Mark Smith is an award-winning Irish actor and theatre maker.  

He is best known for his one-man autobiographical show, ‘Making a Mark’, which toured Ireland in 2019. 

The Celbridge star, who has Down Syndrome, turned 44 in April, but started acting at just four and a half years old in school Christmas shows.  

Smith’s accomplishments don’t stop there.

“As well as the acting, I won a silver medal for Ireland in the World Special Olympics in 1999. I went over to North Carolina, and I was this close to winning a gold!”, he told me.

He was involved in many Special Olympics after this and met Nelson Mandela and Stevie Wonder at the 2003 event, noting that Mandela was such a “lovely guy”. 

At 14, he began acting classes in Leixlip, alongside Harry Potter star, Devon Murray, who played Seamus Finnegan in the iconic movies, and numerous Fair City stars. 

“Have you ever heard of Song for a Raggy Boy? The director, Aisling Walsh, was my early acting mentor”, Smith explained, referring to the 2003 hit movie starring Robert Sheehan and Aidan Quinn. 

He also recalled the moment his career took off, when he met Aisling Byrne, the creative director of ‘Run of The Mill Theatre’, a company he works very closely with. 

“It was Christmas 2018; I was sitting in a cafe signing about eight or nine forms with Aisling for my show, ‘Making a Mark’, and I remember her saying to me – “You’re not an amateur anymore, you’re a professional actor now” – and I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. 

The play was co-written by Shaun Dunne and produced by Aisling Byrne. 

Smith explained how the show toured for over four months across nine venues, with his nephew Cian traveling with him.  

He explained that this was an amazing experience, not just for him, but also for Cian, as he was a budding sound technician, who was able to get behind the scenes with his actor uncle. 

Though he loved performing in Sligo and had a great laugh, his most memorable performance was at, “The the Axis Theatre in Ballymun – had a few shows there for my Nana, which was so important to me. It was the only time we did matinee and evening shows. She passed away not long after. It was the last time I saw her”. 

Family is important to Mark Smith, especially with him being one of six children. 

In 2014, four of the Smith family were attending Maynooth University together.  

Smith’s mum Jacqueline, his sister Yvonne, and his brother Gary went to college alongside Mark, which he admitted was very helpful. 

“I was able to get free lunches and coffees from them at the breaks”, he laughed. 

He studied 14 different modules during his time in the ‘The Inclusive Learning Initiative’ (ILI) – a project with specialised teaching and tailored to those with special needs. 

As well as professional acting, Mark has a second job on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the same university, nearly ten years on from his time as a student there. 

“I manage a lot of their post and big deliveries there, and I organise what goes in and out, like packages. I also help the students a lot, I sort out their student leapcards for them and help them get new ones,” he explained. 

Meanwhile, in his other profession, he has been putting a huge amount of time and effort into a short film called, ‘Mary is Missing’.  

“I play the main character, Pete O’Hara,” he said.

 “Let’s just say he is evil, I can’t tell you any more than that yet.”

Smith had to be a tad cryptic as though the movie has been released to film festivals, it hasn’t had a public showing yet. 

Just a month ago, it won awards at the International Cork Film Festival and now has been long listed for the 2027 Oscars – a huge success. 

Westlife singer Mark Feehily was watching the movie at the festival, and congratulated Smith on his incredible performance, telling him that he will follow his career. 

“I couldn’t believe it, I love Westlife. He even sent me voice messages about the movie after he watched it, he called me an absolute legend. He also gave me two free tickets to the next Westlife concert! I can’t wait,” said Smith, after his interaction with a singer from his favourite band. 

Nelson Mandela, Stevie Wonder, Mark Feehily, Harry Potter stars, and even Hozier?  

Smith told me about the fellow celebrities he has met over his years in the industry, yet his favourite was none other than Canadian heart throb, Justin Bieber. 

“It was 2016 and I was in Maynooth after winning a lip sync battle with a few friends. That’s when I met Justin Bieber, in the Glenroyal Hotel. We had a few drinks together and had a chat”, he told me. 

Smith knew Bieber was in the area and spotted him in the carpark of the hotel and jumped out of the car to say hi. They chatted for hours about what they had in common over some Cokes and Fantas. 

Smith would like to live near Bieber in the future in a big house in LA – where his family could go and visit in “small batches”. 

When asked about his five-year plan and he told me, “I’d love to work with Netflix and Disney, but that would be more of an eight or nine-year plan. I’d love to be in a big TV show and play a villain.”. 

Smith’s favourite series is ‘Law & Order: SVU’, with his favourite character being Olivia Benson. 

His top three films include The Silence of the Lambs, Harry Potter – The Deathly Hallows Part Two, and High School Musical – adding that he would love to star alongside Zac Efron one day. 

Julie Walters, who played Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, is one of Mark’s inspirations as an actor, along with Judy Dench, and also Daniel Radcliffe, who Mark shares a birthday with.  

Smith is a strong advocate for people with disabilities and Down Syndrome all around the world. 

Mark Smith has a very important motto, “You have to see it to be it”.