1. "Welcome to the Punch" (2013)
London's foggy streets, Mark Strong, and James McAvoy. What's not to like here, right? In this British crime thriller, Strong plays Jacob Sternwood, a former criminal who's forced to return to London when his son gets involved in a heist gone awry.
McAvoy? He's Max Lewinsky, the detective who has been dreaming—nay, obsessing—about catching Jacob. You see the tension building? A game of cat and mouse ensues, bullets fly, alliances crumble, and new alliances form.
2. "Before I Go to Sleep" (2014)
Imagine waking up every day without a clue who you are. Spooky, right? Nicole Kidman's character suffers from amnesia, and Mark Strong appears as Dr. Nasch, the guy trying to unravel the knots in her memory.
But is he the helpful doctor he seems to be? You see, he advises her to keep a secret video diary to help her remember. Sounds like a good idea, but who knows? The movie plays you like a fiddle, leaving you wondering if Dr. Nasch is a savior or a villain until the very last frame.
3. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011)
The cold war; the breeding ground for an espionage thriller. Mark Strong, here, embodies Jim Prideaux, a British intelligence officer. As in chess, every player has a role here, and every move is calculated.
Jim is betrayed and shot during a mission in Hungary. Is he the mole? Or is he just a pawn sacrificed for a greater cause? As the story unfolds, and Gary Oldman's George Smiley tries to suss out a double agent within the agency, Jim Prideaux's real role comes into the light.
4. "RocknRolla" (2008)
Down for some British mob action mixed with a splash of comedy? Then get your hands on "RocknRolla." Mark Strong is Archie, right-hand man to Tom Wilkinson's mob boss, Lenny Cole. This isn't some tea and crumpets British fare. This is Guy Ritchie British fare, which means chaos, unexpected laughs, and a side of scheming.
In a crazy world of Russian mobsters, corrupt politicians, and cheeky thieves, Archie tries to keep his boss's empire from falling apart like a house of cards. A painting goes missing, alliances get sketchy, and boy oh boy, it's a wild ride from start to finish.
5. "Sunshine" (2007)
Outer space, 2057, the sun is dying, and humanity's last hope is a spaceship named Icarus II. Mark Strong manifests himself as Pinbacker, the captain of a failed mission who has gone, how shall we say, a little solar-crazy? Yes, he's a sun-worshipping zealot, and he's got that wild-eyed look that screams "I've been alone in space too long!"
When the crew of Icarus II finds the derelict Icarus I, they board it, hoping to find supplies, but instead find—you guessed it—Pinbacker. From then on, it's a fight against time, Pinbacker, and a dying sun.
6. "Revolver" (2005)
A Guy Ritchie and Mark Strong collab, again! The cosmos aligns, the universe hums, and out comes "Revolver." Strong plays Sorter, a hitman who's damn good at his job but finds himself in a somewhat of an existential pickle. Jake Green, played by Jason Statham, walks into his life like a ticking time bomb.
As plans within plans unravel, Sorter starts to see through the illusion of life. The plot? A multi-layered lasagna of mind games and shifting alliances.
7. "Blood" (2012)
In this gritty British crime drama, Mark Strong is DS Robert Seymour, and let me tell you, the dude has a moral compass that's had a run-in with a magnet. He and his cop brother are a close-knit duo, until they ain't.
When a girl is found murdered, what begins as detective work turns into an ethical cesspool. You know what they say about desperate times, right? The brothers find themselves sinking into a quagmire of their own making.
8. "Grimsby" (2016)
This is not your family movie; this is Sacha Baron Cohen unfiltered. Mark Strong takes on the role of Sebastian, a top MI6 agent. Sebastian's world gets thrown into pandemonium when his long-lost brother Nobby, played by Cohen, crashes into his life.
What follows is a cacophony of bad decisions, unfortunate events, and absolutely gut-busting scenarios. In between dodging bullets and uncovering plots, they find time to attend a soccer match and accidentally launch fireworks at civilians.
9. "Approaching the Unknown" (2016)
Mark Strong leads us into the abyss as Captain William D. Stanaforth, an astronaut on a one-way trip to Mars. No, this isn't some glitzy space opera; it's a slow-burning mental breakdown.
Stanaforth's mission: make Mars habitable. But when his algae-based life-support system starts failing, so does his grip on reality. The emptiness of space mirrors the emptiness growing within him. He drifts closer to Mars but further from his own humanity.
10. "Miss Sloane" (2016)
In "Miss Sloane," Mark Strong plays Rodolfo Schmidt, a lobbying firm owner. Yeah, he's not the main character; Jessica Chastain takes that mantle. But boy, does he leave an impression! When Chastain's Elizabeth Sloane moves to his firm to fight for gun control, it's not just about who pulls the strings; it's about who cuts them.
The corridors of power have never felt so labyrinthine, and as Rodolfo, Strong is the sort of guy who knows how to navigate but still sleeps with one eye open.