INTERVIEWS:
The Sun Interview 24 February 2024
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/26134118/gladiators-trojan-mark-griffin-lost-fortune/
TROJAN was one of those most feared Gladiators - but “the hardest thing” Mark Griffin ever did was face crippling depression when his Hollywood dream turned into a nightmare.
The bodybuilder turned actor has starred in Jurassic World and worked alongside Eddie Murphy and Jean-Claude Van Damme since quitting the hit TV challenge in 1996.
For one voiceover job he earned a thousand pounds a minute, and bought a £1.25million home in the sought after Hollywood Hills.
But when Mark, 55, divorced his film producer wife Heidi Santelli at the height of the financial crash in 2008 he lost everything and the more lucrative acting work dried up.
It was a perfect storm which drove the 6ft 2in man mountain to the point where he felt he couldn’t breathe.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Mark says: "It was just like I felt like everything was closing on me.
"I felt I’d lost everything. And it’s almost like you can’t breathe.
“And no matter what anyone says to you to help you, 'Oh, we love you,' this and that, it makes no difference.
"It’s the hardest thing to do. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, harder than bodybuilding, harder than Gladiators, and that is to make myself feel worthy."
There is no doubt that Mark was made to feel worthy when he joined the ITV show Gladiators in 1993.
The keen athlete from Basingstoke, Hants, was plucked from obscurity, having finished third in a bodybuilding competition called Stars of Tomorrow.
Suddenly thousands of people were cheering him on in the arena in Birmingham and stopping him in the street.
The keen athlete from Basingstoke, Hants, was plucked from obscurity, having finished third in a bodybuilding competition called Stars of Tomorrow.
Suddenly thousands of people were cheering him on in the arena in Birmingham and stopping him in the street.
“There was no health and safety back then. It was almost like even if you’re aching, your arm screwed up or you had a busted rib, they tap you on the arse and say, ‘Back in Trojan you’re on again.’ And you just did, it was brutal.”
But he admits he and the other Gladiators sometimes avoided contact in order to prevent injuries.
He says: “When doing Powerball we could tackle people real hard, but sometimes we didn’t tackle people because we would hurt each other, so we just kind of tagged them sometimes.”
Since he was little Mark had dreamed of becoming an actor, so after the chance came up to provide the voice of Action Man on a new Disney animated series in the United States in 1995, he took it.
He moved to the US permanently in 1997 and had to give up Gladiators, which was only paying Mark £750 per show.
Four years later he was working with Eddie Murphy in Dr Dolittle 2 where a short voice over job earned £5,000.
He recalls: “I did movies with Eddie Murphy. He was one of the nicest guys, an absolute professional.”
But it wasn’t so comfortable taking on Van Damme in the kickboxing ring while making The Hard Cops in 2006.
He discovered that the Muscles from Brussels was properly gladiatorial.
Mark reveals: “He was hard as nails as well, really tough. I know some people think and say, ‘Oh, he can’t fight’ Believe me he can.
“We sparred in the ring because I was kickboxing at the time and grappling.
“He got me with a right roundhouse in the ribs, it hurt. He was like, 'Shake it off, just smile.' I was like, bloody hell. He said to me, ‘You used to be a Gladiator.’”
But they hung out together and had a laugh in between shooting.
Two years later the American dream turned into a nightmare.
Mark says: “I had a two-million dollar house in the Hollywood Hills. I was getting divorced and the housing market crashed at the same time.”
He lost a million dollars, had to sell his art, his truck, and struggled to find a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Mark recalls: “I went through depression. I stayed indoors and would just play Tomb Raider.”
What helped get through the toughest days was working out.
He says: "I found solace in the gym. I’d train twice a day sometimes. I’d recommend that to anybody who’s suffering from depression and low points in life.”
In 2010 the father-of-one decided to return to London and sought professional help, which made a big difference.
He adds: “It wasn’t until I came back to England I started having therapy, and this really helped very much. It explained a lot of things.
“Stress is a killer. If somebody says 'I haven’t got any problems,' they’re lying.”
It was a suggestion from his mum Patricia that led to Mark piecing his life back together.
He had written stories since he was aged ten and worked on screenplays when he was in Los Angeles.
So when his mum saw a short story competition for a major publishing house in England, he entered it.
Mark admits: “I had a screenplay that I had written about a serial killer and my mum nagged me week after week to send it in.
“So I said in the end, 'Fine I’ll do that.' So I turned the first five pages of the screenplay into a 5,000-word story and I sent it off to be judged.”
That resulted in him getting an agent and a book deal.
Mark, who now lives in London, has written four thrillers about criminal psychologist Holly Wakefield, which are being turned into a TV series.
He reveals: “I have sold the rights to Hollywood, we’re going to be shooting this year.”
Having pulled himself back from the brink, Mark’s advice to others is to believe in themselves.
The bestselling author concludes: “One of the biggest lessons I’m still learning is to believe more in myself.
“You’ll never see a lion in the wilderness feeling sorry for himself, he’ll just go and survive. That’s what we have to do.”
Mark Griffin’s books have been optioned for a TV series by Micky Levy at February FifthProductions in Los Angeles. To find out more visit http://tinyurl.com/MarkGriffinBooks