A Kings Langley resident is celebrating after winning one of the top awards in TV for his work on the popular Netflix series, Wednesday.
Mark Scruton was one of three winners of the Emmy for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More) at the Creative Arts Emmy Award Shows, held in Los Angeles on January 6 and 7.
Mark was born and bred in Kings Langley, and currently still lives in the village. It’s also where his love of filmmaking first began.
Speaking to Kings News, Mark said: “I guess I wanted to work in films from when I was five years old, and when I was 10, I had a local news piece written about me about my involvement in the Watford Cine Society.
“Eventually, I went to Bournemouth Film School, and when I graduated, I worked on lots of commercials and music videos, before eventually getting to work in film and TV.”
Having been involved with numerous high-profile productions, Mark then began to work as a production designer for the Netflix series Wednesday, a dark adaptation of The Addams Family starring Jenna Ortega and directed by iconic horror and sci-fi director Tim Burton.
Mark designed some of the show’s most iconic imagery, including the beautiful stained glass window in Wednesday’s dormitory at Nevermore School.
When the series was released in November 2022, it became an international hit and was the second most watched English-language Netflix series in the history of the platform.
Speaking about his work on the show and the reaction it has had, Mark said: “It was a complicated show, and it took a long time to make before we even started filming.
“Working with Tim Burton was interesting, as he had such a clear idea of what he wanted. He’s very good in his collaborations; he wants your ideas, and he steers you in the right direction.
“We never imagined the show was going to be as big as it was. You work on so many things that just disappear, you get used to it, so for it to be received the way it was is incredible.
“The way people took to heart things I did was amazing. The big thing for me was people getting tattoos of the stained glass window, something I had doodled on a napkin three years ago.”
It was this work that saw Mark win the Emmy, alongside his colleagues Adrian Curelea and Robert Hepburn. They beat competition from other hit shows such as The Last of Us, Ted Lasso and The White Lotus.
Speaking about his win, Mark said: “This is the first big award I’ve won for my work; it’s a massive career goal. I feel so privileged to have won it; some people go their whole careers without getting anything like this.
“I’ve fulfilled the ambition that I had when I was five years old!”
Photo credit: J Emilio Flores, Invision for the Television Academy, AP Images
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