An attorney and member of the New York Bar, Mark Olsen has created, written and produced several screenplays, teleplays, pilots and miniseries.

For HBO, he wrote a six-part miniseries, "Mary Chestnut's Civil War," based on the private lives of Confederate elite and their slaves in Virginia during the Civil War. He also wrote the screenplay for HBO Films' "Cabrini USA," about the 40-year rise and fall of the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago.

In addition, Olsen has written screenplay adaptations including "The Woman Next Door" (from Francois Truffaut's 1981 film, "La Femme d'a Cote"). He also produced the independent feature "Easter" with his "Big Love" co-creator Will Scheffer, and wrote the script "Gospel of Linda," optioned by Regent Films. And excerpts of his play, "Cornelia," which is in development for Broadway, were published in Best Plays of 1999.

A member of Amnesty International and World Conservation International, Olsen lived in Guatemala from 1985 to 1992.