Successful actor who was abandoned by his father at a young age and grew up with his mother: Who is Mark Strong?

His full name is Marco Giuseppe Salussolia, he was born on August 5, 1963 in Islington, London, England. He was born to an Austrian mother and an Italian father, and his father left the family shortly after his birth. Strong was raised by his mother and was legally changed by his mother when he was younger to help him fit in with his English peers.

Dreaming of becoming a lawyer, Strong returned to London after studying law at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich for a year and studied English and drama at Royal Holloway, University of London.

In 1993, he starred as Inspector Larry Hall in two different seasons of "Prime Suspect" designed by Lynda La Plante. In 1996, he played one of the lead roles as Terry "Tosker" Cox in the BBC television series "Our Friends in the North". In the same year, he starred as the traitorous Colonel Brand in the television series "Sharpe's Mission", about the career of British soldier Richard Sharpe. He later starred as George Knightley in the TV movie "Emma" based on the novel of the same name.

In the following years, he shared the lead role with Derek Jacobi and Phil Daniels in the TV series "The Long Firm" (1999). He earned a BAFTA Award nomination for his performance. In 2000, he starred in a remake of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" at the Donmar Warehouse. He then appeared in the movie "Heartlands" directed by Damien O'Donnell, for which he was nominated for the 2003 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

In 2005, he appeared as Toby Crackit in the drama film "Oliver Twist", based on the novel of the same name directed by Roman Polanski. Although the film received positive reviews from critics, it did not do well at the box office. In the same year, he starred in the political thriller "Syriana" written and directed by Stephen Gaghan and the action thriller "Revolver" co-written and directed by Guy Ritchie. Since 2006, he has been narrating the genealogical documentary series "Who Do You Think You Are?".

The following year, he appeared as Pinbacker in the science fiction psychological thriller "Sunshine" directed by Danny Boyle. The film, which was highly acclaimed after its release, could not show the same success at the box office. Later in the year, he played Prince Septimus in the romantic fantasy adventure movie "Stardust" directed by Matthew Vaughn. Upon its release, the film was able to achieve a healthy success at the box office.

In 2008, he appeared in the romantic comedy "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" directed by Bharat Nalluri, the drama "Flashbacks of a Fool" and "Babylon A.D." based on a novel. He continued his career by starring in the science fiction action movie. That same year, he appeared as Archy in the action crime movie "RocknRolla" written and directed by Guy Ritchie. The film resulted in mixed reviews and moderate box office success.

Later in the year, he starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe in the spy action thriller "Body of Lies" directed by Ridley Scott. The film, which received mixed reviews, was a successful commercial gain with its revenue. He was also nominated for the London Critics Circle Film Award for his performance.

In 2009, he co-starred with William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jonny Lee Miller in the movie "Endgame" directed by Pete Travis. Later in the year, he appeared in the mystery action movie "Sherlock Holmes" as serial killer Lord Henry Blackwood alongside Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. The film, which received mostly positive reviews, was also met with great success at the box office. In 2010, he appeared in the black comedy superhero movie "Kick-Ass" directed by Matthew Vaughn, which resulted in a healthy box office success.

That same year, he starred alongside Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and William Hurt in the action movie "Robin Hood" directed by Ridley Scott. Despite mixed returns, the film was a healthy success at the box office. In 2011, he co-starred with Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard in the superhero movie "Green Lantern" based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film, which received negative reviews, also grossed almost equal to the production budget at the box office.

He went on to appear in 2011 as Jim Prideaux in the spy thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" directed by Tomas Alfredson. The film, which received great acclaim, was also successful at the box office. That same year, he took the lead role with Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle and Liam Cunningham in the friendly cop comedy film "The Guard" written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. Despite a small production budget, the film did well at the box office.

In the following years, he appeared as Matai Shang in the action thriller "Welcome to the Punch"(2013), written and directed by Eran Creevy, with James McAvoy, and in the science fiction action-adventure film "John Carter"(2012), directed by Andrew Stanton.  Both films failed to find success at the box office. Meanwhile, he appeared in the role of George Panetta in the thriller "Zero Dark Thirty" directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The film was both successful at the box office and received great acclaim.

In 2013, he co-starred with Taissa Farmiga and Brian Cox in the psychological thriller "Mindscape", Jorge Dorado's directorial debut. It was a box office failure as well as mixed reviews. The following year, he appeared alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley as Stewart Menzies in the period biopic "The Imitation Game" directed by Morten Tyldum. The movie was a huge box office success and received generally positive reviews from critics.

In 2015, Strong won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in "A View from the Bridge", in which he starred as Eddie Carbone at Young Vic in London. Strong also received critical acclaim when he went to play the play on Broadway in New York, earning him nominations for a Drama Desk Award for Best Actor and a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. The following year, he co-starred with Baron Cohen in the spy action comedy "Grimsby" directed by Louis Leterrier. Aside from mixed reviews, the film did not do well at the box office.

Later in the year, he appeared in David Hare's play "The Red Barn", which premiered at the National Theatre. In 2018, he played a former spy named Max Easton in the television espionage thriller series "Deep State" aired on Fox. The following year, "Shazam!" based on the DC Comics character of the same name. He appeared in the role of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana in the superhero movie. The film was a great success at the box office and received positive reviews from critics.

In 2019, he was featured as Captain Smith in the war movie "1917" directed by Sam Mendes. A huge financial gain at the box office, the film was equally successful in critical acclaim and received multiple awards and nominations in various categories. In 2021, he appeared with Emma Stone, Emma Thompson and Joel Fry in the crime comedy "Cruella" based on a character from a novel. The film, which received positive reviews and many accolades, was also a healthy commercial gain at the box office.

In 2022, he appeared as Eliot Kaplan in the psychological drama film "Tár" written and directed by Todd Field. The film, in addition to being critically acclaimed, grossed in line with its production budget. Despite this, the film resulted in many awards and nominations in various categories. In 2023, he voiced himself in the superhero movie "Shazam! Fury of the Gods", which is the sequel. It was met with mixed reviews and a box office bomb.

In 2023, he appeared alongside Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in the sequel action comedy mystery film "Murder Mystery 2" directed by Jeremy Garelick. He then starred in the action thriller "Dead Shot," written and directed by Tom and Charles Guard. Released on May 12, 2023, the film resulted in generally positive reviews.

Most recently, it has been confirmed that she will appear in the period thriller "The Critic", based on a novel and directed by Anand Tucker. It was also rumored that he would appear as one of the leading roles in the survival movie "The End We Start From" directed by Mahalia Belo.

Private life

Strong is long married to television producer Liza Marshall. The couple has two sons named Gabriel and Roman. Strong lives with his family in North London.

A big fan of Arsenal FC football club, Strong started attending matches when he was seven years old. He speaks fluent German as well as some Italian. In 2015, he was named one of the "50 best-dressed men of 2015" by GQ magazine.