Award-Winning Producer, Writer, Actor, and Mental Health Advocate
Mark Duplass: Biography at a Glance
- Mark Duplass is a true multi-hyphenate — an Emmy-winning producer, director, Emmy-nominated actor, screenwriter, author, and mental health advocate.
- He stars alongside Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, and Reese Witherspoon in the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, a gripping comedy-drama that explores power, pressure, and truth in media.
- A standout comedic voice, Mark starred for six seasons on FX’s The League and became a fan-favorite on The Mindy Project, while also appearing in acclaimed dramas like Zero Dark Thirty and Parkland.
- He co-wrote the memoir Like Brothers, a candid and humorous reflection on creativity and his lifelong partnership with his brother, Jay Duplass.
- He is known for leading the Mumblecore film movement: a stripped-down method of filmmaking with a naturalistic and unapologetically earnest style of storytelling that emphasizes improvisation, authenticity, and human connection.
- Duplass speaks openly about his decades-long journey with anxiety and depression, using his platform to break stigmas and spark honest conversations especially around men’s mental health.
- His keynotes blend creativity, vulnerability, and humor as he shares insights on navigating the entertainment industry, embracing failure, building resilience, and telling the stories that matter most.
Videos
Biography
Mark Duplass is a true multi-hyphenate. An Emmy-winning producer, director, Emmy-nominated actor, screenwriter, and author, he is credited with helping to create the mumblecore film movement. Known for his collaborations with his brother Jay, their work can be seen on HBO's Room 104 and Togetherness, which the two wrote, directed, and produced. Their Emmy-winning Netflix documentary series, Wild Wild Country, depicts the rise of a controversial cult leader and the utopian city he built in the Oregon desert. He stars alongside Jennifer Anniston, Steve Carrell, and Reese Witherspoon in the Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, a comedy-drama about a sexual misconduct scandal mirroring that of Matt Lauer. For his stellar performance in the show's season finale ("The Interview"), Mark earned his first Emmy nomination for acting.
While Duplass' success is vast and ever-growing, he comes from average beginnings. At his speaking engagements, he speaks passionately about the lessons he has learned from his winded-path journey to "making it in Hollywood" and his tips and experiences in the creative process that people from all backgrounds can take to heart. From the keys to collaboration to what it takes to launch your own small business to how to forge your unique and independent path, Mark Duplass presents with raw humility, honesty, and uplifting encouragement.
After gaining acclaim with such mumblecore films as The Puffy Chair and Baghead, Mark parlayed his success into an independent acting career by winning starring roles opposite Emily Blunt and Rosemarie Dewitt in Your Sister's Sister. USA Today referred to his performance as "Wonderfully funny," while his performance in the comedy film Tammy was called "Sweetly droll" by Entertainment Weekly. Duplass has also had supporting roles in the award-winning film Zero Dark Thirty, and Peter Landesman's examination of the Kennedy assassination, Parkland. Mark starred opposite Ray Romano in the dark comedy film Paddleton, which he co-wrote and premiered at Sundance.
While focusing on his burgeoning film career, Mark simultaneously starred as a series regular for six seasons on FXX's The League, while also managing to become a fan-favorite recurring character on Mindy Kaling's The Mindy Project. Duplass co-wrote and released the memoir Like Brothers about his lifelong partnership with his brother, Jay. According to the New York Times, Like Brothers is "A book that anyone will love."
Topics
Behind the Scenes: A Story of Mental Health, Resilience, and Courage
Best known for his acclaimed work on The Morning Show, Mark Duplass has made a career out of telling emotionally honest stories onscreen. Now, he’s telling one of the most important stories of all: his own. In this candid and inspiring talk, Duplass opens up about his journey with anxiety and depression, going from battling panic attacks in silence to building a mental health toolkit that now sustains both his well-being and his creative career.
Drawing from personal experience, Mark explores how therapy, daily habits, and human connection helped him regain control and redefine what it means to thrive. He also reflects on how vulnerability in the workplace can foster trust, deepen relationships, and actually enhance professional success.
With warmth, humor, and hard-won insight, Duplass challenges outdated stigmas around mental health and empowers audiences to prioritize their emotional resilience to better their personal and professional lives.
Creating Space for Innovation, Improvisation, and Breakthrough Ideas
In this energizing talk, award-winning filmmaker and entrepreneur Mark Duplass shares lessons from his groundbreaking work leading the Mumblecore film movement, an indie revolution built not on big budgets, but on big ideas. Known for telling authentic stories with minimal resources, Duplass reveals how creativity thrives when people are trusted to experiment, improvise, and think beyond the obvious.
Drawing from his experience co-creating hit films and series with limited tools but limitless imagination, Duplass illustrates how innovation happens not through rigid structure or massive investment, but through empowering teams to take risks, embrace imperfection, and follow instinct over process. He shares practical insights on how leaders can foster environments that support bold thinking, where fresh ideas are welcomed, and failure is seen as fuel rather than a flaw.
Whether you’re building a startup, leading a team, or trying to spark creativity inside a large organization, this talk offers a compelling roadmap for unlocking innovation from the inside out.
