Mark Strong

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.{{cite web |title=Brightest star in Mamet's plow |url=http://www.petergill7.co.uk/works/reviews/speed_the_plow_00/brightest_star.shtml |work=Peter Gill, playwright and theatre director |publisher=John Pavel |access-date=18 August 2012 |first=Imogen |last=Edwards-Jones |date=14 March 2000}}{{cite web |url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=o2DP8rcvJ7PAo91RlKHbRQ&scan=1|title=Index entry |access-date=7 May 2016|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}} 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."{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-mark-strong-actor-age-45-926736.html |title=My Secret Life: Mark Strong, Actor, age 45 |date=13 September 2008 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=5 August 2017}} He said in 2008 that when he was a child he was inspired to become an actor by watching French actor Alain Delon, but clarified in 2019 that he did not consider acting as a career until he was older.Craig Parkinson's Two Shot Podcast, episode "[https://twoshotpod.podbean.com/e/tsp098-mark-strong/ Mark Strong] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112110940/https://twoshotpod.podbean.com/e/tsp098-mark-strong/ |date=12 January 2020 }}"

When Strong was young, his mother legally changed his name to help him fit in with his English peers.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/6844982/Mark-Strong-how-I-put-the-fear-factor-into-Sherlock-Holmes.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/6844982/Mark-Strong-how-I-put-the-fear-factor-into-Sherlock-Holmes.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Mark Strong: how I put the fear factor into Sherlock Holmes |first=Olga |last=Craig |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=20 December 2009}}{{cbignore}} He was baptised a Catholic.{{cite news |last=Vincent |first=Sally |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/apr/16/theatre2 |title=Hard man, soft heart |newspaper=The Guardian |quote=He was christened a Catholic |date=16 April 2005 |access-date=21 June 2010}} 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 wouldn't attend their shows, thinking they were private parties.{{cite web |title=Rock & Roll Performers|url=http://www.wcremembered.co.uk/rock_roll.html |website=Wymondham College Remembered |access-date=18 August 2012|date=15 August 2012}} Strong had ambitions to become a lawyer but returned to London after one year of studying German law at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He subsequently studied English and drama at Royal Holloway, University of London before attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/4570816/Mark-Strong-the-strong-violent-type.html |title=Mark Strong: the strong, violent type |first=John |last=Preston|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=18 February 2009}}

File:Mark Strong.jpg in 2010]]

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.

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 since 2006, he has provided the narration in the BBC's genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?.

File:Green Lantern Comic-Con Panel.jpg at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con]]

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.{{cite web |title=Mark Strong refutes No Country casting rumour |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/news/mark-strong-refutes-no-country-casting-rumour |work=Total Film |publisher=Future Publishing Limited |access-date=18 August 2012 |author=Total Film |date=25 February 2009}} 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.{{cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/body-of-lies-2008 |title=Body of Lies Movie Review & Film Summary (2008) |website=Roger Ebert |date=19 June 2013 |access-date=26 June 2013}}

In 2009, Strong played a lead part in the Channel 4 film Endgame,{{cite web |first=Matthew |last=Hemley |title=C4 season to feature apartheid thriller Endgame |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/20224/c4-season-to-feature-apartheid-thriller |work=The Stage |date=26 March 2008 |access-date=17 April 2008}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Exclusive-Interview-Sherlock-Holmes-Villain-Mark-Strong-16294.html|title=Exclusive Interview: Sherlock Holmes Villain Mark Strong|first=Katey|last=Rich|website=Cinema Blend|date=23 December 2009|access-date=23 December 2009}} 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.{{cite web|date=23 April 2010|first=Brian|last=Truitt|title=Mark Strong can do a 'Kick-Ass' bad guy|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-04-22-markstrong22_ST_N.htm|work=USA Today}}

File:Mark Strong (Berlin Film Festival 2011).jpg]]

In 2011, Strong played Thaal Sinestro, a Green Lantern and Hal Jordan's mentor, in the superhero film Green Lantern.{{cite web |title=Mark Strong Circling GREEN LANTERN? |url=http://www.mania.com/mark-strong-circling-green-lantern_article_120006.html |website=Mania |access-date=18 August 2012 |first=Rob M. |last=Worley |date=18 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008071142/http://www.mania.com/mark-strong-circling-green-lantern_article_120006.html |archive-date=8 October 2012}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://whosnews.usaweekend.com/2010/04/mark-strong-will-channel-his-inner-david-niven-for-green-lantern |first=Brian |last=Truitt |title=Mark Strong will channel his inner David Niven for 'Green Lantern' |work=USA Today |date=6 April 2010 |access-date=7 April 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716205123/http://whosnews.usaweekend.com/2010/04/mark-strong-will-channel-his-inner-david-niven-for-green-lantern |archive-date=16 July 2012 |url-status=dead }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/lineup/off-sel/venezia68/tinker.html |title=Venezia 68: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – Tomas Alfredson |website=Venice Biennale |access-date=27 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323050554/http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/lineup/off-sel/venezia68/tinker.html |archive-date=23 March 2012}}

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).{{cite web|url=http://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4284243&tpl=archnews&force=1|title='The Guard' Topples 'Barley' to Become #1 Indie Irish Film|website=IFTN|access-date=9 September 2011}} He next portrayed the role of Jacob Sternwood in the British thriller Welcome to the Punch.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/x-men-star-james-mcavoy-heads-welcome-punch-26380|title=James McAvoy Heads to 'Welcome to the Punch'|date=12 April 2011|website=The Wrap|access-date=13 September 2011}} He played Matai Shang, the leader of the Therns in John Carter (2012), and starred in the action thriller film Zero Dark Thirty (2012).{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jan/06/kathryn-bigelow-bin-laden-joel-edgerton |title=Kathryn Bigelow's Bin Laden film to star Joel Edgerton |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London|first=Ben|last=Child|date=6 January 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-film-market/upi-takes-territories-on-kathryn-bigelows-zero-dark-thirty/5041885.article|title=UPI takes territories on Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty|website=Screen Daily|date=15 May 2012}} The film had its premiere in Los Angeles on 19 December 2012 and had its wide release on 11 January 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zero-dark-thirty-premieres-in-los-angeles/|title="Zero Dark Thirty" premieres in Los Angeles|publisher=CBS News|date=11 December 2012}} The film received wide critical acclaim and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.{{cite web|title=Mark Strong set for 'Sleep'|url=https://www.variety.com/2012/film/news/mark-strong-set-for-sleep-1118061486/|access-date=1 August 2013|work=Variety|date=31 October 2012}}

In November 2012, Strong was cast in Mindscape,{{cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/2012/film/news/strong-cox-farmiga-enter-mindscape-1118060870/|title=Strong, Cox, Farmiga enter 'Mindscape' |work=Variety |first=John |last=Hopewell |date=17 October 2012}} 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".{{cite web|first=Michael |last=Walker |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/super-bowl-jaguar-previews-ad-674700 |title=Super Bowl: Jaguar Previews Ad Featuring Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Strong (Video)|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=28 January 2014|access-date=27 December 2014 }} That same year, Strong co-starred in the historical drama film The Imitation Game as MI6 chief Stewart Menzies.{{cite web|url=https://www.collider.com/mark-strong-imitation-game-ben-kingsley-patricia-clarkson-learning-to-drive/|title=Mark Strong Joins THE IMITATION GAME, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson Lead LEARNING TO DRIVE|website=Collider|date=13 September 2013}}

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,{{cite web|first=Mike Jr. |last=Fleming|title=Mark Strong Joins Sacha Baron Cohen in Sony Comedy 'Grimsby'|url=https://www.deadline.com/2014/04/mark-strong-joins-sacha-baron-cohen-in-sony-comedy-grimsby/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426103151/http://www.deadline.com/2014/04/mark-strong-joins-sacha-baron-cohen-in-sony-comedy-grimsby/|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 April 2014|access-date=25 April 2014|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=24 April 2014}} playing a top MI6 secret agent with Cohen as his idiotic football hooligan brother.{{cite news |url=http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/Mark-Strong-joins-Sacha-Baron-Cohen-cast-upcoming/story-21013121-detail/story.html |title=Mark Strong joins Sacha Baron Cohen in cast of upcoming comedy Grimsby |newspaper=Grimsby Telegraph |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718120244/http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/Mark-Strong-joins-Sacha-Baron-Cohen-cast-upcoming/story-21013121-detail/story.html |archive-date=18 July 2014}} 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.{{cite web|last=Donnelly|first=Matt|title=Jessica Chastain Gun-Control Thriller 'Miss Sloane' Sells to EuropaCorp in Toronto|url=https://www.thewrap.com/jessica-chastain-gun-control-thriller-miss-sloane-sells-to-europacorp-in-toronto/|access-date=26 January 2016|date=12 September 2015|website=TheWrap}} The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival in November 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals-and-awards/afi-fest-2016-miss-sloane |title=AFI Fest 2016: "Miss Sloane" |last=Monji |first=Jana |date=12 November 2016 |access-date=12 December 2016 |website=rogerebert.com}}

Since 2017, Strong has narrated the pre-show etiquette clips presented before films at Vue Cinemas.{{cite tweet|number=948878026930049024|user=vuecinemas|title=@KatieLeeMars It is Mark Strong. Please email us your postal address to hello@vuemail.com and we'll get that gift c…|date=4 January 2018}} In 2018, he starred in the hostage thriller Stockholm,{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-noomi-rapace-boards-action-thriller-close-1003754 |title=Cannes: Noomi Rapace Boards Action-Thriller 'Close' |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=15 May 2017 |access-date=7 June 2017 |language=en}} 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!.{{cite web|last=Kit|first=Borys|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/shazam-mark-strong-talks-villain-role-1054332|title='Shazam!': Mark Strong in Talks for Villain Role|date=2 November 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2 November 2017}}{{cite web|last=Sky|first=Rick|url=http://www.contactmusic.net/mark-strong/news/mark-strong-spills-on-shazam-secrecy_5955962|title=Mark Strong spills on Shazam! secrecy|date=14 January 2018|publisher=ContactMusic.net|access-date=14 January 2018}} In the same year, Strong appeared briefly as the British Captain Smith in Sam Mendes’ World War I film 1917.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/colin-firth-benedict-cumberbatch-join-sam-mendes-wwi-movie-1917-1197679|title=Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch Join Sam Mendes' WWI Movie '1917'|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Mia|last=Galuppo|date=28 March 2019|access-date=7 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328130756/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/colin-firth-benedict-cumberbatch-join-sam-mendes-wwi-movie-1917-1197679|archive-date=28 March 2019|url-status=live}}

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.{{Cite web|title=Govt taps Mark Strong for 'delay' stage of coronavirus campaign|url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/govt-taps-mark-strong-delay-stage-coronavirus-campaign/1677169|access-date=2020-12-28|website=campaignlive.co.uk}}

In March 2021, Strong was the castaway on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.{{cite web| title= Desert Island Discs: Mark Strong, Actor | url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000sxfy | date= 7 March 2021| website= BBC Online| access-date= 12 March 2021 }} Later that same year, he co-starred in the Disney comedy-drama film Cruella.{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/TobyonTV/status/1171709665346039808 |title=Ooooh Mark Strong says he starts work with Emma Thompson & Emma Stone on #Cruella this Friday (via @BBC6Music) |last=Earle |first=Toby |date=September 11, 2019 |website=Twitter |access-date=September 11, 2019}}

GQ magazine named Strong as one of its 50 best dressed men in 2015.{{cite web |title=50 Best Dressed Men in Britain 2015 |url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/style/articles/2015-01/05/best-dressed-men-2015/ |work=GQ |date=5 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107145128/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/style/articles/2015-01/05/best-dressed-men-2015 |archive-date=7 January 2015 }} He has named David Bowie as his style icon.

Strong is married to television producer Liza Marshall,{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/mark-strong-on-a-life-playing-spies-villains-and-mora-1845421453|title=Mark Strong on spies, villains, and morally compromised doctors|website=The A.V. Club|date=23 October 2020 }} with whom he has two sons: Gabriel and Roman.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/4570816/Mark-Strong-the-strong-violent-type.html |title=Mark Strong: the strong, violent type|date=18 February 2009|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=18 November 2010|location=London|first=John |last=Preston}} 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."{{cite web|url=http://www.cityam.com/article/welcome-punch-interview-mark-strong|title=Welcome to the Punch: interview with Mark Strong|website=City AM|access-date=1 July 2014|archive-date=14 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714142503/http://www.cityam.com/article/welcome-punch-interview-mark-strong|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/interview-why-actor-mark-strong-is-an-accidental-antihero-397214.html |title=Interview: Why actor Mark Strong is an accidental anti-hero |date=19 October 2007 |newspaper=The Independent|access-date=17 November 2010|location=London}}

Strong is a lifelong fan of Arsenal FC and started attending games when he was seven years old.{{Citation |title=What Arsenal Winning the Premier League Would Mean to Lifelong Fan Mark Strong {{!}} The Rich Eisen Show | date=29 March 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuVdx3Vi58U |access-date=2023-04-01 |language=en}} 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. He speaks fluent German and some Italian,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2010/may/09/mark-strong-ridley-scott-robin-hood |title=Robin Hood star Mark Strong: 'Real knights would have needed tea breaks' |newspaper=The Observer |first=Elizabeth|last=Day |date=9 May 2010|access-date=6 July 2010|location=London}}{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/features/INTERVIEW-MARK-STRONG.6293351.jp|title=Interview: Mark Strong |newspaper=Yorkshire Evening Post |date=13 May 2010 |first=Susan |last=Griffin |access-date=6 July 2010}} and provided the German dubbing for Daniel Craig's voice in Obsession when "German with an English accent" was required.{{cite web|title=Mark Strong Webchat|url=https://www.empireonline.com/interviews/Preview.asp?IID=1031&CurrentPage=2|access-date=22 June 2015|website=Empire|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622132215/http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/Preview.asp?IID=1031&CurrentPage=2|archive-date=22 June 2015}} He and Craig previously lived together, became friends, and co-starred in the BBC drama Our Friends in the North.{{Cite web|last=Simpson|first=George|date=2021-06-03|title=Mark Strong blames Daniel Craig for failing Bond villain audition after drunken night out|url=https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1444966/Mark-Strong-James-Bond-villain-audition-Daniel-Craig|access-date=2021-06-03|website=Express.co.uk|language=en}} Craig is also the godfather of Strong's son Roman.

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Category:1963 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century English male actors

Category:21st-century English male actors

Category:Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London

Category:Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

Category:English male film actors

Category:English male Shakespearean actors

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Category:English people of Austrian descent

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Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners

Category:Male actors from London

Category:People educated at Wymondham College

Category:Actors from the London Borough of Islington

Category:Theatre World Award winners

Category:People from Islington (district)