How old plates and crime fiction helped Gladiator Trojan recover his £1m losses

MARK GRIFFIN has had quite a varied career since his role as muscle-bound Trojan in the 1990s ITV hit TV show Gladiators. Next US citizen Mark became a Hollywood actor, appearing in Dr Dolittle 2, Daddy Day Care and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Then came the financial crash of 2008 and he had to sell antiques to make ends meet. His mother suggested entering a crime-fiction writing contest. And now, at 54, he is a best-selling author with a biography of Rock Hudson under his belt and a detective fiction series, the latest of which has just been launched here.

What did your parents teach you about money?

That if I wanted something I would have to save up for it. We were a middle-class family and my parents wanted us to have the best of everything they could afford. My dad was the only earner and I think he was quite frugal. He grew his own fruit and vegetables – and my mum made bread and cooked everything from scratch.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Yes, after my divorce, which was brutal and coincided with the market crash of 2008. I lost my house in Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, my pension and my art collection. I even had to sell my Ford F-150 truck which I loved. Everything was sold to help pay off the mortgage while we tried to finish renovating the house and sell it in a collapsing property market – while simultaneously going through a divorce. It was a nightmare. We lost $1m on that house. After nine months, I decided to come back to the UK. I was pretty depressed at the time. Literally all I brought with me was a small suitcase, a pair of Prada shoes I’d got married in and a couple of scripts I’d been working on.

Did you have any savings?

No. I had to start again. I stayed in London with a mate and carried on writing scripts. I couldn’t get an agent even though I’d acted in some good films in America. Agents were culling their clients due to the financial crash. To make ends meet, I started an antiques business, selling 18th-Century English blue and white porcelain. I learned about it from my dad who was a collector. Every now and then, I’d get lucky and find something that had been mislabelled. Eventually, I got an agent and turned things around.

Ever been paid silly money?

Yes. I was in a movie called Dr Dolittle 2 with Eddie Murphy in 1998. I had a small part as a truck driver. But the casting team called me in to do a voiceover as the narrator of a nature TV show that Eddie and a bear watch during the movie. I had to say something like ‘Bears are excellent swimmers’ in a posh English accent. We did two takes – I was out of the studio in five minutes – and I got paid £5,000. Even better, I still get royalties from that scene.

What did you earn as Trojan?

It was £750 a show. Everybody thought we were earning millions, but we weren’t. Having said that, as a Gladiator you could make good money in pantomimes at Christmas. Between £4,000 and £6,000 a week.

What was the best year of your financial life?

Last year. I don’t want to say how much I earned, but I got another twobook deal with my UK and overseas publishers, plus I sold a few antiques. I’m finding writing more lucrative than acting work. This year, I’ve got three novels on the go, plus a script that’s going to be made into a film.

Your biggest money mistake?

I bought four framed Disney sericels of The Lion King for £10,000 shortly after the film first came out. A sericel is animation art taken from the film. They have depreciated in value consistently for the past 26 years. They annoy me so much I can’t even bear to hang them on the wall. I probably could have purchased a chateau in France with that money and be living there now.

Your best money decision?

Buying my first property in Los Angeles for around $600,000 in around 2000. I spent $100,000 renovating it and landscaping the garden and sold it for $1.5m less than two years later.

Do you save in a pension?

No. I invest a small amount in cryptocurrency. I did have a pension, but I had to cash it in during my divorce. I don’t plan to stop working until the day I die.

Do you own any property?

I rent a house. I haven’t owned a property since I sold that money pit in America.

What is your No.1 financial priority? To buy another property and renovate it.

■ Mark’s latest book, When Silence Kills, €12, is available now.