Mark Waschke was born in Wattenscheid on March 10 1972. He studied at the renowned Ernst Busch acting academy in Berlin, and in 1999, he joined the ensemble of the Berliner Schaubühne. Over the years, he played in numerous productions of classic and modern plays, including Brecht"s "Mann ist Mann", Dresser"s "Goldene Zeiten", Williams" "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" and Czechov"s "Kirschgarten".

Although he already appeared in an episode of The TV series "Der letzte Zeuge" in 1999, he really started out in film and television in 2005. He guest-starred in series like "Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei" (2006), "KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst" (2007) and "Die Rosenheim-Cops" (2009), and ambitious TV dramas like Hendrik Handloegten" s "Ein spätes Mädchen" (2007) and Stefan Krohmer"s "Mitte 30" (2007).

In 2007, he made his screen debut in Angela Schanelec"s "Nachmittag", followed by a supporting role in Tom Zenker"s "Der blinde Fleck". His breakthrough came with the role of Thomas Buddenbrook in Heinrich Breloer"s adaptation of Thomas Mann"s "Buddenbrooks". His performance as the father of a kidnapped child in Matti Geschonneck"s acclaimed TV drama "Entführt" and his portrayal of a betrayed husband in Christoph Hochhäusler"s "Unter dir die Stadt" (2010) further established him as a prolific character actor. Since February 2010, he also plays the role of detective Nadir Taraki in "Radio Tatort".

For his lead performance in Juraj Herz" drama "Habermann" (2010), Mark Waschke won the 2010 Bavarian Film Award for Beast Actor.