Mark Lutz

Mark Lutz played the Groosalugg in seasons two and three of Angel. He was born in Montréal, Québec and lived in Hong Kong for 4 of his teenage years before moving to Toronto. Mark graduated with n Honors BA in Political Science from the University of Guelph, and decided to try his hand at acting. He got an agent after a series of improv comedy gigs. He played Finnish hockey superstar Jukka Branny-Acke in Power Play before being cast as Groo. Mark has also appeared in Friends, Due South, ER and Doc.
Off screen, Mark enjoys swimming, for which he has set Canadian National records, as well as swimming internationally for his country, including World Cups and the Olympic Trials.

Groosalugg

The Groosalugg (affectionately known as ‘Groo’) was a dedicated half-human warrior from the dimension Pylea. His name means ‘brave and undefeated’. He was summoned from the Scum Pits of Ur to Com-shuk (mate) with Cordelia and absorb her visions. Groo ended up proving to Cordy that he was a good man, not a tool of evil and she appointed him as the new ruler of Pylea before she escaped Pylea.

Back in L.A, and just as Cordelia and Angel were close to starting a relationship, Groo unexpectedly appeared at Angel Investigations. He explained that he had been deposed in a revolution on Pylea, and decided to find Cordelia again. Cordelia rekindled her romance with Groo and even went as far as to find a mystical spell which allowed her both to have sex with Groo and to keep her visions. Angel was jealous of Groo for many reasons, as Cordelia had chosen Groo over him and Groo was just as formidable a fighter as himself. Unable to withstand being witness to the relationship between Cordy and Groo, Angel gave them money and asked that they go on an extended holiday.

When Cordy and Groo returned, they found that some terrible things had happened in their absence. Cordelia immediately began to pay more attention to Angel, and Groo started to realize that Cordelia did not love him but rather Angel. He finally mustered up the courage to tell Cordelia this, and then left L.A.

Hansel and Gretel

The story of Hansel and Gretel as we know it first appeared in Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s collection of fairy tales, published sometime between 1812 and 1815. Grimm’s stories were based on folk tales that had previously been told in oral storytelling traditions. The episode Gingerbread takes a lot of elements from Hansel and Gretel. Additionally, Xander following a trail of chocolate in Nightmares is inspired by the trail of breadcrumbs in the fairytale Hansel and Gretel.
In Couplet, Angel says, “It’s better than breadcrumbs.”