Mark Gatiss. You know him as Mycroft but now as….Joan Crawford?
There are a number of people that I continue to marvel at the endless and varied talents that they possess in the industry. Obviously, Steven Moffat and Benedict Cumberbatch top the list. Hugh Bonneville is brilliant in both Downton Abbey and Twenty Twelve. Dame Judi Dench can bounce from As Time Goes By to the Queen, to ‘M’ in the James Bond films to Broadway to singing ‘Send in the Clowns’ at Royal Albert Hall. If you have read Tellyspotting over the last four years, you know there is a laundry list of folks that I have the utmost respect for when it comes to both acting and writing talent. Moving up on the list is Mark Gatiss.
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and novelist. He was, and is, a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, which, to this day, has made me never want to set foot in a ‘local shop’ again. He adapted H.G. Wells’ The First Men In the Moon into a television film of the same name for the BBC. Growing up, as he did, a big fan of the Hammer horror films, Gatiss made a three-part BBC documentary series entitled A History of Horror, a personal exploration of the history of horror cinema. He has both written episodes for and acted in Doctor Who and, of course, is the co-creator along with current Doctor Who showrunner, Steven Moffat, of what is, perhaps, the best show on television, Sherlock. In addition to co-creating, he also lends his acting talents to the series playing Sherlock Holmes’ older brother, Mycroft.
Currently, Gatiss is the creative force behind the forthcoming British television documentary/drama commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the science fiction series Doctor Who, ‘An Adventure in Space and Time’, starring David Bradley as William Hartnell, the First Doctor.
But, did you know that Mark Gatiss does a killer Joan Crawford? The Sky Arts’ dark comedy Psychobitches, which featured famous women from history in the therapist’s chair. In this clip, which takes place in the waiting room imagines Gatiss’ Joan Crawford character crossing paths with Bette Davis, brilliantly played by Frances Barber. Let’s take a look…
