Mark Feuerstein's likeability can obscure how useful a physical comedian he is. We rate him most when a part gives that timing something to do, rather than simply asking him to be pleasant company.
Fi1m perspective
The slapstick opposite Mel Gibson in What Women Want (2000) gives Mark Feuerstein a chance to do more than be agreeable. We laughed at his physical timing alongside Gibson, and wished the film made more room for it. Nancy Meyers's comedy gets good laughs from a premise that needs tougher handling, and gives its newly attentive man too much credit for listening. Feuerstein's supporting turn as Morgan Farwell is a reminder that an actor regularly cast for likeability has comic skills beyond making himself welcome.
In Practical Magic (1998), his Michael sits within a film whose strongest attractions are its sisters, aunts and house. Griffin Dunne has trouble settling on a tone, and Feuerstein's easy company cannot make the competing kinds of film fit together. Playing opposite Sandra Bullock places him squarely in the romantic supporting work that became a familiar part of his career. We would not recommend the film for him alone, though it helps explain why agreeable men kept coming his way.
Television eventually gave him more responsibility. After short-lived sitcom leads in Fired Up (1997–1998) and Good Morning, Miami (2002–2004), Royal Pains (2009–2016) put him at the centre as Dr Hank Lawson. Working with showrunners Andrew Lenchewski and Michael Rauch, he had to handle medical stories, romance and comedy within the same role. That is a better use of his likeability: the character's competence gives the charm a purpose, and the changes of tone keep it from becoming his only contribution. It is the clearest place to see what he does well.
9JKL (2017–2018), which he co-created with Dana Klein, was a less persuasive return to the sitcom lead. Its formulaic family comedy exposes the weakness of relying on an amiable central performer when the writing gives him so little to work with. Having helped devise the programme, he shares responsibility for that. For a proper introduction, start with Royal Pains, where he has more to manage than keeping us fond of him.
Biography
Mark Feuerstein is an American actor born on 8 June 1971 in New York City. He graduated from Princeton University in 1993 and, as a Fulbright scholar, trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the École Philippe Gaulier in Paris. His early television work included a guest role on the soap opera Loving and a recurring part on the sitcom Caroline in the City.
Feuerstein made his film debut as Michael in Practical Magic (1998). Subsequent film roles include What Women Want (2000), In Her Shoes (2005) and Defiance (2008). On television he starred as Dr Hank Lawson in Royal Pains (2009–2016), co-wrote and starred in the sitcom 9JKL (2017–2018), and appeared in series such as Sex and the City, The West Wing and Prison Break. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on The Baby-Sitters Club.
