Quotes

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 his character Prince Septimus in Stardust (2007) ... From "Good Omens: The Making of Stardust" on Stardust DVD ... (Contains spoiler for movie): I was able to do pretty much most of my fighting scenes in this movie. The difficulty obviously is, it's one thing being able to do fighting, but it's another thing doing it with your eyes closed while you're slumped over and you can't see your opponent.

(when he was used as a Zombie by the Witch Lamia): In a film, the more effort you put in, the more fantastic it looks.

[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.

I'm not convinced that this business runs on talent, otherwise why would there be so much crap on the box?

(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."

When I decided to crop what was left of my hair, I thought 'It's all over, I'm never going to work again: it's basket weaving me for me from now on.' But what actually happens is your casting changes: you suddenly start to get a lot of villains and coppers and soldiers and even the odd sensitive vicar - you become institutionalised.

(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 immigrant parents) They came to England in search of the Swinging Sixties, but they didn't find them.

(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 Our Friends in the North (1996) I think Nicky was the writer's political side, Geordie was his sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll side, and Tosker was his Newcastle side.

(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.

It's great. You don't have to play lovers anymore: Ferdinands and Sebastians at the RSC, swanning around and spouting poetry. It was a great day for me when my hair fell out.

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 ...

Matthew Vaughn did ask me to do 'X-Men: First Class...' There was a bad guy in 'X-Men' that Kevin Bacon played. Because I speak German it just seemed so logical having worked with him that I would play that part, but I think at that point we both felt... I think I had just done Blackwood in 'Sherlock Holmes' and it had been just too many bad guys very recently. So that one we didn't go down the path of that.