Mark Strong

Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963) is an English actor. Strong is known for his starring roles on stage as well as for his villainous roles in historical dramas and franchise films. He has received accolades including a Laurence Olivier Award and a BAFTA TV Award as well as nominations for two Tony Awards, a Drama Desk Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Strong's film roles include in Oliver Twist (2005), Sunshine (2007), Stardust (2007), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Kick-Ass (2010), Robin Hood (2010), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Imitation Game (2014), 1917 (2019), and Cruella (2021). He has also taken roles in franchise films such as in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) and as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana in Shazam! (2019) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). On television, he played Terry "Tosker" Cox on the serial Our Friends in the North (1996), Carmine Falcone on The Penguin (2024), and Emperor Javicco Corrino on Dune: Prophecy (2024-present).

On stage, he played Orsino in a production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (2002) which earned him a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. He portrayed a repressed longshoreman in the Arthur Miller play A View from the Bridge on the West End in 2014 and Broadway in 2015 which earned him the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor and nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play respectively. He took on the title role in Robert Icke's adaptation of the Greek tragedy Oedipus in the West End in 2024 and Broadway in 2025, earning nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor and the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Early life and education Strong was born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in the Islington borough of London on 5 August 1963, the son of an Austrian mother and an Italian father. His father left the family soon after Strong's birth, and Strong was brought up by his mother while she worked as an au pair. He later said, "The home I grew up in was a flat in Myddelton Square in London's Islington, a beautiful Georgian square with a huge church in the middle. We moved around a lot when I was young. I remember flats in Walthamstow, Clapton, Stoke Newington, and Edmonton." He said in 2008 that when he was a child he was inspired to become an actor by watching French actor Alain Delon,

When Strong was young, his mother legally changed his name to help him fit in with his English peers. He was baptised a Catholic. He attended Wymondham College in Morley, Norfolk, where he sang in two punk bands, the Electric Hoax and Private Party—the latter's name based on the idea that people would not attend their shows, thinking they were private parties. Strong had ambitions to become a lawyer but returned to London after one year of studying German law at LMU Munich. He subsequently studied English and drama at Royal Holloway, University of London before attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Career 1990–1999: Career beginnings

Strong appeared in two Prime Suspect serials for ITV as Inspector (later Detective Chief Superintendent) Larry Hall, in Prime Suspect 3 (1993) and Prime Suspect 6 (2003). He also had starring roles in two BBC Two drama serials, Our Friends in the North (1996) and The Long Firm (2004), earning a BAFTA nomination for the latter. He also played the villainous Colonel Brand in Sharpe's Mission (1996). He portrayed the romantic lead, Mr. Knightley, in the 1996 ITV adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Emma. He then played the role of Steve in the 1997 film adaptation of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. He dubbed Daniel Craig's voice in the 1997 German-language film Obsession.

At the beginning of the 2000s, Strong appeared in Heartlands and in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the Donmar Warehouse, for which he was nominated for the 2003 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. He was later featured in Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist (2005), played Mussawi in the film Syriana (2005), and played an assassin named Sorter in Revolver (2005). He portrayed the traitorous Wictred in Tristan & Isolde, showing his talent with swordplay, and from 2006 until 2012 he provided the narration in the BBC's genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?.

2007–2014: Villain roles for film Despite the persistence of rumours, Strong maintains that he was never offered the part of Anton Chigurh in the 2007 film No Country for Old Men. That year he played Pinbacker, the insane captain of Icarus I in Sunshine. Also in 2007, he portrayed Prince Septimus, the youngest of the seven Stormhold princes, in Stardust. In 2008, he played Nick Calderelli in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Mannie Miesel in Flashbacks of a Fool, Finn in Babylon A.D., Archy in RocknRolla, and Philipp Bouhler in Good. Also in 2008, he portrayed Hani Salaam, the Jordanian intelligence chief and director of the feared GID in Body of Lies, marking his first collaboration with English director Ridley Scott. Strong's performance as Hani Salaam earned him a nomination for the London 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.

In 2009, Strong played a lead part in the Channel 4 film Endgame, and he played Lord Blackwood, the main villain, in Sherlock 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 director Guy Ritchie. He went on to work with Ridley Scott a second time in the 2010 epic adventure film Robin Hood, portraying antagonist Sir Godfrey. That year, he also played Frank D'Amico, the head of a criminal organisation, in Kick-Ass. Strong says he is drawn to playing antagonists, trying to "understand the purpose of the character" and building a believable individual.

In 2011, Strong played Thaal Sinestro, a Green Lantern and Hal Jordan's mentor, in the superhero film Green Lantern. 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. Also in 2011, he voiced Pod in The Secret World of Arrietty and Captain Titus of the Ultramarines Chapter in the video game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. The same year, Strong played Jim Prideaux in the film adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was earlier played by Ian Bannen in the 1979 series. The film premiered in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2011.

Strong played Clive Cornell in The Guard (2011), which is the most successful independent Irish film of all time in terms of Irish box-office receipts, overtaking The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006). He next portrayed the role of Jacob Sternwood in the British thriller Welcome to the Punch. He played Matai Shang, the leader of the Therns in John Carter (2012), and starred in the action thriller film Zero Dark Thirty (2012). The film had its premiere in Los Angeles on 19 December 2012 and had its wide release on 11 January 2013. The film received wide critical acclaim and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

In November 2012, Strong was cast in Mindscape, 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 during Super Bowl XLVIII and later online and on television, featuring Strong alongside fellow English actors Ben Kingsley and Tom Hiddleston. It was themed around their recent film roles as villains, and used the tagline "it's good to be bad". That same year, Strong co-starred in the historical drama film The Imitation Game as MI6 chief Stewart Menzies.

2015–present: Broadway debut and other work In 2015, Strong won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his role in A 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 the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play and the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. In 2016, he co-starred with Sacha Baron Cohen in the action-comedy film Grimsby, playing a top MI6 secret agent with Cohen as his idiotic football hooligan brother. Later that year, he starred in a production of The Red Barn, by David Hare, which premiered in October 2016 at the National Theatre, (Lyttelton Stage), and co-starred in the political thriller Miss Sloane, directed by John Madden. The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival in November 2016.

Since 2017, Strong has narrated the pre-show etiquette clips presented before films at Vue Cinemas. In 2018, he starred in the hostage thriller Stockholm, and had the leading role in Fox network's Deep 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 villain Doctor Thaddeus Sivana in the superhero film Shazam!. In the same year, Strong appeared briefly as the British Captain Smith in Sam Mendes’ World War I film 1917. In March 2020, Strong narrated public information films for the UK government which outlined how the British public should approach daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Strong was the castaway on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Later that same year, he co-starred in the Disney comedy-drama film Cruella.

In the media GQ magazine named Strong as one of its 50 best dressed men in 2015. He has named David Bowie as his style icon. with whom he has two sons: Gabriel and Roman. They live in North 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 on the Tube. It just so happens that I'm doing this job."

Strong is a lifelong fan of Arsenal F.C. and started attending games when he was seven years old. He has named Ace in the Hole, Blade Runner, His Girl Friday, The Night of the Hunter, This Is Spinal Tap, and the work of the Coen brothers as his favourite films. and provided the German dubbing in scenes from the film Obsession in which Daniel Craig's character speaks German with an English accent. He and Craig previously lived together, became friends, and co-starred in the BBC drama Our Friends in the North. Craig is also the godfather of Strong's son Roman. Nocebo Felix Lorcan Finnegan

Shazam! Fury of the Gods Thaddeus Sivana David F. Sandberg Cameo appearance Murder Mystery 2 Miller Jeremy Garelick

Dead Shot Holland Charles Guard, Thomas Guard David Brooke Anand Tucker N Mahalia Belo Also executive producer

Atlas General Jake Boothe Brad Peyton

The Silent Hour Detective Doug Slater Brad Anderson

2025 Shadow Force Jack Cinder Joe Carnahan

TBA Cry to Heaven Cardinal Calvino Tom Ford Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1989 EastEnders Telephone Engineer 1 episode After Henry Roger 1990 The Bill P.C. Gibb Inspector Morse Mike Butterworth TECX Eberhard Braun 1993 Prime Suspect 3 Inspector Larry Hall 2 episodes The Buddha of Suburbia Second TV Producer Limited series 1994 Between the Lines David Lacey 1 episode 1996 Emma George Knightley Limited series Our Friends in the North Terry "Tosker" Cox Limited series Sharpe's Mission Colonel Brand Limited series 1997 Band of Gold Ed Smithson 3 episodes 1998 Spoonface Steinberg Father Limited series 1999 Trust Michael Mitcham Limited series 2000 Bomber Col. Chris Forsyth Limited series Anna Karenina Stiva Oblonsky Limited series 2002 The Jury Len Davies 2003 Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness Det. Chief Supt. Larry Hall 1 episode Henry VIII Duke of Norfolk Limited series 2004 The Long Firm Harry Starks Limited series 2006 Low Winter Sun Det. Sgt. Frank Agnew 2 episodes 2006–2012 Who Do You Think You Are? Narrator (voice) Main role 2013 Low Winter Sun Det. Sgt. Frank Agnew Main role, 10 episodes The Great Martian War 1913–1917 Narrator (voice) Documentary 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 2020 Home Game Narrator (voice) Documentary series; 8 episodes 2024 The Legend of Vox Machina Trent Ikithon (voice) Episode: Cloak and Dagger Dune: Prophecy Emperor Javicco Corrino Main role, 5 episodes The Penguin Carmine Falcone Limited series 2025 Nine Perfect Strangers David Main role (season 2) The Mighty Nein Trent Ikithon (voice) Neuromancer Armitage In production

Theatre Year Title Role Venue Ref. 1986–1987 Love's Labour's Lost Performer Bristol Old Vic, Bristol 1988–1989 The Man Who Came to Dinner Performer Barbican Centre, London Theatre Royal, Bath 1998 Rocky Pioggi Almeida Theatre, London 1999–2000 Speed-the-PlowBobby Gould Theatre Royal, Bath 2014–2016 Eddie Carbone Wyndham's Theatre, London Young Vic, London 2015–2016 Lyceum Theatre, New York 2016–2017 Donald Dodd Royal National Theatre, London 2025–2026 Studio 54, New York 2016 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play A View from the Bridge 2011 Georgia Film Critics Association Best Cast Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 2014 Gopo Award Best Actor in a Leading Role Closer to the Moon 2003 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Twelfth Night 2015 Best Actor A View from the Bridge 2025 Best Actor Oedipus 2008 London Film Critics Circle Awards Best British Supporting Actor Body of Lies 2009 MTV Movie Award Best Fight Sherlock Holmes (with Robert Downey, Jr.) 2010 Kick-Ass (with Chloë Grace Moretz) 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actor in a Play A View from the Bridge 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival Best EnsembleThe Imitation Game 2014 San Diego Film Critics Society Best Ensemble 2014 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture 2019 Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Villain Shazam! 2016 Theatre World Award Distinguished Performance A View from the Bridge 2016Tony Awards Best Actor in a Play A View from the Bridge 2026 Best Actor in a Play Oedipus