Local character and comedic actor Mark Atkinson scored a supporting role in the recent Netflix show “Selena: The Series” about the late Latina singer’s rise to stardom.
“My part in Selena is not huge, the show is huge,” said Atkinson, a Rhode Island native. “I guess I had the right look of a restaurant manager.”
“Selena: The Series,” which is filmed at Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico, is a coming-of-age story about the late Selena Quintanilla’s journey to fame as she became one of music’s biggest Latino crossover artists. The show explores Selena’s path to success, along with her family, before she was murdered in 1995 and became a legendary Mexican icon whose legacy endures.
Of his character in Selena, Atkinson noted: “It’s a light role. I play the boss of one of the characters in a flashback scene.”
The actor feels privileged to be a part of such an important biopic.
“Selena was the Mexican Madonna who was assassinated 25 years ago by the president of her fan club,” Atkinson pointed out. “I had no idea she was such a cultural phenomenon until I booked this part.”
The actor came out to San Diego from the East Coast planning to stay six months. “It’s been over 15 years now,” he said. “I’ve lived in OB on and off over 10 years.”
Leaving OB for Los Angeles for a short time, Atkinson studied improvisational comedy at renowned institutions The Groundlings Theatre & School, and Second City, a Chicago-based improvisational troupe with a live theater in L.A.
The talented character actor known mostly for comedic roles started out on the stand-up circuit in Rhode Island and Boston. He is also a writer, producer and unique content creator.
Atkinson has over 70 IMDB credits varying from short films to web-series and new media projects (some of which he wrote, produced or occasionally directed). He’s done independent films and has also been nominated for, or won, best supporting actor honors for a few of his performances in several projects.
Noting he “fell out of love with acting” for a bit, Atkinson tried “living a normal life with a job at the Marriott,” before his acting passion returned. “I got back into it and it’s been a good, steady upward vertical move the last five years,” said the 40-year-old producer, actor, and writer.
Atkinson remains busy producing his own content for short films “doing the film festival thing. I write short scripts for short films for the film festival circuit. I’ve won a couple of local awards here in San Diego.”
Regarding his future, Atkinson hopes to “use the momentum” from appearing in the Selena series to take his career “to the next level.”
In the meantime, he said, “I have my own production company where I make my short films. I want to go into independent feature film production with big budgets and big names. My dream project is to do a feature film about the Tiki (Polynesian) culture.”
Of the attraction of acting, Atkinson said, “I think we all like to be entertained – or distracted. It gives us fulfillment and fantasy escapism in a tough time of reality like this.”
When it comes to pursuing acting, Atkinson advised: “The biggest thing is not just to talk and think about it but to actually do it.”
Atkinson has two short films currently making the rounds. One titled “Leave ‘Em Laughing,” he described as “a semi-bio, which I helped produce about the late comedian Dick Shawn’s tragic last performance on stage in 1987.”
Atkinson characterized his other film titled “The Power Agent” as “a cute comedy I wrote, produced, directed and starred in about a struggling actor’s meeting with his wiser and much younger talent agent.”
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