2, 2011 and airs every Wednesday at 9:00 P.M., just two weeks after the show's US telecast, first and exclusively on AXN Beyond.