Biography

British actor Mark Strong, who played Jim Prideaux in the 2011 remake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), is often cast as cold, calculating villains. But before he became a famous actor, he intended to pursue a career in law.

Strong was born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London, England, to an Austrian mother and an Italian father. His father left the family not long after he was born, and his mother worked as an au pair to raise the boy on her own. Strong's mother had his name legally changed, by deed poll, when he was young in order to help him better assimilate with his peers. He became Mark Strong.

Strong attended Wymondham College in Norfolk, and studied at the university level in Munich with the intent of becoming a lawyer. After a year, he returned to London to study English and Drama at Royal Holloway. He went on to further master his craft of at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Although Americans are most familiar with Strong's roles as Sinestro in Green Lantern (2011), mob boss Frank D'Amico in Kick-Ass (2010), and Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes (2009), British audiences know him from his long history as a television actor. He also starred in as numerous British stage productions, including plays at the Royal National Theatre and the RSC.

His most prominent television parts include Prime Suspect 3 (1993) and Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness (2003) as Inspector Larry Hall, and starring roles in the BBC Two dramas Our Friends in the North (1996) and The Long Firm (2004), the latter of which netted Strong a BAFTA nomination. He also played Mr. Knightley in the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen's classic tale Emma (1996).

Strong resides in London with his wife Liza Marshall, with whom he has two sons, the younger of which is the godson of his longtime friend Daniel Craig.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Appears in films by Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn (both filmmakers are close friends).

Often appears as a calculating, sinister individual who is willing to go against what they were taught for personal gain

Cold unflinching gaze

Born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London to an Italian father and an Austrian mother.

He can speak fluent German.

Has appeared in two films where the lead male character is named "Tristan": Tristan + Isolde (2006) and Stardust (2007).

Has two sons with Liza Marshall: Gabriel and Roman. Son Roman was born October 5, 2007.

Has appeared in five films with Colin Firth: Fever Pitch (1997), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Before I Go to Sleep (2014), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017).

His theatre break was in 'Napoli Milionaria' at the National Theatre and his television break in 'Our Friends in the North'.

He was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best supporting Actor for his performance in Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse (London) in 2002.

Won the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Actor for A View From The Bridge for which he also won the Critics Circle Award. He was also nominated for the Tony Award and won the Theatre World award for the same performance on Broadway.

As of 2023, he has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Imitation Game (2014), 1917 (2019) and Tár (2022).

On Stardust (2007) director Matthew Vaughn ... From "Good Omens: The Making of Stardust" on Stardust DVD: What I love about Matthew is his taste. He won't look at the monitor and let something pass unless he thinks it's right and, as an actor, that's what you want from a director. You want them to be your mate behind the camera.

[on Green Lantern (2011)]: I had to imbue in Sinestro an evil feeling, so the audience could take that journey into what might be in store for them. That's why Sinestro had to have a presence and a potential to be a badass.

(On his character in Our Friends in the North (1996)) There's a kind of simpleness about him but that doesn't mean he's stupid," Strong says fondly, "and a kind of hardness but that doesn't mean he's not vulnerable. He's just someone who's working his bollocks off to do something and get somewhere despite all the limitations holding him in."

(On working with Christopher Eccleston in Our Friends in the North (1996)) He didn't speak to me for the whole year we were filming. At first I thought it was to do with the characters - because there was supposed to be tension between us, but then I realised - he just didn't like me.

(On his character in Our Friends in the North (1996)) I didn't think he was a bastard. I was really trying to play somebody whose life is constantly getting knocked back. At the beginning he's spoilt rotten by his mum and dad. He wants to be a rock and roller - he's got the amps, the guitar and the pub and everyone's proud of him and patting him on the back - but then everything goes horribly wrong. His girlfriend gets pregnant and he has to stop his apprenticeship, and then he gets laid off from his factory because they're busting sanctions, and then the flat starts getting damp and his marriage isn't quite what he thought it was going to be ...

(On losing his hair) It took a while. I never made the Bobby Charlton, but I wasn't far short of it. I remember walking across Waterloo Bridge to the National Theatre once and my hair sort of flew up like this [he demonstrates with an anguished wave of the hand above his head], and I just thought 'This is pathetic'. I'd even started to get a bad neck because I'd got really good at knowing where the wind was coming from.

Certainly, there was a moment when I thought my life was effectively over. I couldn't believe that I was going to have to walk round for evermore without any hair on my head. But then, very quickly, I got used to it and found that it was actually quite useful because you could use it for character. Villains in particular ...