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Mark-Paul Gosselaar Interview On 'Raising The Bar,' Stephen Bochco, 'NYPD Blue,' A 'Saved By The Bell' Reunion
by Mark-Paul Gosselaar is known for playing the high school hunk on Saved by the Bell and the rookie cop on NYPD Blue. These days, Gosselaar finds himself working for the underdogs on Stephen Boncho’s new legal drama, Raising the Bar. “We have a lot of dramatic things to get through every episode,” he told Uinterview in an exclusive interview. “That’s the biggest challenge — trying to knit all these big things together.”
Gosselaar, whose full name is Mark Paul Harry Gosselaar, was born in Panorama City, Calif. Paul’s career began at a very young age, modeling at the age of five. He also appeared on several TV commercials for Oreo Cookies and quickly rose to stardom in his role as the slick-yet-charming Zack Morris in Saved by the Bell in 1989 with fellow hunk Mario Lopez. Two years later, he played the same character in Saved by the Bell: The College Years, which wasn’t as successful as its predecessor. But luck struck again when he was cast in NYPD Blue as the young cop, Detective John Clark, Jr.
Gosselaar hasn’t dismissed the possibility of a Saved By the Bell reunion. “Jimmy Fallon has put it out there and we’ve discussed it,” said Gosselaar, raising hopes among fans that perhaps the former high school gang will come together once again.
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We are almost going on a decade here. We are pretty comfortable with each other. He’s very supportive of me and gives me great creative tools to work with. I trust him and I assume he trusts me. We are both extremely passionate about our work.
The challenge that we usually have is that our stories are very complex this year. A lot of characters in the stories revolve around the clients who are played by the guest stars. We have a lot of dramatic things to get through every episode. That’s the biggest challenge–trying to knit all these big things together. I don’t think the work suffers but for the actors you have to be on top of your game which all of us are.
The biggest challenge for me was understanding this character to begin with. My perception of the criminal justice system was what I saw on television. On shows like Law & Order, the perception is swayed completely to the side of the cops and prosecutors. Public defenders rarely hear their voice in the media. I wasn’t sure how to play this character. It’s really opened my eyes to these amazing people who are really doing this for no money to help the powerless. There are thousands of these fighters all across the country with a system that is incredibly stacked against them.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that again. It was a real eye-opener. One of the biggest things I was shocked by was that these are the most passionate and brightest people that we have. They come from the best schools and are really trying to make a difference.
We really hate each other on the show but we really like each other on the set. She's great to work with. She brings an interesting quality to the character.
I cut my hair that’s about it. [laughs]
I don’t consider them risks. Those are the sports I’ve always done. With kids, you realize you are mortal and you take that into account.
I’m surprised at how big the show is – that it’s bigger now then when we were on the show. It’s great!
We’ve talked but each one of us is busy with our own things.
I don’t know – Jimmy Fallon has put it out there and we’ve discussed it. I’m going on his show June 8. And we’ll see what happens from there.
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Mark Paul Gosselaar in my book is as much of a has-been as his counterpart who played Screech, although in my book as well, Screech was better looking.
Has anyone really took a look at how this actor looks? Just imagine how much more rediculous he would look, if you were married to him and had to wake up next to him in bed.
At least Screech has something working for him “downstairs” if you know what I mean. Mark-Paul, Ricky-Paul, David-Paul or whatever his real name is, has absolutely nothing working for him at all.
MELODY, YOU ARE RIGHT TO A CERTAIN DEGREE.
MARK PAUL GOSSELAAR MAY HAVE BEEN A KNOCK-OUT LOOKING KID WHEN HE WAS A KID, BUT LOOK AT HIM NOW. LOOKS LIKE HE HAS ALWAYS EAT A TON OF FRENCH FRIES OR ATE A TUB OF LARD. MY GOODNESS, IVE NEVER SEEN SO MUCH OIL ON SKIN, SINCE I COOKED MY LAST TURKEY FOR THANKSGIVING. DIDNT LOOK AS IF HE HAD ANY ZITS BACK THEN, BUT YOU CAN SURELY BUST THEM TO KINGDOM COME NOW.
IF THIS SO-CALLED ACTOR HAS A BIG HEAD THESE DAYS, ITS PRIMARILY DUE TO ALL THOSE HUMONGOUS ZITS ON HIS FACE.
YES, HE’S CERTAINLY IS A HAS-BEEN. AND YOU’RE RIGHT, AT LEAST SCREECH HAS SOMETHING WORKING FOR HIM IN HIS PANTS. IF I WAS A BETTING PERSON, IF ONE WAS ABLE TO SEE MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR IN A LOCKER ROOM, YOU WOULD THINK HE’S STILL YEARS AWAY FROM PUBERTY.
SAD, VERY SAD. HAD THE LOOKS AND LOST IT. NEVER HAD ANYTHING WORKING FOR HIM DOWNSTAIRS AND IT LOOKS LIKE HE NEVER WILL.
A FOR CERTAIN HAS-BEEN.
I think he looks great!
Jenny, please wake up or get your head out of the clouds. Just look at his picture on here. And you think he looks great. Glad you used the word “think”, instead of the word “know”. In this picture, which is a very true picture of him and the way he really looks, which im sure is not touched over with makeup, it looks like he has just ate three buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken and all the cooking oil of the chicken has seeped out of every pore in his face and out of every strand in his hair. As he looks in this picture, how do you think he would look, just waking up in the morning. Talk about someone as sexy as Ozzy Ozborne, he would rate up there with the old bat eater.
He’s great on the show and that’s all that counts!