Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (; born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Zack Morris in the NBC series Saved by the Bell (1989–1993), its sequel Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993–1994), and the next-generation revival on Peacock. For this role, he won three Young Artist Awards in 1991 and 1993, and a YoungStar Award in 1995, as well as other accolades.

He was the lead in the film Dead Man on Campus (1998). He played Detective John Clark Jr. in the ABC police drama NYPD Blue (2001–2005), Peter Bash in the TNT legal series Franklin & Bash (2011–2014), and Paul Johnson in the ABC sitcom series Mixed-ish (2019–2021). He starred in the single-season Fox series Pitch (2016) and The Passage (2019). He was the main antagonist in the weekly NBC procedural drama Found (2023–2025).

Early life Gosselaar was born in Panorama City, Los Angeles, the son of Paula Gosselaar, a flight attendant for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines He is the youngest of four children, and was the only one not born in the Netherlands. His Jewish paternal great-grandparents Hartog and Hester Gosselaar were killed during WWII. His Dutch-Indonesian mother was born in Bali. He has described himself as "half-Asian”. He speaks Dutch, and was fluent for a time, at home. He spent his teenage years in the Santa Clarita Valley in Southern California, where he attended Hart High School.

Gosselaar has said that his natural hair color is brown, but he was "blondish" as a kid. His hair was bleached blond throughout his run on Saved by the Bell.

Career Gosselaar first came to public notice as the star of the hit television comedy series Saved by the Bell, which aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993. His character, Zack Morris, was adapted from the short-lived Disney Channel sitcom Good Morning, Miss Bliss; although that show was cancelled after one season, NBC executives believed that a similar show, with Zack Morris as the lead, had potential for success. He reprised the role in two TV movies and a less-successful spin-off, Saved by the Bell: The College Years. In 1994, he appeared as Zack Morris in a second spin-off series Saved by the Bell: The New Class in the episode "Goodbye, Bayside – Part 2", along with Mario López as A.C. Slater and Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle.

In 1996, he appeared in the TV-film She Cried No, as a college student who date-rapes his best friend's sister at a fraternity party. In 1998, he starred in the feature film Dead Man on Campus. Later that same year, Gosselaar played the central character in the TV drama Hyperion Bay, which lasted 17 episodes. In 2001, he starred in the movie The Princess and the Marine, with Marisol Nichols. He also starred in the short-lived WB series D.C. From 2001 to 2005, he played Detective John Clark on ABC's NYPD Blue. During his time on the show, he appeared in Atomic Twister in which he played Jake Hannah, a deputy who is traumatized over his mother's death and must help after a series of tornadoes hits a nuclear power plant in a small Tennessee town; the movie also stars fellow NYPD Blue alum Sharon Lawrence, who plays Corrine Maguire. After the series ended, he joined the cast of ABC's Commander in Chief, which lasted only one season. He appeared on the HBO series John from Cincinnati. He then gained the starring role of defense attorney Jerry Kellerman in the Steven Bochco-produced Raising the Bar, which debuted on September 1, 2008, on TNT, then it was canceled in November 2009 after two seasons.

On June 8, 2009, Gosselaar appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in character as Zack Morris to promote his show Raising the Bar, indicating that the name Mark-Paul Gosselaar is his stage name and declaring, as Zack, that he would participate in a Saved by the Bell "Class" reunion that is being spearheaded by Fallon. On February 4, 2015, Gosselaar reunited with Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Dennis Haskins and Tiffani Thiessen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where they appeared in a Saved by the Bell sketch with Fallon.

In October 2009, he made his off-Broadway stage debut in Theresa Rebeck's play The Understudy with The Roundabout Theatre Company. The show extended its limited New York run until January 17, 2010.

Gosselaar began filming the TNT series Franklin & Bash on March 28, 2010. The series premiered on June 1, 2011. On November 11, 2014, it was announced that the series was canceled, after four seasons. The FOX series Pitch cast Gosselaar in the main role of Mike Lawson, star catcher and team captain, in February 2016, and premiered on September 22, 2016. On May 1, 2017, it was announced that the series was canceled, after one season. He appeared in two episodes of Tiffani Thiessen's cooking show, Dinner at Tiffani's.

In 2019, Gosselaar began playing the lead role of Paul Johnson (Rainbow's father) in ABC comedy series Mixed-ish (spin-off and prequel series of Black-ish). He took over the role from Anders Holm, who played the character in the pilot episode. Gosselaar also reprised his role as Zack Morris in the 2020 sequel series Saved by the Bell.

Personal life In a July 2009 interview with People, Gosselaar revealed that while Saved by the Bell was in production, he dated, at different times, his three female co-stars: Lark Voorhies, Tiffani Thiessen, and Elizabeth Berkley. He remains friends with his Saved by the Bell castmates. After 14 years of marriage, Gosselaar and Russell announced their separation in early June 2010. Gosselaar filed for divorce June 18, 2010, and it became final in May 2011.

Gosselaar was engaged to advertising executive Catriona McGinn in August 2011. They have a son (b. 2013) and a daughter (b. 2015).

Gosselaar is a sports car enthusiast, race car driver, track cyclist, dirt biker, and pilot. In 2005, he competed in the Far West Championships for track cycling. He won the Category 4/5 Sprint Championship event at the Encino Velodrome.

Gosselaar is friends with Greg White, the voice and play-by-play announcer for the MotoAmerica Championship. The two toured the West Coast of California on Honda motorcycles in 2010.

Among his many sports and athletic accomplishments, Gosselaar is also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt, having trained under Rafael Ramos and Nelson Montiero.

Gosselaar sold his Sherman Oaks home in February 2022 and currently resides in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1986 Highway to Heaven Rolf Baldt Episode: "The Torch" Stingray Eric Murray Episode: "Below the Line" Tim Conrad Episode: "What Are Friends For?" 1988 Necessary Parties Chris Mills TV movie Brad Gaines Episode: "Dance with Me" Punky Brewster Walker Wimbley Episode: "One Plus Tutor Is Three" Charles in Charge Philip Episode: "Runaround Charles" 1988–89 Good Morning, Miss Bliss Zack Morris Lead role (13 episodes) 1989–93 Saved by the Bell Lead role (86 episodes) 1990 Murphy Brown Wes Episode: "I Want My FYI" 1992 Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style Zack Morris Movie Blossom Kevin Episode: "Losing Your... Religion" 1993–94 Saved by the Bell: The College Years Zack Morris Lead role (19 episodes) 1994 For the Love of Nancy Tommy Walsh Movie Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas Zack Morris Movie Saved by the Bell: The New Class Episode: "Goodbye Bayside" 1996 Brothers of the Frontier Hiram Holcomb TV movie She Cried No Scott Baker TV movie; also known as Freshman Fall Specimen Mike Hillary TV movie 1997 Dying to Belong Steven Tyler Movie Born Into Exile Chris Movie 1998–99 Hyperion Bay Dennis Sweeny Main role (17 episodes) 2000 D.C. Pete Komisky Main role (7 episodes) 2001 Jason Johnson Movie Beer Money Tim Maroon Movie Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Wesley Jansen / Peter Ivanhoe Episode: "Sacrifice" 2001–05 NYPD Blue Det. John Clark Jr. Main role (87 episodes) 2002 Alikes Chris Movie Atomic Twister Deputy Jake Hannah Movie Hitched Michael Unsold pilot 2005 Over There John Moffet 2 episodes 2005–06 Commander in Chief Richard 'Dickie' McDonald Recurring role (10 episodes) 2006 Kim Movie 2007 Law Dogs Evan Marlowe Unsold pilot John from Cincinnati Jake Ferris 3 episodes 2008 Robot Chicken Zack Morris / Improv Employee (voice) Episode: "Boo Cocky" 2008–09 Raising the Bar Jerry Kellerman Main role (25 episodes) 2010 Rizzoli & Isles Garrett Fairfield Episode: "Money For Nothing" Weeds Jack Episode: "Gentle Puppies" 2011–14 Franklin & Bash Peter Bash Lead role (40 episodes), also directed episode: "Honor Thy Mother" 2011 12 Dates of Christmas Miles Dufine Movie 2012 Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 Himself Episode: "A Reunion" 2013 Men at Work Tim Episode: "Weekend at PJ's" (uncredited) Happy Endings Chase Episodes: "The Ex Factor", "Un-sabotagable" 2014 Flipping Out Himself Episode: "Due Date" 2014–15 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Jared Briscoe / Paul Winthrop Recurring roles (4 episodes) 2015 Truth Be Told Mitch Main role (10 episodes) 2016 Pitch Mike Lawson Main role (10 episodes) Dinner at Tiffani's Himself Episode: "Christmas at Tiffani's" Celebrity Name Game Himself Family Guy Zack Morris (voice) Episode: "Chris Has Got a Date, Date, Date, Date, Date" 2018 Nobodies Mark-Paul Gosselaar Recurring role (12 episodes) 2019 The Passage Brad Wolgast Main role (10 episodes) 2019–2021 Mixed-ish Paul Johnson Main role (Two seasons) 2020–2021 Saved by the Bell Zack Morris Recurring role, also producer (10 episodes) 2022 Barry Himself Episode: "ben mendelsohn" 2023–2025 Found Hugh "Sir" Evans Main cast 2023–2026 Will Trent Paul Campano Recurring role (5 episodes)

Director +YearTitleNote(s) 2014 Franklin & Bash Episode: "Honor Thy Mother" 2016 Murder in the First Episode: "Daddy Dearest" 2021 Saved by the Bell Episode: "The Gift" 2025 Found Episode: "Missing While Manipulated"

Audio

Awards and nominations Young Artist Award 1989: Nominated, Best Young Actor in a Cable Family Series – Good Morning, Miss Bliss 1990: Nominated, Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast – Saved by the Bell 1991: Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell 1992: Nominated, Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell 1993: Nominated, Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell