Mark-Paul Gosselaar on Regrets and Breaking Free from “Zack Morris”

You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Garland. Welcome to I Choose Me. We've grown up together with Mark Paul Gosselaar as Zach from Saved by the Bell, Detective Clark in NYPD Blue, and most recently, Hugh Sir Evans in Found. He brings an ultimate I Choose Me reminder today, helping us navigate early cancer detection. Mark Paul, welcome. I'm so happy you're here.

Well, hello.

Hello, Dapper Dan.

Dapper Dan. Do I look dapper today? You do. Oh, thank you. I wasn't going for the dapper look, but I'll take it.

I guess it's just the jacket and the glasses. You got it.

Nailed it. Well, I'm blind and I like to be warm.

Okay, great.

Me too. So those are the reasons why I wear glasses and wear a jacket.

Yeah, I put my contacts in for you, so.

I can't wear contacts.

Dude, it's so hard. Me too.

But how do you do it then?

So I have on, because they're so hard for me to get in and out, I have on ones that you can wear for a month.

Sorry.

I take them in and out throughout the month, but they last a month.

When I wear contacts, right, because I have both far, near, I'm a mess. Yeah, me too. When I wear contacts, then my far is good, but my near is bad.

You need a trifocal contact lens, Mark.

Okay, I'm going to talk to my doctor about this. Okay.

This is good. I'll try to text you or have someone text you the name of it. Okay?

Okay. Thank you. What about the drops? Have you tried drops? Yeah.

They don't help me.

Nothing? Nope. Yeah. So I have to wear these because people always said I was scowling. I looked like I was- Because you were squinting. I was like, I can't see you.

You were squinting.

Now I see you and I have wide, bright eyes that everyone can look into.

I'm so glad. I am glad that you- Could you see when we were doing Circus of the Stars together? That's the question. I was on the trapeze with Mario.

Oh, God. You were on the trapeze with Mario?

Yep.

That was the year before me.

And you saw that we didn't die, so you decided to do it.

Yeah, I thought, what could go wrong?

You did the trapeze?

No, I did the Russian swing, which they didn't have the year that you were there.

Oh, my gosh.

So they thought, what other way could we possibly injure a celebrity that shouldn't be up there? Let's do the Russian swing because that seems more dangerous than the trapeze.

And do I recall something happened to you? Like you got injured?

Oh, I got very injured. I was doing a triple back somersault. I had lost the trick. I could only do two the days leading up to it. I had done triples, but I just wasn't comfortable. And I wanted to be put in the harness for the triple. And I remember the guy, the circus guy was like, no, no, no. This is the producer run through. They don't want to see you in a harness. I'm like, but I just don't feel comfortable. So anyway, I got in my head.

I did the triple, but I didn't hear the call out. And so I stayed in a tuck and I hit the, I basically hit the mats in a tuck. My head snapped and my chin broke my sternum. So I fractured my sternum, tore all the ligaments in my neck, still walked off the mats away because they didn't want to make a show in front of me.

You did your final pose, I'm sure.

I did my final, like, I could feel my sternum clacking. And I did my final thing and walked off. Had I known this, I think I could have owned part of whoever was putting that on. But we didn't live in a litigious time at that point. But I don't think I'd be sitting here had I been litigious with you, Jenny.

I think I'd be on my mega yacht in Monaco right now.

Do you have regrets at all? No, none.

No? No. I mean. You know, it's funny. It's like when you think about regrets, I do regret throwing my body around at such a young age. Like I just did a lot of dumb things.

Were you into motorcycling too?

Yeah, I did all that stuff. I was doing motocross until I was 35.

What?

I mean, I've done a lot of bad things with my body and never thought that it would ever catch up. And unfortunately, it does catch up.

It does catch up, people. You're hearing it from us. It definitely, definitely gadgets up.

I wish I had recovered more. I wish I understood.

Given your body that chance.

Yeah. Given my body time to heal. I mean, I would, I would sprain something or break something and, and try to get back as soon as possible. Well, before, you know, it was completely healed. And that, that's a regret.

Why do you think he did that? Like in a life meaning kind of way? What does that say about you?

Well, I think it's a, it's a, it's a display of toughness to get back in there. You know, it's, it's, uh, that it could be as simple as that. It could also be something like, if I don't get in soon enough, I'm going to lose it. Um, it could also be something that, you know, you, you find such joy from doing that activity that you bypass anything else because you're just so myopic in that view, uh, that you need to get back. Um, I don't know. I, I think for me, it came from, that I was invincible and that things could hurt me at that time. And I wouldn't take time to feel the hurt because who needs that?

I mean, I look back and I'm like, I can't believe I did that. Like, why did I do that? What was I thinking? And I think, do I want my kids doing that?

No. No. No, I don't. No.

So I think we were younger. It was the 90s and we were just like– You know, we felt invincible. I think a lot of people did in the 90s. Maybe it was caused by other things. But you and I were, you know, playing these characters on pretty significant shows that have incredibly stood the test of time, keep coming back. People still want to know us. Do you get irritated? Or was there ever a point where you got irritated when someone would be like, oh, my God, Zach.

Yes. Yes. Yeah. I got irritated probably earlier on in my career when I was trying to, uh, to break a stereotype that I was like with that. I was just like, wait, I'm not, I'm not that guy. Like I'm, I'm this guy. Like my hair was not even that color or I, you know, my, I didn't come from a well-to-do family. I came from a very blue collar, uh, immigrant family. Like I was completely different than that character.

And yet I was labeled as, as that. So, While I was trying to get jobs and wasn't working, anybody who would come up to me to be like, Zach, or, you know, I was trying to get away from that. It probably took a good decade before I embraced it. And now it's, I mean, you know, when somebody walks up to you and expresses their admiration for you or joy that you've given them from watching the show, it's like, oh, thank you so much. It's a bucket filler. Yeah. And I was just on a flight here to New York.

The airline attendant, at the very end, she handed me a note and she said, my husband's very jealous that I got to serve Zach. He says hi. So, you know, maybe three decades ago, that might have bothered me. Right. Now I was like, oh, here, give Kevin a note from me.

That's so sweet. I love it when they wait to the end of the flight. That's very cool.

I wish she hadn't. Because I always feel like I'm trying to impress a flight attendant. What? I want them to think that I'm a good passenger.

A good passenger, right.

Okay. Yeah. Like, I'm not going to hurt anybody. I just want to get through this. Every time I stand, I'm just using the restroom. I don't use one in the back. Is it okay? Yeah. Is that okay? Like, thank you so much for serving my food. Can I have another drink? It's okay if you say no. Like, I just want them to, you know, like me. So I would have appreciated her kind of giving me a nod like earlier. Like, leave me alone. Just a nod that she was like, hey, my husband loves you. And so you're good by me.

I'm going to take care of you.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to take care of you.

These are the things that you think about. I love it. So what was it that you think turned that kind of feeling of feeling trapped in that character or in people's mind as that character? What was it for you personally that changed your perspective?

No, Jenny, I... Like, I grew up outside of the business. Like I said, my parents are immigrants. I really enjoy being on a set. And I love working with actors and producers and writers. I love the creative process. I love it all. I could do away with all the other stuff. Even when we go to these fan fests and we meet our fans, it's great. You know, all of it is great. I can do without it, though.

I don't need that to still enjoy my work and to feel passionate about what I do. Nothing against anyone. You need them because they're watching your shows or your films or whatever. I understand that. But I don't need all the other things that come with it. So if I could do what I do on television and film and still just be a shadow. I'm okay with that.

I'm absolutely okay. Just going home and, and, and going to my children's schools and no one having any idea what I do and, and, and leave it at that. Um, so if I look irritated, it's more comes from a place of, no, I'm being serious, but if, and I, I, if it's irritation, I think it's more the uncomfortable, uh, feeling that I'm having and I don't know how to, uh, to express it. So I, I kind of, uh, revert and go inside my And it looks like, um, I, I, it looks like it's painful because sometimes it is, it's, I just, I'm not a very extra, I'm not a Yeah, I don't need to be in front of people. I never was a theater kid. I thought I would be an athlete, which again, I'm with a team or I'm hiding behind a sport. And you see where athletes are

very shy when they talk to the press. It's like, I feel the same way.

Yeah, I'm kind of the same. And I've learned to sort of mask it a little bit more. Or when I do go like deep into like, what am I doing here? I don't really want to be here. I'd rather be at home with my family, whatever it is. Like I've learned to sort of like, just take a beat and go back to, you know, I'm, I'm actually so fucking grateful that I am here.

You know what I mean? Yes. Yeah. And I completely agree with you. I, I never, I, I never let that pass over me how absolutely fortunate it is to be doing something that I, that I'm so, you know, passionate about. And I love doing, there's never a moment where I'm on set that I'm not, understanding the absolute grandness of what we get to do. And so, but it's just the other things on the side, the other, like being noticed for things. It's just, it makes me uncomfortable.

I guess it's, it goes to me. Are you, are you a big gift giver or do you like getting gifts or both?

I love giving gifts.

Correct. Not so much getting.

I feel a little uncomfortable unless, you know, it's starting.

And I think that that is, along the same lines of like people giving like i'd much rather give compliments than get a compliment so when people come up to me it's almost like oh it's okay don't do it you may not mean it don't feel like you have to give me a compliment oh you know you don't mean it's like those are all the things going on in my head and that's that's it could be deficiency i don't know.

Um but do you have a lot you seem like me a person that has a lot of inner dialogue.

Constantly very much so when's your birthday April. Oh, okay. March. March.

Taurus, yeah?

No, Pisces.

No, Pisces, the one before. Wow. So it's hard, especially when we have to be in our heads to a certain degree to figure our lives out.

Sure.

But it's hard when we step outside and think like, wow, I'm not even feeling this moment because I'm so worried about what's about to happen.

Correct.

Or what could happen.

Do that all the time. Yeah. Do that all the time.

Or what people think. Oh, my gosh. I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your castmate, Dennis Haskins, recently. Yeah, great guy.

Great guy.

He was a major scene partner with you. You guys worked really closely for many years. So I'm really sorry about that. And you have done it all, it seems like, on camera. You've played a cop. You've played a baseball player. You've played a lawyer.

Yeah.

What do you think is the role that you're chasing? What is the one that you're going to be like, yes? It might have been something you already did because that was pretty cool too.

Yeah. I think the only role that I would love to play is something where– and I had a taste of it with Pitch when I played the baseball player where people were unaware that I was a part of that show. They didn't realize I played the catcher in that show. And so my name came across the credits. And I think that's really cool. Like we can get lost in a character where, you know, people aren't, they can't initially point a finger and say, oh, that's Jenny or that's my fault. It's like, you know, it's so lost in a character that that'd be fun to do, whether it's prosthetics or just, you know, whatever, but just roles that people, people get lost in.

You, you're a professional. That's something I really admire about you, but you're also somebody that if there's something important to talk about, you will stand up and talk about it.

Yes.

And you're playing that role right now. You're involved in a super important project called meet your mark, which is very clever. Now you did that there with the mark.

It gets more clever. It gets even more clever from there. I don't know if you've seen the spot or not.

No, I haven't seen it.

Yeah. So, but, To preface it, I am not a medical expert. I may play one in the future. It might be something that my next role. I didn't say that I wanted to be a medical expert, but I could be. Maybe if I call up Noah Wiley. Right.

He's a sexiest man alive, apparently.

Is he really?

Yep. I just found out.

Oh, my goodness.

On the Today Show.

I'm sure he's so comfortable with that title.

I'm sure he is. He looks like a guy that walks around thinking, I am the sexiest man alive.

Good for him. He deserves it. But no, I've partnered with AstraZeneca, and we are doing this campaign called Meet Your Mark. And basically, we're spreading the word about biomarkers, which may help people diagnosed with cancer understand their cancer a little bit better and may help guide them to a personalized treatment. And more so, it's just a discussion about what they can do with their doctors to better treat their specific cancers. Because even when somebody has the same type of cancers, their tumors can act very differently.

So having a biomarker test specifically for cancer, which is done through blood or tissue testing, can help their medical providers and their caregivers understand what type of cancer they have and have a more personalized treatment.

I need you to tell me what is a biomarker.

So a biomarker, again, not a medical expert. What I know about biomarkers, they are health clues or signs in your body that can, um, that doctors, uh, can get from blood tests or tissue tests.

And why do you think it's important to have bio, like it helps detect cancer earlier? Is it something you use after you've already been diagnosed?

It's what, what, after you've been diagnosed. So a lot of the times, um, sort of to give you an anecdote, and I'll come back to that. But my family, there's someone in my family that's currently going through a diagnosis. It's not a cancer diagnosis, but it is a serious diagnosis. And a lot of the times that patient becomes almost paralyzed in a room when the doctor tries to explain these things or passes along the diagnosis. My wife is a caregiver for this person, has adopted the title of caregiver.

So this fall's you know, this is advice for the patient or the caregiver. But a lot of times you can feel like you're in tailspin. You need a direction. What biomarkers do and having this discussion with your doctor is that that can be a direction for you to go in. If nothing else, have the discussion. Is there a biomarker test for my cancer so that they can better understand your unique cancer to help personalize treatment, if that makes sense. It's done after the diagnosis.

I see, I see. It sounds pretty important though, as far as your plan to move forward, what your treatment plan needs to look like, how aggressive you need to be in your treatment.

Correct, correct. Like, what do I do from here? Like, what direction do I need to go in?

Yeah, I have this thing inside of me. I need help getting rid of it. Yeah, any answers.

Inside of me. It's my personal, not, you know, it's like you can have lung cancer but someone's tumor is going to act completely differently because it's unique to them. Right.

Our bodies are all so different.

I didn't, you know what? I just realized I didn't get to explain to you why I thought it was so brilliant. What you said to meet your mark. Yeah. People can go on meetyourmark.com.

Yes.

But I didn't tell you the other reason why I thought it was. No. What was the mark? Because in the commercials that I did for them, the spots, I do a timeout. which is this symbolic gesture of what I did on Saved by the Bell where it freezes time. So they use that as meet your mark, timeout. Timeout.

Take a timeout. I know things are bad right now, but please take a timeout, take a breath, have a discussion with your doctor. So I do that in the spots where I freeze the situation and I tell the audience.

Very clever.

Very clever. I thought, and that's one of the reasons I was like, I got to partner with AstraZeneca.

I'm glad you did. And you're going to save some people's lives or help some people's journeys, if not that.

Just to help them with their journey. We're just here to spread the word.

When you can use your voice for something cool that helps other people, I have a lot of admiration for that. Mark, not only is it great to just see your face, but it's also really great to just hang out with you and chat. I mean, I think the last time we ran across each other was in a van.

It was. Yeah. Yeah. For something, for a fan fest. Yeah.

Fan fest. We were there and we got put in the same transpo van. Thank you for hanging out with me. Thank you for teaching me what the heck a biomarker is. And I know that you help some people out there listening to whether it was them or someone in their lives. So before I let you go, Mark Paul Gosselaar, what was your last I choose me moment?

I choose me moment. Before I took a flight to come out here, I thought it was really important that I wake up early and I go in my gym, move around, move my body, And which is really important to me to sauna. And so I sauna because it kind of brings me back down and grounds me, makes me, it challenges me mentally and physically. But I took a real moment to make sure that I knew I'd had a busy travel day and that was really going to be the only moment that I could do something physically and mentally that for myself. So I, I woke up extra early to be able to do that. Um, so that was, that was my moment. No, good.

That is good.

I like that. I always think if I, if I don't do something for myself, I don't really feel like doing something for anyone. Yeah. It's just, I'm selfish that way, but I think it really, for me, it works.

You have to fill your cup. You have to fill your tank. You have to take care of yourself.

I think so. I know there's people out there that I'm amazed that they never need to fill their cup and they get their cup filled by filling other people's cups. But for me, what works for me is I really need to fill my own cup and then I can fill others. But to each their own. Everyone's an individual, which goes back to the campaign. See how it all works out.

Everybody's different. You know what you are? You're a dapper, Dan.

With my glasses. Yeah.

I hope that our paths cross again very soon. And my love to your family. Thank you.

Always the best.

See ya.

Bye.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar on Regrets and Breaking Free from “Zack Morris”

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