
Mark Heap
Biography
Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is a British actor and comedian. Television credits include Ghost Train (1991), Smith & Jones (1997–1998), Brass Eye (1997–2001), Kiss Me Kate (1998), The Zig and Zag Show (1998), How Do You Want Me? (1998–1999), Stressed Eric (1998–2000), Green Wing (2004–2007), Spaced (1999–2001), The Strangerers (2000), Jam (2000), Doc Martin (2000), Happiness (2001–2003), Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–2011), Desperate Romantics (2009), Friday Night Dinner (2011–2020), Upstart Crow (2016–2018), and Benidorm (2017–2018).
Film credits include About a Boy (2002), Stardust (2007), The World's End (2013), Time Travel is Dangerous (2024).
Heap was born in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India, to an English father and American mother, the youngest of four boys. When the family moved to the United Kingdom, they lived in Wales. He stayed there until he moved to northern England, where he lives now. He began acting in the 1970s as a member of the Medieval Players, a touring company performing medieval and early modern theatre, and featuring stilt-walking, juggling and puppetry. His brother Carl Heap, who is also an actor, was the artistic director of the company. After its demise, he became part of the street theatre duo The Two Marks (with Mark Saban).
Heap starred in the BBC sketch show Big Train, where he performed a barefoot gymnastics routine and other sketches between 1998 and 2002, alongside other burgeoning comedy stars Simon Pegg, Julia Davis, Kevin Eldon, Catherine Tate, Amelia Bullmore, Rebecca Front, Nick Frost and Tracy-Ann Oberman. He appeared as struggling artist Brian Topp in Spaced (1999–2001), and the pompous Dr. Alan Statham in Green Wing (2004–07).
Heap worked with Chris Morris, in Blue Jam, radio predecessor to Jam, and the documentary parody series Brass Eye. He voiced the lead character of Eric Feeble in the animated comedy Stressed Eric. Other recurring roles included: Terry Roche in Paul Whitehouse's comedy-drama Happiness and Derek Few in How Do You Want Me?. He played Harry in the short-lived Rob Grant TV series The Strangerers, in 2000. He also guested in the second series of the BBC comedy Look Around You as Leonard Hatred.
He appeared as an unsuccessful businessman who became a bellboy, in the 2007 BBC One drama Hotel Babylon. Between 2008 and 2010, he appeared as head postman Thomas Brown, in 32 episodes of the BBC period drama Lark Rise to Candleford. He was the super villain Lightkiller, in an episode of the sitcom No Heroics. He also appeared as the father of Chris Miles in the Channel 4 programme Skins. Heap played the love interest of the main character in the second series of the BBC comedy Love Soup. He played the role of Charles Dickens in the 2009 BBC Two drama Desperate Romantics. He also played Jessica Hynes' husband in the one-off comedy written by Hynes and Julia Davis: Lizzie & Sarah.
Acting (38 movies)

Confetti
2006

Hitler: The Comedy Years
2007

The House
2022

Doc Martin
2001

Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie
2003

The World's End
2013

Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis
1997

Blake's Junction 7
2004

Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth
2008

Alpha Male
2006

All Stars
2013

Spaced: Skip to the End
2004

The School for Good and Evil
2022

Oxide Ghosts: The Brass Eye Tapes
2017

Your Christmas or Mine?
2022

Lizzie and Sarah
2010

Time Travel Is Dangerous!
2025

We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story
2015

Scoop
2006

Animal
2005

Stardust
2007

The Last Post
2015

The Magic Faraway Tree
2026

About a Boy
2002

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2005

Hospital!
1997

Murder on the Blackpool Express
2017

Killer Weekend
2018

The Midnight Gang
2018

The Comedian's Guide to Survival
2016

The Lost Films of Bloody Nora
2019

The Calcium Kid
2004

Holy Flying Circus
2011

Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years and a Lovely Bit of Squirrel
2021

Martin Luther, Heretic
1983

Ant Muzak
2002

The Children's Royal Variety Performance
1993

The Sick Party
2012
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The Children's Royal Variety Performance | 1993 | Writer |