Mark Selwyn HadlowONZM (born 1957) is a New Zealand actor and comedian, perhaps best known internationally for playing the roles of Harry in King Kong and Dori, a dwarf, in The Hobbit series.[1]
Early life
Hadlow was born in Australia, in the New South Wales town of Walgett, the son of a New Zealand-born vicar and an Australian mother. They moved to Perth, and then spent three years in Chennai, before moving to New Zealand when Hadlow was nine years old. They lived in Wellington and Christchurch, and Hadlow attended boarding school.[2]
Hadlow's early film appearances were in serious roles, such as in Beyond Reasonable Doubt, but he is perhaps better known in New Zealand for his comedy roles, particularly in the television sitcom Willy Nilly, and some of the voices for the 1989 Peter Jackson puppet film, Meet the Feebles (including Heidi the hippo and Robert the hedgehog). He also starred alongside New Zealand Māori comedian, Billy T James in "The Billy T James Show".
Hadlow has also released an audio CD called "Tall Tales". It consists of classic children's stories narrated and performed with a Kiwi twist.
Between films and television, Hadlow works in Christchurch's Court Theatre, where he has directed, produced, and acted in many plays. Hadlow is known for interacting with the audience whenever possible. This was made easy in the theatre's intimate, 200-seat setting, where the audience was literally next to the stage.
In 2009, Hadlow campaigned for the historic Odeon Theatre in Christchurch to be turned into an arts complex for an estimated NZ$60m.[3] The earthquake-prone building was severely damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and later in 2012, the rear of the building was demolished.[4]
While appearing in a one-man play, he met his ex-wife. They met in the audience before the start of the play because Hadlow always started off in the audience. In his wife's words, "this nice man who I didn't recognise sat next to me and we started chatting. Within minutes he knew a lot about me. Suddenly he got up and started acting in the play."
In 2021 he appeared on TV as Brian in "The Garotte and the Vinkelbraun", an episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries, Series 7 No 25.
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