How Mark Valley went from the Gulf War to 'Human Target'

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by: Tyrone Warner
Date: 4/13/2010 11:01:00 AM ET

As a military academy grad, it’s been a long journey into the world of acting for Mark Valley.

The actor stars in “Human Target” as Christopher Chance. He’s also recently appeared on “Fringe” as FBI Agent John Scott, and previously starred on “Boston Legal.”

Valley graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and began his acting career while serving overseas in the Army.

“Well, it wasn't like somebody said, ‘Here, if you want to be on TV, turn here, fill out this application’ or something.  I came back from the Gulf War, and, you know, although I hadn't really been in any kind of intense -- super-intense circumstances, it was, for me, a time in my life where I was mid- to late twenties, and thought I was probably too old to be an actor and thought to myself, you know, ‘If it could all just end now or’ – ‘what would I really want to do with my life if life were a dream?  Let me just kind of play around with that idea.  What would I really like to do?’  And I thought, ‘Well, I'll just kind of keep an open mind about things,’” Valley tells CTV.ca. 

“And then somebody asked me to be an extra on a film, and I remember being on a film set and taking a look around and meeting people.  And then in comes Anthony Hopkins, who sits down and has his scene all prepared. He's like, ‘Hello, I'm Tony.  How are you doing?’  And he does the scene and turns into a completely different person, and then the scene is over with, and he gets up, and he walks out, and everybody treats him like a general.  I thought, ‘Damn, I want that job.’”

“Human Target” is about Chance, a mysterious security agent for hire, taking on new identities and putting his life on the line for his clients. The series is based on a DC comic of the same name. Valley says that his military background has prepared him for all the action Chance sees on “Human Target.”

“In the Army we did a lot of exercises where you're kind of pretending you're shooting.  You're pretending or you're doing exercises where you're coming into a room or clearing it, so there's some of those tactical things that sort of carry over.  But for the most part it's team work and working with a team and doing something that I believe in.”

So did Valley always see himself as an action hero?

“No, I had no idea, you know.  But, you know, I'm still not really convinced, to be honest with you.  I think it will take another season for me to really take that in…  I'm just pretty fortunate.”

“Human Target” also stars Chi McBride as Winston and Jackie Earle Haley as Guerrero.

Valley married his “Fringe” co-star Anna Torv in December 2008, and have reportedly split earlier this year.

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