Mark Speno as Patrick Wittaker

 

Mark Speno is an American-born actor and adventurist who began performing in high school productions and at Great America theme park. He later became a member of the Barbary Coast Players at The Opry House in California performing comedy vaudeville melodrama. He attended Washington State University where he was a cheerleader (and lived). After graduating, he took up flying trapeze under the direction of famed circus pioneer Bob Christians, going on to perform for audiences in four countries. Recognizing his skills as a performer and instructor, Mark was hired by Canadian circus troop Cirkids to prepare their trapeze team for international performances including the World Expo in Japan.

Mark attributes his acting skills to a lifetime of experiences including exhibition skydiving, scuba diving and martial arts competition. In 1989, he joined the US Navy where he received his officer's commission and entered the SEAL training program in Coronado. Injuries sustained in training ended his military career but not his love of adventure.

He resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his family and regularly trains at the Howey Acting Studios under the direction of acting coach Bill Howey (prior coach to actor George Clooney, father of Steve Howey-Shameless). He is most recently known for his lead role in the feature film The Dark Side of Opulent where he played Andrei Mikhailov, a ruthless and conniving Russian mob boss. Mark has also shared the screen with such notable actors as Oscar Award nominee Graham Green, Skylar Astin, Ayman Samman, Kenton Duty and Gianni Capaldi. In other projects, he has played a wide range of characters including military officers, evangelical faith healing preachers, politicians, high school principal as well as a stunt fighter in Mitch Rapp Off Book.