Mark Proksch
{{short description|American actor and comedian}}
{{use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mark Proksch
| image = Mark Proksch with Asperger's Are Us (cropped).jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Proksch in 2016
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|40|2019|3|26}}
| birth_place =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|comedian}}
| nationality = American
| years_active = 2007–present
| alma_mater = University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire
| spouse = Amelie Gillette
| relations =
| parents =
| signature =
}}
Mark Proksch ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|ʊ|k|ʃ}} {{Respell|PRUUKSH}}; born {{birth based on age as of date|40|2019|3|26|noage=yes}}){{cite AV media |people=Holmes, David |date=2011-04-23 |publisher=A Drink with Dave |title=FRI Apr 22: Mark Proksch 1 |time=00:25 |language=English |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWiJfHy2kBY |access-date= 2022-08-15}}{{cite news |last=Justin |first=Neal |date=2019-03-26 |title=Midwestern Bite |work=The Star Tribune |page=E3 |quote=Proksch, 40, grew up in La Crosse, Wis., and got his undergraduate degree at UW-Eau Claire...}} is an American comedian and character actor. He is best known for acting in the television series The Office, Better Call Saul, Dream Corp LLC, What We Do in the Shadows and as a fictionalized version of himself in the On Cinema universe.
He rose to prominence when he portrayed the character "K-Strass", a parody of a yo-yo master, who appeared on local news shows.{{Cite web|title=Fake Yo-Yo Trickster Fools Every TV Station Everywhere|url=https://deadspin.com/fake-yo-yo-trickster-fools-every-tv-station-everywhere-5535220|access-date=2021-10-31|website=Deadspin|language=en-us}}
Early life
Proksch grew up in Onalaska, Wisconsin, and is a graduate of Onalaska High School and the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.{{cite news |last=Erickson |first=Randy |date=2017-01-02 |title=Breaking Big: Onalaska Native Moves Up in Hollywood |work=The Post-Crescent |page=2C}}
K-Strass
Proksch had the alias of Kenny "K-Strass" Strasser early in his career, during which he appeared on small-market local newscasts as a hapless "yo-yo master."{{cite web|last1=Petchesky|first1=Barry|title=Fake Yo-Yo Trickster Fools Every TV Station Everywhere|url=https://deadspin.com/5535220/fake-yo-yo-trickster-fools-every-tv-station-everywhere|website=Deadspin}} In these appearances, he fabricated stories about visiting schools to speak to children about environmentalism. When asked to perform tricks live on the air, he would display a complete inability to do any of them. The character of K-Strass was described by online magazine Paste as "the funniest thing that's ever happened" and speaking "in a nasal Midwestern accent, with a halting cadence that was both awkward and deliberate."{{cite web|last1=Ryan|first1=Shane|title=K-Strass: The Funniest Thing That's Ever Happened|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/12/k-strauss-the-funniest-thing-thats-ever-happened.html|website=Paste}} K-Strass was created when Proksch's temp job at an ad agency fell through.{{cite web|last1=Erickson|first1=Randy|title=Onalaska grad spins yo-yo prank into gig on TV's 'The Office'|url=http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/onalaska-grad-spins-yo-yo-prank-into-gig-on-tv/article_22f844a0-ef98-11df-bc29-001cc4c002e0.html|website=LaCross Tribune|date=November 14, 2010 }}
Proksch also appeared as K-Strass while opening for Gregg Turkington's Neil Hamburger on tour.{{cite web|last1=Ritzen|first1=Stacey|title=Mike's Client On Last Night's 'Better Call Saul' Used To Be A Fake 'Yo-Yo Master'|url=https://uproxx.com/tv/better-call-saul-yo-yo/2/|website=Uproxx|date=March 31, 2015 }} Turkington and Proksch would work together again on On Cinema.
Television career
Proksch had a recurring role on the television series The Office as Nate, Dwight Schrute's lackey and the office handyman. He appeared in 19 episodes over the show's final three seasons. In March 2013, Proksch starred in the NBC television pilot Holding Patterns. He also voiced the character Johnnie in the Adventure Time episode "Bad Timing." In March 2014, Proksch appeared in an episode of Portlandia as Carrie Brownstein's love interest.{{cite web|title=Portlandia – Pull Out King|url=http://www.ifc.com/shows/portlandia/episodes/season-4/pull-out-king|website=IFC.com|access-date=10 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110034602/http://www.ifc.com/shows/portlandia/episodes/season-4/pull-out-king|archive-date=10 November 2014}} From 2015 to 2017 he appeared as Daniel "Pryce" Wormald, a recurring character on the AMC drama series Better Call Saul, a prequel to Breaking Bad. From 2014 through 2020, Proksch appeared as the character "Randy Blink" in the Adult Swim series Dream Corp LLC. In 2015, Proksch appeared in Season 3, Episode 1 of Drunk History in which he told the story of the Bone Wars.
=''On Cinema at the Cinema''=
Proksch plays a fictionalized version of himself in the On Cinema universe, in which he attempts various impersonations, including W.C. Fields and The Marx Brothers, where his last name is frequently mispronounced.
The fictional Proksch was briefly declared dead during the 5th Annual On Cinema Oscar special, having suffocated inside a heavy diving suit during a Jaws impersonation skit.{{cite web|title=Navigating On Cinema's Giant, Underground Universe|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/tim-heidecker-and-gregg-turkington-on-cinema-guide.html|website=Vulture.com|access-date=26 April 2021}} His character briefly appears in season 10's VR episodes, when the camera is turned showing his comatose body. This takes place during a recurring section in which Gregg Turkington plays his old audition tapes for films he failed to be cast in. His comatose body again appears in the 6th Annual Oscar special as "The Living Oscar". Painted gold and strapped to a gurney, pre-recorded phrases in his voice are played in answer to questions surrounding Oscar trivia. During one segment his comatose body is slowly rotated around a compilation of past Oscar nominated films. He awakens after being knocked over by host Tim Heidecker and spends the rest of the special in a state of confusion and shock while bleeding from a broken nose. The fictional Proksch still appeared confused in the next season of On Cinema. After being beaten in a Los Angeles Police Department holding cell when he was wrongly arrested for selling VHS copies of public domain movies with Gregg, he goes missing. During the 8th Annual Oscar special, a brief video recording that appears to depict the fictional Proksch surfaces and suggests that he no longer wishes to be involved with the hosts of On Cinema. He later returns to co-star as The Mummy and other characters, in Deck of Cards.
As of the 12th Annual Oscar special, he remains involved with the hosts of On Cinema, despite constant abuse.
=''What We Do in the Shadows''=
Proksch stars as Colin Robinson, an energy vampire, in the FX series What We Do in the Shadows, as well as portraying the reincarnation of Colin Robinson as a child and teenager (nicknamed "The Boy") following the original Colin's death in the third season finale.
Personal life
Proksch is married to writer Amelie Gillette.{{cite web | url=https://lacrossetribune.com/breaking-big-onalaska-s-mark-proksch-moving-up-in-show-biz-world/article_7e3f4f03-463b-5312-b9e3-9bc9bb95ca91.html | title=Breaking big: Onalaska's Mark Proksch moving up in show biz world | date=December 29, 2016 }}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2014
|N/A | Uncredited |
| A Merry Friggin' Christmas
| Trooper Zblocki | |
| rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2016
|Os Bijourn | |
| Asperger's Are Us
| Himself/K-Strass |Documentary |
| rowspan="3" scope="row" | 2019
| Her Mind in Pieces |Jeffrey Presch | |
| VHYes
| Teddy | |
| Mister America
|Mark Proksch |Archive footage |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
| 2010–2013
| Nate Nickerson | 19 episodes |
| 2012, 2014
| Kenny/Kirk Peckley | Episode:"Smart Pipe" & "Swords, Knives, Very Sharp Objects, and Cutlery" |
| rowspan="6" |2013
| Mr. Dinkler | Episode: "Topsy" |
| Animal Practice
| Gary | Episode: "Wingmen" |
| Hello Ladies
| Father | Episode: "The Wedding" |
| New Girl
| Dan | Episode: "Nerd" |
| Comedy Bang! Bang!
| Alternate Reality Man | Episode: " Andy Dick Wears a Black Suit Jacket & Skinny Tie" |
| Eagleheart
| Craig Balmer | Episode: "Bowsley" |
| 2014–2017
| Decker | Abdul Shariff/Mark Proksch/Frankenstein/Wolfman/WC-3P0 | 20 episodes |
| 2014–2020
|Randy Blink | 30 episodes, 1 pilot short |
| rowspan="5" | 2014
| Johnnie | Episode: "Bad Timing" |
| Portlandia
| Sean | Episode: "Pull-Out King" |
| Modern Family
| Coleman | Episode: "Message Received" |
| Marry Me
| Chad | Episode: "Move Me" |
| Selfie
| Waiter | Episode: "Follow Through" |
| 2015
|Narrator | Episode: "New Jersey" |
| 2015–2017
| 4 episodes |
| 2016–2017
|Todd | 9 episodes |
| rowspan="3" |2017
|Stefan/American Guard/Embassy Officer | 3 episodes |
| Apollo Gauntlet
|Monty | 5 episodes |
| Tarantula
|Voice | Episode: "The Shade" |
| rowspan="4" |2018
|Mel Buchanan | Episode: "The Car" |
| Fresh Off The Boat
|Chad | Episode: "Let Me Go, Bro" |
| A.P. Bio
|Philip | Episode: "Teacher Jail" |
| Room 104
|Gene | Episode: "Hungry" |
| 2019
|Mark | Episode: "The Fall" |
| 2019–2024
|Colin Robinson | Main Cast, 50 episodes |
| 2020
|Lou 'Jewdini' Dinowitz | Episode: "Idiot Inside" |
| rowspan="2" |2021
|Additional voices | 2 episodes |
| Ten Year Old Tom
|Dakota's Dad | 3 episodes |
| rowspan="4" |2022
|Roy | Episode: "Dances With Wolfs Adventure" |
| Fairfax
|Terry | rowspan="2" |2 episodes |
| Central Park
|Lester Posey/Nico |
| Paradise PD
|Norf |4 episodes |
| 2023
|Amigo |Episode: "Who's the Cat-Chelorette" |
| rowspan="2" |2024
|Marv Higgins |9 episodes |
| '' The Simpsons
|Hack-GPT |Episode: "Bart's Birthday" |
= Web series =
| class="wikitable"
|+ ! Year ! Title ! Role !Episode |
| 2015–present
| Mark Proksch |21 episodes, 7 special |
= Music videos =
| class="wikitable"
|+ ! Year ! Title ! Artist ! Role |
| 2023
| MGMT |Cameo |
| 2023
| Round the Bend | The Tubs |
Nomination
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Nominated work ! Result ! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |
|---|
| {{center|2021}}
| Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | {{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1515989}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proksch, Mark}}
Category:Male actors from Wisconsin
Category:American male comedians
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni
Category:American male television actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:Comedians from Wisconsin