Yahoo News BBC Wolf Hall star Mark Rylance's childhood disorder, famous wife and tragic family loss
Actor Mark Rylance is returning to our screens as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light tonight on BBC One at 9pm. Mark, 64, is recognised as one of Britain's finest acting talents, with an impressive career spanning both stage and screen.
Viewers might also recognise him from Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, for which he won the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently collaborated with Spielberg in the title role of The BFG.
Other notable roles include in the films Dunkirk, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Don't Look Up, Bones and All and The Outfit. But what do we know about his life away from the cameras?
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Below we look at his personal life, from his famous wife to a tragic family loss.
Mark Rylance's famous wife
Mark is married to composer and director Claire van Kampen, 71, who holds the distinction of being the first female musical director at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Since its inauguration in 1997, she has served as the Director of Theatre Music at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
The couple have collaborated on numerous projects, such as the 2015 play Farinelli and the King, which was written and composed by Claire while Mark took on a starring role. She also lent her expertise as the historical music advisor and arranger of Tudor music on Wolf Hall.
Their paths first crossed back in 1987 during a production of The Wandering Jew at the National Theatre, where Claire was the musical director and Mark portrayed the character of Agricola. Reflecting on the start of their relationship, Claire reminisced with The Times in 2015 about the moment she first took notice of Mark.
She said: "I didn't really notice him until one day I was playing the piano and, out of the corner of my eye, I just saw these wonderful calves, dancing away. I thought, 'Gosh! Those are really well-developed calves. That's unusual. You normally see that on a sportsperson.' And I looked up and it was him! ".
When Claire and Mark first crossed paths, Claire was still married to architect Chris van Kampen, who later consented to a divorce. Mark has since referred to Chris as "one of my best friends".
Mark and Claire tied the knot in Oxfordshire on 21 December, 1989. Mark doesn't have biological children but is a stepfather to Claire's daughters Juliet and Nataasha from her previous marriage.
Mark Rylance's heartbreaking family tragedy
Mark was devastated when his stepdaughter and filmmaker Nataasha passed away in 2012 at just 28 years old. She suffered a brain haemorrhage during a flight from New York to London.
The family suffered another heartbreaking loss in 2022 when Mark's younger brother, Jonathan Waters, died at 60 in a cycling accident. Mark expressed his sorrow in a statement: "I am so sorry to tell you that on 28 May my dear brother Jonathan Waters was knocked from his bicycle and tragically died of his injuries."
Mark Rylance's speech troubles
The celebrated actor experienced a challenging start. He struggled with speech until age six, with only his brother able to understand what he was saying.
He reminisced on Desert Island Discs how it had helped him become an actor as he shared: "From the very early part of my life I had listened and watched a lot. I think there is evidence for consciousness that is not limited by our physical nature.
"Whether some part of me had some intimation that I might one day get out in front of 2,500 people at the Palace Theatre and say 'to be or not to be' and keep my nerve with such famous words, [American psychologist James Hillman] would propose that my young soul knew that and was terrified and was doing everything to avoid that fate."
