London actor Mark Strong believes film stars no longer need to move to Hollywood as the industry is “truly international”.
Strong, 55, who lives in north London with his wife, producer Liza Marshall, and two sons, said he never felt compelled to relocate to America. The award-winning star, below, is returning to the big screen next month as Dr Thaddeus Sivana in Shazam!, a new DC superhero movie.
He told the Standard: “I was born in London, I grew up in London, my family are here, and I can work out of here — it has become truly international these days, you don’t have to be based in LA.”
Strong, who has 44 films to his name, won the 2015 best actor Olivier award for his role in Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge at the National Theatre. He wants to return to the London stage by next year and said his dream role would be playing a Shakespearean villain, such as Richard III or Macbeth.
But he is working on two other projects before then, including Sam Mendes’s First World War film 1917, which has been picked up by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners.
He also made his debut behind the camera this year, as executive producer for Sky-commissioned thriller series Temple, working alongside his wife.
Strong said: “I realised how much scaffolding is required to actually build a production. It’s a whole different world from the one where you’re just required to turn up and do your job of acting.
"I hope to do more, because as you get older you actually realise maybe you’ve got some wisdom to impart.”
Shazam! is released on April 5. A Shazam!-themed Superpowered Funfair will run tomorrow and Friday at Bernie Spain Gardens on the South Bank.
