Mark Strong
Mark Strong
Mark Strongis an English theatre, film and television actor. He is known for his role in the television series Our Friends in the North and films such as Syriana, RocknRolla, Body of Lies, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Kick-Ass, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Green Lantern, Zero Dark Thirty, John Carter, Mindscape, The Imitation Game, and Kingsman: The Secret Service...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth5 August 1963
jobs past these-days
You sign for a sequel for everything these days, just in case, options. In the past, you avoided them like the plague because it meant somewhere down the road you couldn't take a job because you had to do a sequel. Now it's a feature of pretty much any feature you do.
past can-not feels
In the past, if I didn't work, I didn't eat but now I feel I can not work and I won't starve.
sleep journey scripts
[Before I Go To Sleep] script was a great journey with all the twists and turns that were kind of unexpected. I had to finish the script, and I thought if we can emulate this in the film, it's going to be a really good film.
sleep thinking people
I'm sure part of the baggage that I bring having played a lot of villains is also pertinent to the movie [ Before I Go To Sleep], because I'm sure people look at me and think, "Oh, I'm not sure I trust him or not."
stars play pay
I have an enormous amount of respect for Nicole Kidman. She's just done so many great movies and she's been out there at the forefront of carrying films and being a movie star. On set, it really pays dividends because when you're performing with her, she knows exactly how to play it. You don't have to compensate for her in any way.
sleep family-and-friends usual
I just invited close friends and family, the usual suspects whose opinion I value but who I know will enjoy the film [ Before I Go To Sleep]. I don't know how difficult it is for them to suspend their disbelief because they obviously know me and what they're seeing is not me.
years people family-and-friends
I've put my friends and family through the wringer over the years, I have to say, by doing unspeakable things to people, not the least of which was pulling out poor George Clooney's fingernails in Syriana.
important actors shooting
The important bit for an actor is the actual shooting of it, because the minute the shoot ends, it's got nothing to do with you anymore.
couple crazy secret
The Secret Service I'm really excited about because Matthew Vaughn directed it. I've done a couple of movies with him - Stardust, which is one of my favorite films, and Kick-Ass, which is just a crazy, wonderful movie.
never-quit shifting needs
When you're making a psychological thriller, what you need to do is have an audience on shifting sand so they're never quite sure where they are.
daughter mother falling-in-love
You need to try to find a way to humanize your villains. Genuine villains, in real life, still have mothers and daughters and sisters, and they fall in love. They don't walk around with a big sign saying, "Bad guy," on their head. They think they're good guys. If you can play that, I think it makes it more interesting.
fighting blow two
All these portrayals we see of knights fighting must be absolute rubbish because knights in armour could literally have only had two or three blows and then they'd have had to sit down to have a cup of tea.
successful black-and-white thinking
I've played lots of villains in my time and I think the reason they've been so successful is that they're not two-dimensional. They're not black and white. That's the gig.
children thinking years
And I think in your 40s, you land a little bit, physically and mentally, you arrive at a place where you feel you've learned some stuff. Having children at that point meant I had something very useful to do for the next 20 years.