Clarke and Helena Smee with their puppets and child co-stars from the UK adaptation of Big Bag.
Marcus Clarke is an actor, puppeteer and writer who has been BAFTA-nominated for his script-editing work.
After working in the West End Theatre for several years, he played the part of Audrey II in the West End musical Little Shop of Horrors, and subsequently worked as a puppeteer on the film version. Clarke also performed puppets for the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
After successfully completing a Jim Henson’s Puppeteering for Television course, he worked on several of Henson's productions. Clarke also performed Bag in the UK version of Big Bag, beginning in 1998.
Clarke is married to fellow puppeteer Helena Smee. Their company, Hands Up! Puppets, has been involved with more than fifty children's TV series, including SMarteenies and Tickle, Patch and Friends, with Clarke often working as both a writer and performer.
In 2006, Clarke performed in The Jim Henson Company's improv puppet stage show, Puppet Up! He also wrote and performed Marcus Clarke is the Puppet Maker, an adult comedy stand-up show for the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe which experimented with incorporating puppets into conventional stand-up.
Henson credits[]
- The StoryTeller
- "The Soldier and Death": Devil (puppeteer)
- The Jim Henson Hour
- "Monster Maker": Ultragorgon (puppeteer)
- The Muppet Christmas Carol: Additional Muppet Performer
- The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside
- Muppet Treasure Island: Additional Muppet Performer
- Big Bag (UK): Bag
- Puppet Up! (Edinburgh Festival Fringe): Puppeteer/Performer
- Muppets Most Wanted: Additional UK Muppet Performer