Mark Derwin

The versatile American character actor Mark Derwin initially launched himself as a late '80s soap opera heartthrob, with two roles that many housewives will count as unforgettable: that of A.C. Mallett on Guiding Light, and that of Adrian Hunter on The Young and the Restless. Allegedly a rebel during his early years, Derwin evinced limited interest in high school sports and attended the State University of New York at Cobbleskill, where he engaged in some undisclosed acts of "bad boy" mischief that prompted the university to boot him out. Stints at IBM (where his family worked), at a nursing home, and in carpentry and landscaping followed, but the actor felt a deep and lingering dissatisfaction that prompted him to seek out his one great passion: acting. Commercials followed -- for Nike, Toyota, Nissan, Fiesta Cigarettes (on Mexican television) -- then the soap opera period, which Derwin used as a kind of personalized workshop to develop and hone his acting craft.

Prime-time viewers will invariably associate Derwin with his collaborations with Bonnie Hunt. Beginning in the mid-'90s, he joined the casts of two of the actress/comedienne's sitcoms: the short-lived Bonnie Hunt Show (1995) and the slightly more successful Life With Bonnie (2002). After that program received the pink slip, Derwin branched out into big-screen features. These included the teen comedies Dirty Deeds (2005) and Accepted (2006) and the psychological drama Laura Smiles (2005). - Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide