MUSCLEMAN Mark Smith shot to fame in the Nineties on Gladiators – but now arguably he’s the most successful of all the ultra-chiselled cast.
The 54-year-old, who was Rhino in the hit ITV show, has carved out an impressive career as an actor and celebrity trainer in Hollywood, while also amassing a roster of A-lister pals.
After Gladiators came to an end in 2000, Mark starred in EastEnders and the BBC’s Robin Hood before bagging cameos in blockbuster films including Batman Begins, Creed and Zootopia.
He’s also befriended big names including long-term pal Idris Elba, Johnny Depp, who he calls ‘JD’, and Gerard Butler – as well as brushing shoulders with Morgan Freeman, Jay Z and our late Queen.
Mark’s life now is worlds apart from his time on Gladiators, which he says “changed my life forever” – however, he also recalls a “horrific” injury that nearly cost him his career.
In 1995, Mark landed awkwardly on his right leg after tackling a contender from a giant inflatable pyramid and falling 25 feet onto a crashmat. It initially left him unable to walk and out of action for months.
“You could never predict how you would land during the Pyramid event,” he tells The Sun.
“I tackled the contender and when we fell onto the crashmats my right leg took the brunt of both of our weights.
“My leg jolted and I knew that was it. I busted my collateral ligament and have never felt pain like that before. It was bad and I worried about being able to return during my darkest times.
“I was in a wheelchair and was in a cast for 12 weeks. At first, I couldn’t bend my leg 90 degrees let alone walk.
"It was a hard journey but I was determined.
“I feel I was very, very lucky to get back to normal. I even went on to run four marathons, which seemed impossible back then. It’s all thanks to the Gladiators’ team of amazing doctors.”
Mark, who returned from injury the following year in 1996, was originally scouted for the show after winning the London Men’s Heavyweight weightlifting championship.
Unlike other Gladiators, he already had the perfect nickname – Rhino – which he had been known as since 1988, due to being “strong, powerful and wide” like the animal, by bodybuilding pals.
He insists his time on the show – apart from the injury – was nothing short of “amazing” and gave him the “big break” that propelled him to superstardom today.
The bodybuilder got a taste of fame shortly after his first Gladiators episode aired when a crowd of fans mobbed him in a Tesco.
Mark says: “Suddenly a line formed all the way through the supermarket and round the corner. I signed every autograph and took lots of pictures with people.
“That was my first episode, my first introduction to it all. I remember thinking, ‘Oh wow, this show is huge’. I’ve been recognised in airports and holidays around the world since then.
“I used to get some funny requests too. I remember taking a photo with a woman in Scotland who then asked, ‘Can I have one of your toenails?’ I said ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do that’. She didn’t say why she wanted it.
“Women regularly asked me to sign their chests and some people even had Rhino tattoos, the worst I saw was on someone’s stomach.”
Filming was tough for the stars and Mark recalls regularly taking ibuprofen to deal with the regular “niggles, strains and pains” of recording two shows a day.
He says: “Minor injuries definitely made it harder to film the next day. You literally only had around 12 hours to recover and prepare yourself to do it all over again.”
Mark earned celebrity status from his time on the show, which led to several unusual encounters including being asked to attend the funeral of famous mobster Ronnie Kray in 1995.
He recalls: “I did a Q&A in prison and after, Reggie approached me to ask about health. He was very polite and was really interested in how to live longer and how to be strong and fast.
“When he asked me to go to his brother’s funeral, I wasn’t going to say no.”
He also met Queen Elizabeth II at The Royal Tournament in 1997, during which she complimented his bulging biceps.
Mark tells us: “I was in there in my leotard, which was quite a funny situation to be in. I curtsied and she asked me how long I had been training and working on my muscles.
“I told her since the age of 16 and she said ‘You look amazing’. It was a surreal moment. I was very lucky to have met her before she passed away.”
When Gladiators came to an end, Mark set his sights on acting and among his early gigs was playing ‘Johnson’ in four episodes of EastEnders in 2005.
He recalls: “That was huge for me. I was in Phil’s garage and had to repossess a car. I remember my mind being blown by how small the set was.”
That same year, Mark was challenged to a boxing match with Michael Carroll, famous known as the 'Lotto Lout' for splurging his £9.7million Lottery win, in 2002, on drugs, alcohol and cars.
He recalls: “Michael said he could ‘take on any of the Gladiators, especially Rhino’. So then I was asked to fight him. I thought ‘OK’ and prepared in a short amount of time.
“I was told not to knock him out in the first fight and just make it a bit of a show. But then we had a rematch and it was a free-for-all.”
The first fight, which had to be stopped multiple times due to Michael’s inability to continue was ruled a draw. Mark knocked him out in the second round of the rematch months later.
At the same time, Mark was notching up more and more acting credits – including Batman Begins, Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Creed.
Typically – due to his muscular frame – the Gladiators star has mainly been cast as villains and says he has “died so many times on TV and film I’ve lost count”.
Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2016, Mark has bagged even more parts including a voiceover role in Disney animation Zootopia, in which he aptly plays a rhino police officer.
Other appearances include Marvel series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Criminal Minds, Angel Has Fallen, The Enforcer and Netflix’s TV adaptation of The Gentlemen, which comes out this year.
Mark has also starred in at least three films with his long-term friend Idris Elba – including the A-lister's directorial debut Yardie – whom he met in a Camden nightclub,
“We met when Idris was still new to acting and I was on Gladiators. He told me he was going to move to America to pursue acting.
“I remember saying, ‘That’s amazing, go for it. Life’s too short, you’ve got nothing to lose’ and look at him now, he’s on the bloody A-list, he’s huge and an amazing actor.
“I consider him my mate and I'm extremely happy for him. Once I remember having breakfast at the Hilton with him, Morgan Freeman, and two others.
“I remember us having a sportsman’s wager on the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight. Morgan agreed with me that Floyd would win on points. It was such a surreal moment.”
Mark also befriended Scottish star Gerard Butler, who he rides motorbikes with and trained for a film role – as well as Johnny Depp, who he calls ‘JD’.
Their children went to the same school and they bonded over the Fantastic Beasts star’s “love” for British culture.
Mark recalls: “We were talking about food and we both agreed that spotted dick and custard was really nice.
“His bodyguard looked at us like we were mad and said ‘What the f*** are? You guys eat a spotted d***?' He didn’t understand it was a sponge pudding.”
While he's thousands of miles away from the UK now, Mark believes it was his “humble upbringing” in Acton, West London, that made him the man he is today.
He was raised by a single mother and “strict Jamaican grandfather” after his parents split up when his three. Much of his childhood was filled with difficulty.
Mark’s late mother was regularly hospitalised during his childhood due to suffering severe and lasting bouts of depression.
He says: “Everyone has their own struggles, adversities and hurdles in life but I remember a lot of pain and trauma in mine.
“I remember visiting my mum in mental institutes like St Bernard’s. She was suffering from depression and was in and out of hospitals.”
It led Mark to channel his pain into working out and ensuring he remained healthy, fit and mentally strong.
He says: “I consider myself extremely lucky to have been able to take my pain and frustrations out on physical activity.
“People often say I’m a 'nice guy' and 'always happy' but that’s because I never predicted or anticipated my life would turn out this way. I feel very grateful.”
Mark used to get free school meals due to his family being “on a low income” and he had two paper rounds from the age of 12 – but he believes it made him fight harder to become successful.
He recalls: “The first paper round used to pay £5.50 and the other was £6.50. It felt good even though I was only earning a few quid a week. Later I worked as a hotel cleaner and in scaffolding.
“It taught me that you’ve got to get up and go to work. I realised you get out of life what you put into it, which has kept me motivated for all of these years. ”
Modestly, Mark attributes his success to being “very lucky”, the kind individuals he has met along the way and the show that launched his career, Gladiators.
He says: “In my teenage years, I never could have imagined I’d be where I am today. I would never thought in my wildest dreams.”
