Mark Strong | |
|---|---|
 Strong in 2019 | |
| Born | Marco Giuseppe Salussolia (1963-08-05)5 August 1963 (age 61) London, England |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | Liza Marshall |
| Children | 2 |
Mark Strong (bornMarco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963) is a British actor best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus inStardust (2007), Archibald inRocknRolla (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood inSherlock Holmes (2009), Frank D'Amico inKick-Ass (2010),Jim Prideaux inTinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011),Sinestro inGreen Lantern (2011), George inZero Dark Thirty (2012), Major GeneralStewart Menzies inThe Imitation Game (2014), Merlin inKingsman: The Secret Service (2014) andKingsman: The Golden Circle (2017),Dr. Thaddeus Sivana inShazam! (2019) andShazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), and John inCruella (2021).
Strong was born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in theIslington borough of London on 5 August 1963, the son of an Austrian mother and an Italian father.[1][2] His father left the family soon after Strong's birth, and Strong was brought up by his mother while she worked as anau pair. He later said, "The home I grew up in was a flat inMyddelton Square in London's Islington, a beautifulGeorgian square with ahuge church in the middle. We moved around a lot when I was young. I remember flats inWalthamstow,Clapton,Stoke Newington, andEdmonton."[3] He said in 2008 that when he was a child he was inspired to become an actor by watching French actorAlain Delon,[3] but clarified in 2019 that he did not consider acting as a career until he was older.[4]
When Strong was young, his mother legally changed his name to help him fit in with his English peers.[5] He was baptised aCatholic.[6] He attendedWymondham College inMorley, Norfolk, where he sang in twopunk bands, the Electric Hoax and Private Party—the latter's name based on the idea that people wouldn't attend their shows, thinking they were private parties.[7] Strong had ambitions to become a lawyer but returned to London after one year of studying German law at theLudwig Maximilian University of Munich. He subsequently studied English and drama atRoyal Holloway, University of London before attending theBristol Old Vic Theatre School.[8]
Strong appeared in twoPrime Suspect serials forITV as Inspector (later Detective Chief Superintendent) Larry Hall, inPrime Suspect 3 (1993) andPrime Suspect 6 (2003). He also had starring roles in twoBBC Two drama serials,Our Friends in the North (1996) andThe Long Firm (2004), earning aBAFTA nomination for the latter. He also played the villainous Colonel Brand inSharpe's Mission (1996). He portrayed the romantic lead,Mr. Knightley, in the 1996 ITV adaptation ofJane Austen's novelEmma. He then played the role of Steve inthe 1997 film adaptation ofNick Hornby'sFever Pitch.
At the beginning of the 2000s, Strong appeared inHeartlands and inShakespeare'sTwelfth Night at theDonmar Warehouse, for which he was nominated for the2003 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. He was later featured inRoman Polanski'sOliver Twist (2005), played Mussawi in the filmSyriana (2005), and played an assassin named Sorter inRevolver (2005). He portrayed the traitorous Wictred inTristan & Isolde, showing his talent with swordplay, and since 2006, he has provided the narration in theBBC's genealogy seriesWho Do You Think You Are?.
Despite the persistence of rumours, Strong maintains that he was never offered the part ofAnton Chigurh in the 2007 filmNo Country for Old Men.[9] That year he played Pinbacker, the insane captain ofIcarus I inSunshine. Also in 2007, he portrayed Prince Septimus, the youngest of the seven Stormhold princes, inStardust.
In 2008, he played Nick Calderelli inMiss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Mannie Miesel inFlashbacks of a Fool, Finn inBabylon A.D., Archy inRocknRolla, andPhilipp Bouhler inGood. Also in 2008, he portrayed Hani Salaam, theJordanian intelligence chief and director of the fearedGID inBody of Lies, marking his first collaboration with English directorRidley Scott. Strong's performance as Hani Salaam earned him a nomination for theLondon Critics Circle Film Award for Best British Supporting Actor, and his performance was mentioned by several critics, with Scott calling it "a marvel of exotic suavity and cool insinuation" while Ebert "particularly admired" his aura of suave control.[10]
In 2009, Strong played a lead part in theChannel 4 filmEndgame,[11] and he played Lord Blackwood, the main villain, inSherlock Holmes, who has somehow returned after his execution with a plot to take over the British Empire using an arsenal of dark arts and new technologies. It was his third project with directorGuy Ritchie.[12] He went on to work with Ridley Scott a second time in the 2010 epic adventure filmRobin Hood, portraying antagonist Sir Godfrey. That year, he also played Frank D'Amico, the head of a criminal organisation, inKick-Ass. Strong says he is drawn to playing antagonists, trying to "understand the purpose of the character" and building a believable individual.[13]
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In 2011, Strong playedThaal Sinestro, a Green Lantern andHal Jordan's mentor, in the superhero filmGreen Lantern.[14] Strong said the film "closely follows the early comics" and elaborated, "Sinestro starts out as Hal Jordan's mentor, slightly suspicious and not sure of him." Strong went on to state that the character "is a military guy but isn't immediately bad". He also revealed that the outfit and other aspects of the character closely follow his early comic history.[15] Also in 2011, he voiced Pod inThe Secret World of Arrietty and Captain Titus of the Ultramarines Chapter in the video gameWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine. The same year, Strong playedJim Prideaux in thefilm adaptation ofTinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was earlier played byIan Bannen in the 1979 series. The film premiered in competition at the68th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2011.[16]
Strong played Clive Cornell inThe Guard (2011), which is the most successful independent Irish film of all time in terms of Irish box-office receipts, overtakingThe Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006).[17] He next portrayed the role of Jacob Sternwood in the British thrillerWelcome to the Punch.[18] He played Matai Shang, the leader of the Therns inJohn Carter (2012), and starred in the action thriller filmZero Dark Thirty (2012).[19][20] The film had its premiere in Los Angeles on 19 December 2012 and had its wide release on 11 January 2013.[21] The film received wide critical acclaim and was nominated for fiveAcademy Awards, includingBest Picture.[22]
In November 2012, Strong was cast inMindscape,[23] a film in which a man with the ability to enter people's memories begins working on the case of a brilliant but problematic teenager to determine whether she is a sociopath or the victim of trauma. The film came to American cinemas in June 2014.Jaguar Cars produced an advertisement in 2014, initially shown duringSuper Bowl XLVIII and later online and on television, featuring Strong alongside fellow English actorsBen Kingsley andTom Hiddleston. It was themed around their recent film roles as villains, and used the tagline "it's good to be bad".[24] That same year, Strong co-starred in the historical drama filmThe Imitation Game as MI6 chiefStewart Menzies.[25]
In 2015, Strong won theOlivier Award for Best Actor for his role inA View from the Bridge, which he starred in as Eddie Carbone at the Young Vic. When Strong went over to perform the play on Broadway in New York, he received similar levels of acclaim, and was nominated for theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, and theTony Award for Best Actor in a Play, for his performance. In 2016, he co-starred withSacha Baron Cohen in the action-comedy filmGrimsby,[26] playing a topMI6 secret agent with Cohen as his idiotic football hooligan brother.[27] Later that year, he starred in a production ofThe Red Barn, by David Hare, which premiered in October 2016 at the National Theatre, (Lyttelton Stage), and co-starred in thepoliticalthrillerMiss Sloane, directed byJohn Madden.[28] The film premiered at theAFI Film Festival in November 2016.[29]
Since 2017, Strong has narrated the pre-show etiquette clips presented before films atVue Cinemas.[30] In 2018, he starred in the hostage thrillerStockholm,[31] and had the leading role in Fox network'sDeep State, an espionage thriller in which he portrays an ex-spy named Max Easton, who after the death of his son, is brought out of retirement unwillingly, to avenge his death. In 2019, he portrayed the villainDoctor Thaddeus Sivana in the superhero filmShazam!.[32][33] In the same year, Strong appeared briefly as the British Captain Smith inSam Mendes’ World War I film1917.[34]
In March 2020, Strong narratedpublic information films for theUK government which outlined how the British public should approach daily life during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[35]
In March 2021, Strong was the castaway on BBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs.[36] Later that same year, he co-starred in the Disney comedy-drama filmCruella.[37]
GQ magazine named Strong as one of its 50 best dressed men in 2015.[38] He has namedDavid Bowie as his style icon.[3]
Strong is married to television producer Liza Marshall,[39] with whom he has two sons: Gabriel and Roman.[40] They live inNorth London, which Strong discussed in 2007: "I've got no desire to live anywhere else. I was born here, my wife was born here, my kids were born here, and this is where we're going to stay. [...] I'm able to keep my head below the parapet. I get on with my work, I have a family, and I get onthe Tube. It just so happens that I'm doing this job."[41][42]
Strong is a lifelong fan ofArsenal FC and started attending games when he was seven years old.[3][43] He has namedAce in the Hole,Blade Runner,His Girl Friday,The Night of the Hunter,This Is Spinal Tap, and the work of theCoen brothers as his favourite films.[3] He speaks fluent German and some Italian,[44][45] and provided the German dubbing forDaniel Craig's voice inObsession when "German with an English accent" was required.[46] He and Craig previously lived together, became friends, and co-starred in the BBC dramaOur Friends in the North.[47] Craig is also the godfather of Strong's son Roman.[40]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | EastEnders | Telephone Engineer | 1 episode | |
| After Henry | Roger | |||
| 1990 | The Bill | P.C. Gibb | ||
| Inspector Morse | Mike Butterworth | |||
| 1993 | The Buddha of Suburbia | Second TV Producer | Miniseries, 1 episode | |
| Prime Suspect 3 | Inspector Larry Hall | 2 episodes | ||
| 1994 | Between the Lines | David Lacey | 1 episode | |
| 1996 | Emma | George Knightley | Television film | |
| Our Friends in the North | Terry "Tosker" Cox | Miniseries, 9 episodes | ||
| Sharpe | Colonel Brand | Episode:Sharpe's Mission | ||
| 1997 | Band of Gold | Ed Smithson | 3 episodes | |
| 1998 | Spoonface Steinberg | Father | Television film | |
| 1999 | Trust | Michael Mitcham | ||
| 2000 | Bomber | Colonel Chris Forsyth | ||
| Anna Karenina | Stiva Oblonsky | Miniseries, 4 episodes | ||
| 2003 | Henry VIII | Duke of Norfolk | Television film | |
| Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness | Det. Chief Supt. Larry Hall | 1 episode | ||
| 2004 | The Long Firm | Harry Starks | Miniseries, 4 episodes | |
| 2006 | Low Winter Sun | Det. Sgt. Frank Agnew | 2 episodes | |
| 2006–2012 | Who Do You Think You Are? | Narrator | Voice, main role | |
| 2013 | The Great Martian War 1913–1917 | Voice, documentary | ||
| Low Winter Sun | Det. Sgt. Frank Agnew | Main role, 10 episodes | ||
| 2018 | Deep State | Max Easton | Main role, 8 episodes | |
| Untamed Romania | Narrator | Voice, documentary | ||
| 2019 | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | Ordon | Voice, 4 episodes | |
| 2019–2021 | Temple | Daniel Milton | Main role, 15 episodes Also executive producer[56] | |
| 2020 | Home Game | Narrator | Voice, documentary series; 8 episodes | |
| 2024 | The Penguin | Carmine Falcone | Episode: "Cent'Anni"[57] | |
| Dune: Prophecy | EmperorJavicco Corrino | Miniseries, 6 episodes[58] | ||
| TBA | Neuromancer | Armitage |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Desert Island Discs |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Death of a Salesman | Biff Loman | National Theatre, London | [59] |
| 1997 | Closer | Dan Woolf | [60] | |
| 1998 | The Iceman Cometh | Rocky Pioggi | Almeida Theatre, London | [61] |
| 2000 | Speed-the-Plow | Bobby Gould | New Ambassadors Theatre, London | [59] |
| 2002 | Uncle Vanya | Mikhail Lvovich Astrov | Donmar Warehouse, London | [62] |
| 2014–2016 | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone | Lyceum Theatre, New York Wyndham's Theatre, London Young Vic, London | [63][64] |
| 2016–2017 | The Red Barn | Donald Dodd | National Theatre, London | [60] |
| 2024-2025 | Oedipus | Oedipus | Wyndhams Theatre, London | [65] |
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Kick-Ass: The Game | Frank D'Amico | |
| 2011 | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine | Captain Titus of the Ultramarines | |
| 2013 | Total War: Rome II | Mark Monotone | |
| 2016 | Eisenhorn: Xenos | Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn | |
| 2018 | Battlefield V | Single Player Narrator | |
| 2021 | The Artful Escape | Stargordon | |
| TBA | Squadron 42 | Captain Thomas Wade |
He was christened a Catholic
