Mark Steven Dancewicz Jr. is part of a well-known Lynn family. Mark’s grandfather’s brother, was Francis “Boley” Dancewicz, who quarterbacked Lynn Classical to back-to-back state championships in 1940-41, was an All-American player at Notre Dame and the first overall pick by the Boston Yanks in the 1946 NFL Draft.
“Every year, my uncle, Ed, hosted a Fourth of July party at his house, and my dad [Mark Dancewicz Sr.] remembers one year, “Boley” did the ‘high knees” over to where the grilling was happening. My dad said he had never seen anything like it. He said the reason they called him “Boley” was that he could bowl anybody over. Everywhere I would go when I was younger, people would ask, ‘Are you related to Boley? ’”
Mark revealed that “Boley was actually all set to go to Yale and the week before, Notre Dame called him, and he went to college there.”
Mark Dancewicz, 46, has been gaining fame in his own right as an actor, having appeared in “Aftermath,” the No. 1-rated movie on Netflix, following success on Broadway and in television guest roles.
From Lynn to Broadway
to Hollywood
Born in Lynn, Mark attended St. Pius School through eighth grade before enrolling at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, graduating in 1997.
“I ran track at Fenwick, but I was big into theatre, which is how it all started for me,” said Dancewicz. “My brother [Craig Dancewicz] and I also did shows at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly. We started with Lynn Community Theatre at the Lynn Boys and Club where Kevin Buchanan was the theater director. We then went on to Optimistic Youth Theatre, where they staged “West Side Story.’’
“When I was 15 years old, I played Riff in “West Side Story,” and it was at the Lynn City Hall Auditorium. They invited all the schools in the area to see it,” said Dancewicz, whose dance teacher was Tracy Tedesco. “I get stabbed in the play, and whole crowd went crazy. After the play, I had all these kids coming up to me and asking for my autograph. At a young age, I was hooked. I was even asked to appear in plays at other high schools such as Lynn Classical, where they did “Bye Bye Birdie.”
Mark studied theater for one year at Salem State College, where he won an acting award. He also trained under the tutelage of a voice coach, Todd Gordon.
He then transferred to Emerson College, Boston, where he studied theater and appeared in multiple productions at the Majestic Theatre, receiving his B.F.A. degree in Music Theatre.
“Right after that, I moved to New York and I started acting,” related Dancewicz. “I was traveling the whole world performing in plays. I performed in The Who’s “Tommy,” in Europe and Japan. I came back and did a residency in Las Vegas for a year-and-a-half in “Mamma Mia!” After that I was on Broadway (New York City) in “Mamma Mia!” for seven years. Being on stage in a Broadway show was living out my dream. I remember getting the call after the audition. I was sitting on my couch, and the casting director said, ‘I just want to congratulate you – you’re going to be on Broadway.’ I called my parents, and they were so excited. They used to take me as a teenager to see plays like the “Phantom of the Opera” and “Grease,” and I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
Movie and TV roles follow
Dancewicz took a break from musical theatre and embarked on a new chapter in his career doing television and film work.
Dancewicz has appeared in television acting roles on “Blue Bloods,” “FBI”, “Equalizer,” and “High Potential,” which is currently a No. 1-rated drama on ABC-TV.
His movie credits include “The Instigators” with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck that was shot in Boston, and “Aftermath,” which was also filmed in the Boston area.
“For “Aftermath,” we shot the movie in an airplane hangar where they had completely reconstructed the Tobin Bridge,” said Dancewicz. “When I walked in on set for a costume fitting, I opened these doors and I see the Tobin Bridge, and I said, ‘this is crazy.’”
Among the actors with whom Dancewicz appeared in “Aftermath” were Dylan Sprouse, Mason Gooding (son of Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr.), and Dichen Lachman (Severance).
What was his reaction when “Aftermath” became the No. 1-rated movie on Netflix?
“It was very exciting because we shot that movie two years before it came out,” said Dancewicz. “We shot the movie right in the middle of Covid-19, so I had to test for Covid every single day. When they released the movie into theaters, I did get to go see it which was pretty cool. When the movie rose to No. 1 on Netflix, everyone was like, ‘wow, this is incredible.’ ’’
As “Aftermath” was exploding among Netflix fans, Dancewicz was appearing in an off-Broadway play with Neil Patrick Harris, Debra Messing, and Jane Krakowski.
Dancewicz said he is represented in New York by Take 3 Talent where his agent is Michelle Cavallero (“She’s fantastic,’’ credits Mark). His agent at Model Club Inc., Boston, is Tim Ayers.
Owning a personal training business
In addition to his continuing pursuits on stage and in film, Mark Dancewicz started his own personal training business, Strengthmate Fitness [Strengthmatefitness.com] in New York City.
“I always knew that I wanted to have my own business,” said Mark. “My mother [Terri Dancewicz] owns a hair salon, Newbury Salon, in Peabody. My uncle, Greg Belleville, owns K & B Plumbing and Heating.”
Dancewicz has owned and operated Strengthmate Fitness for ten years. “It’s all private, one-on-one training, and I love it being very different from the acting in television and film where you are the product, and it’s all about you. I love being able to have this other part of my life, where I’m helping people and changing their lives for the better. My whole philosophy in personal training is if you learn how to do it once properly, you’ll have it for the rest of your life.”
Dancewicz maintains a healthy lifestyle himself.
“I work out six times a week – strength training, high intensity training, running, swimming,” he said.
And his own vigorous training regimen has helped him land roles in his acting career.
“In a lot of the action movies I’m doing, I play more of the physical roles like police officers,” said Dancewicz.
Carrying on the family name
Mark Dancewicz said he “very proudly” carries on the family name, a tradition of excellence that began with the great “Boley” Dancewicz at Manning Bowl in Lynn. The late Gary Dancewicz, son of Boley and Audrey Dancewicz and a 1966 Lynn English graduate, was a prominent college football official for 40 years.
“My grandmother, Marion Dancewicz, is the matriarch of the family at this point, and I was happy to attend her 90th surprise party,” said Mark. “The whole Dancewicz family was there [at Old Tyme Italian Cuisine]. We dined in the back function room, and my grandmother was really surprised. It was my grandmother who put my brother and me in theater at a very young age.”
And today the future is exceedingly bright for the handsome actor and fitness guru, who will always have Lynn in his heart.