Mark Strong, born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia, is an English film and television actor. His original ambition was to become a lawyer but after studying German constitutional law at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich for a year, he returned home to London and studied English and Drama at Royal Holloway and later attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He made his debut in the film Syriana (2005). Some of his notable films include RocknRolla (2008), Body of Lies (2008) and The Young Victoria (2009). He starred as the main villain in the British-American action mystery film Sherlock Holmes (2009). Following this, he appeared in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Kick-Ass (2010) and Robin Hood (2010). He was then cast in the superhero film Green Lantern (2011), the adventure film John Carter (2012) and the thriller Zero Dark Thirty (2012). He was last seen in The Imitation Game (2014) and Kingsman: The Secret Service(2015). His next, The Brothers Grimsby, releases in March, 2016.