Mark Gantt

Mark Willingham Gantt IV (born December 10, 1968) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. Gantt is best known for his role as Neal Bannen in the Streamy Award-winning web series, The Bannen Way.[1] Gantt grew up in Stockton, California, and comes from a law enforcement family; he drew upon those family experiences as part of the backstory for the title character in The Bannen Way.[2]

Mark Gantt
Mark Gantt at the 2nd Streamy Awards
Born
Mark Willingham Gantt IV

(1968-12-10) December 10, 1968
Stockton, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor, director, producer, writer
Years active1997–present
Websitehttp://www.markgantt.com/

Career

Early career

Mark got his start in the entertainment business working in the Art Department, Props and Production on features, TV and commercial projects, while training as an actor and director at the Beverly Hills Playhouse under Milton Katselas.[3]

As an actor, he has worked with Brad Pitt in Ocean's Eleven and Burt Reynolds in The Hollywood Sign. He has also worked in the TV shows Alias, Without A Trace, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.[4]

The Bannen Way

"Since its January 6 premiere, the action web series The Bannen Way has raked in more than 13 million streams, making it the fastest growing property on Sony's Crackle digital video network. Loaded with crime, gadgets, sexy cars, salacious scenarios and high production costs, the 16-episode series is intended as a vehicle for Crackle to reach a demographic of men 18-34 years old. The Bannen Way also starred, Vanessa Marcil, Michael Ironside, Robert Forster, and Michael Lerner."[5]

"We were tired of waiting for agents to give us a call," said Gantt. "The web allowed us to stretch the boundaries. We got to create a cool show that we wanted to be in that could allow studios to recoup their money."[5]

The Bannen Way was designed as both a 16 episode web series and feature film and has been distributed on VOD, DVD, iTunes, Amazon and Internationally on Cinemax and Sony’s AXN Network.[6]

The Bannen Way Success

The Bannen Way was number six in Mashable's "The Top 10 Most Watched Web Series February 2010" by Visible Measures with 6,576,886 views.[7] The series was nominated for 7 awards for the 2010 Streamy Awards winning Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor (Mark Gantt) and Best Editing.[8] Awarded Groundbreaker Award for The Bannen Way at the 2010 LA Webfest.[9]

Other Works

In 2010 Gantt directed two episodes of the branded series, Suite 7 with Shannen Doherty, Dexter’s Jaime Murray, Warehouse 13's Eddie McClintock[10] and in 2011, the award-winning short film Donor starring Trevor Algatt and Alexis Boozer.[11]

Mark also teaches acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse[12] and workshops on developing web series with Creator Up.[13]

Mark has been a speaker on several New Media panels at Banff World Media Festival,[14] Digital Hollywood,[15] NATPE,[16] Tubefilter[17] Writer’s Bootcamp,[18] and X-Summit.[19]

In 2011 Mark hosted the first annual NATPE Digital Luminary Awards in Miami, Florida.[20]

September 2015, Lifetime premiered Mark's feature directorial debut, Murder In Mexico: The Bruce Beresford Redman Story, based on the true story of former Survivor producer Bruce Beresford-Redman who was convicted in Mexico of the murder of his wife, Mónica.[21]

In April 2016 Mark directed Intricate Vengeance for Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's New Form Digital studio. It was part of the 2016 Incubator program, a series to showcase and produce original scripted pilots.[22]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRole
1997VolcanoRookie Cop
2001Straight RightFila Man
2001The Hollywood SignParty Boy
2001Oceans ElevenBartender
2002Good For NothingChristian Van Dien
2003Charlie's Angels: Full ThrottleLongshorman
200429 and HoldingClaude
2005Devil's HighwayVanni
2005Pura LenguaOfficer Jamison
2010Taken By ForceStark
2010The Bannen WayNeal Bannen
2012Among FriendsNick First AD
2012MeridianBlake Royce
2013Hidden In The WoodsCostello's Accountant
2013The Night VisitorRandy
2014FoeJohan Meyer
2015The Night Visitor 2: Heather's StoryRandy
2015PsychophoniaRudger

TV Series/Internet Productions
YearTitleRole
2000Buffy The Vampire SlayerDemon
2001Arrest and TrialDonald Newberry
2002Days of Our LivesOfficer Mills
2003Without A TraceBartender
2005UnscriptedActor
2005AliasBalfour
2006The ShieldBar Owner
2006What About BrianBartender
2010The Temp LifeThomas Clancy
2011Leap YearSergei
2011DexterMills
2011Once UponMarcus
2011The GuildChet Grunwald
2012Oishi High School BattlePrincipal Dave
2012Sound AdviceMarco
2013The InnJeffrey
2013D-TecDobbs
2014BluffNick Westin
2014Major CrimesRyan Brooks
2015American Horror Story:HotelEMT Worker
2016Barely FamousDetective Davis
2016The ArrangementAdam Westfeldt (Recurring)

Awards
Awards and nominations for Mark Gantt
Year Award Show Category Work Result
20102nd Streamy AwardsBest Male Actor in a Dramatic Web SeriesThe Bannen WayWon
Best Dramatic Web SeriesWon
Best Writing in a Dramatic Web Series shared with Jesse WarrenNominated
Best Branded Web SeriesNominated
Best New Web SeriesNominated
2010Webby AwardBest Drama Web SeriesNominated
Best EditingNominated
2011Banff World Media FestivalBest Drama Web SeriesNominated
Best Drama Web SeriesSuite 7Nominated
2012First Glance Film Festival PhiladelphiaBest Director Short FilmDonorWon
Indie Cinema SeriesBest of the FestWon

References
  1. "Crackle.com Launches 'The Bannen Way'". Sony Official Website. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  2. Nelson, Lauren (February 5, 2010). "Gantt's Way". Lodi News-Sentinel. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  3. Woods, Mark Dundas. "It takes a thief: Mark Gantt and "The Bannen Way"". Simply Showbiz. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  4. "Gantt's Way". Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  5. Rowley, Melissa June. "The Future of TV?: The Story Behind Crackle's "The Bannen Way"". Mashable. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  6. Baldwin, Drew. "'The Bannen Way:' A Comedy on HBO?". Tubefilter. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  7. Axon, Samuel. "The Top 10 Most Watched Web Series, February 2010". Mashable. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  8. "'Bannen Way,' 'Guild' top online television noms". Variety. March 1, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  9. "World's First and Only Web Series-Only Festival". LA Web Series Festival. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  10. Cohen, Joshua. "Want to Sleep Better? Shannen Doherty and 'Suite 7' Can Help". Tubefilter. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  11. "FirstGlance Film Fest Philadelphia 15 Winners". FirstGlance Philadelphia Film Festival. Archived from the original on March 26, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  12. "Beverly Hills Playhouse Teachers". Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  13. "Creator Up Courses". Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  14. "BANFF Speakers List". Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  15. "Digital Hollywood Panelists". Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  16. "NATPE Speaker List". Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  17. "'The Bannen Way', 'Prom Queen' Light Up Tubefilter Web TV Meetup".
  18. "Writer's Bootcamp Business Breakfast" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  19. "X-Summit 2012". Archived from the original on November 21, 2012.
  20. "NATPE Announces 2011 Digital Luminary Award Recipients". NATPE. Press Release. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  21. "TV Review: 'Murder in Mexico: The Bruce Beresford-Redman Story'".
  22. "New Form Digital Launches Third Wave of Original Scripted Pilots".
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