Entertainment
What Has Mark-Paul Gosselaar Been Up To? The 'Saved By the Bell' Star Is Still Acting & Still Zack Morris (Sort Of)
Oh, Zack Morris — he's the kind of boy every girl dreams of — great-looking, smart, and funny. Yes, that's the Zack Morris we all remember. The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story premieres Labor Day on Lifetime and although the man behind Zack, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, had nothing to do with the film, I still need to know what my beloved Zack is up to.
So what has Gosselaar been doing since Saved by the Bell ended in 1993 (besides stunning us with the fact that he's actually a brunette)? Well, take a time out! And check out what our favorite Bayside Tiger has been doing.
Went to College
After Saved by the Bell ended in 1993, Gosselaar and some of the Bayside gang went to college together in Saved by the Bell: The College Years. Airing from 1993-1994, the show lasted for only one season and Jessie and Lisa were missing from the group. But the world was set right again after it ended because Zack and Kelly got married in Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas later that year.
In retrospect, a Kelly and Zack marriage was pretty ill-advised. Besides being so young, they always had a tumultuous relationship. (Remember when Kelly dated Jeff from The Max?! Or Zack dated Leah Remini … I mean, Stacey?!) I wonder if Zack and Kelly are celebrating their 20-year wedding anniversary?
Image: NBC
Went to College — Again
Gosselaar returned to college in 1998, but this time, not as Zack Morris. In Dead Man on Campus, he joined another ’90s dreamboat (That Thing You Do!’s Tom Everett Scott) and plotted to recruit a roommate who’d kill himself in order for the pair to get straight As.
The movie was universally panned, but the dark comedy was still a step up from the 1996 TV movie She Cried No that he starred in with Candace Cameron Bure. And yes, unfortunately, the movie subject is what you’d guess with a title like that.
Image: Paramount Pictures
Joined New York's Finest
Gosselaar was in the final four seasons of NYPD Blue as Dennis Franz’s partner in the police drama. He portrayed Detective John Clark, Jr. until 2005 and his character had to deal with some serious traumas, including the suicide of his father.
But Gosselaar kept the atmosphere light onset, particularly with his sex scenes as proven when he told TV Guide, ”I’ll write something on my bare ass, or one time I went under the sheets and came back up with a full fake beard on.”
Zack just can’t help pulling a prank.
Image: ABC via Amazon
Voiced His Alter-Ego
As a show that spoofs on childhood pop culture classics, Robot Chicken and Saved by the Bell are a perfect fit. Gosselaar “reunited” with some of the Saved by the Bell gang by voicing their iconic characters on Robot Chicken. Mario Lopez, Lark Voorhies, Dustin Diamond, and Dennis Haskins joined in on the fun, but they didn’t record their voices together (for shame!).
Image: Cartoon Network
Lawyered Up
After his turn as a police officer, Gosselaar joined the other side of the justice system as a lawyer on TNT’s Raising the Bar in 2008. Between the two TV shows, Gosselaar had a reoccurring role in the Geena Davis-led Commander in Chief, which was canceled after one season. Raising the Bar didn’t have much better luck. It ran for two seasons before being canceled — even after Gosselaar got a well-advised haircut.
Image: TNT
Revisited Zack Morris
In 2009, while promoting the aforementioned Raising the Bar, Gosselaar visited Jimmy Fallon as Zack Morris. Oh my. Zack was a dreamboat even 15-plus years later.
Do yourself a favor and watch this gem episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Gosselaar never once breaks character and sadly informs the audience that Kelly and him have split. He even performs “Friends Forever” (!) with The Roots.
Image: NBC
Raised a Family
Gosselaar married another three-name person, Lisa Ann Russell, in 1996 and they had two children. The pair divorced in 2010, and since then Russell married Survivor host Jeff Probst and Gosselaar married Catriona McGinn (pictured). Gosselaar and McGinn had a son in 2013, so he’s now the proud dad of Dekker, Ava, and Michael.
And it seems that the four adults have got the whole blended-family thing down. As Gosselaar told Zap2it, ”I have nothing but nice things to say about my ex-wife and the years that we spent together and I think it’s very important that the kids are around us both equally.”
Who knew Zack Morris would grow up to be so mature?
Lawyered Up — Again (Guess That's Why He Went to College Twice)
Currently, Gosselaar stars in TNT’s Franklin & Bash alongside Breckin Meyer. Season 4 premiered on Aug. 13 and the duo of lawyers are back in action with Malcolm McDowell (but no Heather Locklear). And with the new season, Gosselaar (who plays Peter Bash) will show that he’s got more talent than just being a charming actor, as he directs an episode.
Image: TNT
Got Lifetime Original Movie-d
How dare Dylan Everett act like he even has half the charm that Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris had?! Everett will be portraying Gosselaar in The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story. I’ll see if he can stack up to my main-man Mark-Paul, but I can’t image that being possible. I guess after watching Lifetime, I’ll just have to tune into TNT.
Image: Sergei Bachlakov/Lifetime
