Mark Strong in Zero Dark Thirty
Mark Strong is back on the big screen this week with his new movie Zero Dark Thirty - which sees him team up with Oscar winning filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow.
Over the last decade Mark Strong has become one of the best British actors and starred in hugely successful movies.
So to celebrate the return to the big screen this week we take a look at some of the best roles of the last decade.
- Kick Ass
Mark Strong has always played a good villain and he did exactly that in Kick Ass when he took on the role of Frank D'Amico in the film.
Kick Ass saw the actor reunite with director Matthew Vaughn and star alongside Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage and Chloe Moretz.
Kick Ass was a movie that blended the perfect mix of comedy, action and violence and it was great to see Strong at his villainous best.
His greatest scene came as D'Amico gets into a fight with Hit Girl - played by Moretz - and the movie didn't shy away from the fact that it was a grown man fighting a child.
The movie was a critical smash and a great adaptation of the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.
- Sherlock Holmes
In 2009 he played another villain as he teamed up with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law for Sherlock Holmes.
In the Guy Ritchie directed movie the actor played Lord Blackwood, an aristocratic serial killer dabbling in the occult.
This was the third time that Strong had worked with Ritchie after appearing in Revolver and RocknRolla and he brought a real chill and menace to this film.
Sherlock Holmes was a battle of minds between Blackwood and the super sleuth which made for exciting and compelling viewing.
The movie was a box office smash when it was released at the end of 2009 and went on to gross in excess of $524 million at the global box office.
- Stardust
Strong teamed up with director Matthew Vaughn for the first time back in 2007 when he starred in Stardust.
The fantasy film was one of the best movies to hit the big screen that year and saw Strong take on the role of Septimus - a prince desperate to get his hands on the crown of Stormhold.
He was the villain in the film who was willing to kill everyone in his path to be claimed king - even if it meant killing his brothers in the process.
Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro were also part of the fantastic ensemble cast and it really was a treat of a film.
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
He took on a very different role in 2011 when John le Carre's novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was adapted for the big screen.
The espionage film saw Strong take on the role of Jim Prideaux, a spy who is shot and captured by Soviet agents.
It was quite a restrained performance from Strong this time around as he portrays a man who is haunted and scarred by what happened to him and the torture that he endured.
His one on one scenes with Gary Oldman were some of the best in the movie as Oldman's character tries to figure out who is leaking information to the Russians.
Oldman and Strong starred alongside Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones and Benedict Cumberbatch while Tomas Alfredson was in the director's chair.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Buy Now
- The Guard
2011 brought another villain role for Strong as he starred alongside Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle in black comedy The Guard.
Directed by John Michael McDonagh the movie follows Sergeant Gerry Boyle and FBI Agent Wendell Everett as they try to take down an international drug smuggling gang.
Of course Strong's character is at the forefront of that gang and the trio deliver some fantastic performance in what is a funny and entertaining movie,.
Other movies that we have seen Strong enjoy success in over the last decade include The Eagle, Robin Hood, The Young Victoria, Body of Lies and RocknRolla.
Zero Dark Thirty is released 25th January.
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