Baz Black is an Irish actor, model and filmmaker.
A native of Drogheda, Louth, he got his start as a commercial model, becoming the face of Scruffs Workwear. His distinctive collection of body tattoos quickly led to success as an alternative model. As you can probably expect, he's also a tattoo and body modification artist. He studied acting at Dublin's famed Bow Street Academy.
Acting wise, he is often cast to be an intimidating villain, for some reason, but as a glance at his own films will demonstrate, he has the range to be significantly more than that. He is best known for playing Ged Delaney in the RTE series Kin, and has also appeared in the likes of Dublin Murders and Into the Badlands.
He writes and directs his own films too, usually to give himself the chance to play against type, and has won many awards for them. His first feature film, in which he also plays the lead, is 2023's Dublin Crust.
He's also the author of the novel Ink Princess
.
Tropes associated with his work:
- Actor-Shared Background: He was a drummer in a punk band Mongohorn, and plays the drummer of a punk band in Dublin Crust. The film is loosely inspired by his own experiences, with two of his former band mates essentially playing themselves. Actual footage of them performing is shown in the opening.
- Directed by Cast Member: He directs and stars in his own films Dublin Crust and Reflection, as well as the TV series Serial Daters and The Hero.
- Fake American: He puts on an American accent to play the Ringmaster in Into the Badlands.
- Fake Shemp: For his short film Merrow, the actress cast as the eponymous mermaid (Aine Flanagan) was unavailable, so he himself doubled up for a shot in which she can be seen swimming in the water from afar.
- Funny Character, Boring Actor: Despite getting cast as mad or out there characters, he describes himself as an introvert who doesn't like attention, and is very soft-spoken in interviews.
- Hairstyle Inertia: He's known mainly for having his hair cut into a mohawk.
- Mr. Fanservice: He's done many a shirtless model shoot, and once filmed a comedy video depicting himself getting an Adrenaline Makeover, in which he appears shirtless to make his tattoos appear.
- Older Than They Look: He turned 40 in 2023, and yet still looks like he's in his early 20s.
- Playing Against Type:
- In his own short Reflection, he plays a very sympathetic grieving man who befriends a little girl lost in the woods.
- In the short Good to Talk, he plays a soft-spoken man considering suicide.
- Typecasting: Due to all his tattoos, he's often cast as the villain. He's also played a few tattoo artists for some reason.
- Uncredited Role: He appears in Dublin Murders as a tattoo artist but is uncredited.
- Vocal Dissonance: Despite his intimidating appearance, his voice is much softer than one would expect.
- Write What You Know: Dublin Crust is based on his experiences in several punk bands.
