Mark Povinelli

Despite his short stature and slightness, Mark Povinelli has proven himself to be an actor of absolutely towering potential. A veteran of the stage, his career began to take off during the early-to-mid-2000s with roles on television, film, and in the theatre. Guest appearances on the likes of the sitcom "Dharma & Greg" and the mystical drama "Charmed" led to Robert Zemeckis' 2004 animated feature, "The Polar Express," one of Povinelli's earliest film credits (not counting the action-horror flick "Van Helsing" released the same year, for which he performed stunts). He played an elf in "The Polar Express," and a few years later, was cast as another fantastical creature, the Oompa Loompa, in the '07 comedy spoof "Epic Movie." Toward the end of the decade, Povinelli appeared as a guest star in episodes of two cult television shows: the fantasy-themed "Pushing Daisies" and the comedy "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." He also starred as Torvald Helmer in "Mabou Mines Dollhouse," based on a re-titled production of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll House" staged in 2003, for which Povinelli received highly favorable notes. Starting in 2010, he began guest-starring in high-profile series such as "Modern Family" and "Boardwalk Empire," with the occasional big-budget studio film like "Water for Elephants," in which he plays a rough-hewn circus employee with a heart of gold, thrown in for good measure.