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Where Is Mark-Paul Gosselaar Now? Tackling His Most Sinister Role Yet
The gritty NBC missing person drama, Found, returns October 3 for its second season.
Nearly 25 years after Mark-Paul Gosselaar shot to fame in the iconic high school sitcom Saved by the Bell, people still think of him as Zack Morris, the lovable blond teenage rascal he played to perfection on the popular series.
But Gosselaar's provocative lead role in Found, the edgy NBC missing person drama (returning for its sophomore season Thursday, October 3), is as far as you can get from his often goofy breakthrough character.
The part marks the latest in Gosselaar’s enduring and ever-evolving television career that has showcased his ability to toggle seamlessly between light comedy and dark drama.
Where is Mark-Paul Gosselaar now?
Gosselaar’s latest prime-time role is as serious and chilling as it gets. In Found, he plays a man with a mile-wide sinister streak who is simply called Sir. The moniker suggests someone who’s used to being completely in control, calling every shot — and there was a time when Sir had that omnipotent upper hand.
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But things change. Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton), a public relations pro who heads a search team for people who’ve gone missing who tend to slip through the cracks, has turned the tables on Sir.
Gabi’s motives are personal: She has traumatic history with Sir, who'd kidnapped her when she was a child. She was able to escape and made it her mission to help others like her. But Gabi has a secret. She's covertly imprisoned Sir and uses him to help her solve cases. All the while she reminds Sir, “We’re not partners!”
The one in charge isn’t Sir. It’s her. For Gosselaar, the captor-turned-captive dynamic offers a juicy acting challenge.
Found is informed by and puts a unique spin on the fact that 600,000 people go missing each year in the U.S. The gritty material falls squarely in Gosselaar's comfort zone these days, as he's managed to make the tricky transition from teen actor to adult roles in an ongoing series of guest roles, recurring characters, and series regulars.
In 2001 Gosselaar played a porn actor-turned prostitute in NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. That same year he joined the cast of the urban cop drama NYPD Blue and played Det. John Clark until the series ended in 2005. In 2011, Gosselaar lightened up for Franklin & Bash, a buddy comedy about lawyers that ran four seasons.
More roles followed, including Pitch in 2016, Mixed-ish in 2019, and recently, Gosselaar reprised his role as Zack Morris in Peacock’s updated version of Saved by the Bell in 2020.
In 2022 Gosselaar was a guest on Inside of You podcast and took stock of his long career in showbiz.
“I’ve been in it for over 30 years,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs.” He doesn’t take anything for granted. “I care about the work."
Even though Saved by the Bell is mostly in his rear-view, Gosselaar has stayed tight with the cast and they've reunited regularly since the original series concluded in 1993, according to PEOPLE. Those get-togethers include private dinners as well as public events. He recently joined Mario Lopez, aka Bayside High School's A.C. Slater, and Elizabeth Berkley, who played Jessie, earlier this year for 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut.
Naturally, Gosselaar's passions extend beyond work — and that includes his life as a California family man and a devoted dad. His son Michael Charles and daughter Ava Lorenn, from his marriage to Lisa Ann Russell which ended in divorce, are now in their late teens.
He also has a 10-year-old son, Dekker Edward, and an 8-year-old daughter, Lachlyn Hope, with wife Catriona McGinn.
When his fourth child was born in February 2015, the proud father took to social media and tweeted "2 boys, 2 girls, too perfect!" Too sweet, MPG, if you ask us.
When he's not on dad duty or on the set, Gosselaar has been known to have a need for speed when it comes to his hobbies, like competitive cycling.
Gosselaar started racing bikes seriously in 2005, according to a profile in The New York Times. Gosselaar's interest in cycling followed his earlier loves for motocross and race car driving, he told The Hollywood Reporter.
"I’ve always felt good about what I was doing. I felt like I was the right age for things," he said.
Found Season 2 premieres Thursday, October 3 at 10/9c on NBC. Stream all of Season 1 on Peacock right here!
Originally published Sep 5, 2023.
