Mark Strong

In Our Friends in the North (1996), Mark Strong's Tosker Cox keeps a conversation direct while Christopher Eccleston's Nicky Hutchinson seems restless even in stillness. That difference gives the scenes a welcome change of pace. We warmed to Tosker because Strong's plainness stopped the exchanges becoming solemn discussions of what everybody represented. Daniel Craig's harder-to-read Geordie provides another contrast. The pleasure comes from hearing these actors approach shared concerns so differently, with Strong helping to keep the conversation ordinary.

The series brought him wider recognition, and playing gangster Harry Starks in The Long Firm (2004) helped open the way to film roles. From the late 2000s, Hollywood regularly cast him in supporting and antagonistic parts. Lord Henry Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes (2009) fits the reputation for controlled menace, while Merlin in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) puts his authority to work as a mentor. The attraction is easy to understand. His precise physical and vocal control lets him make a dark character credible without turning every line into a threat.

Directors Pedr James, Simon Cellan Jones and Stuart Urban give exchanges time to settle in Our Friends in the North. Peter Flannery allows Strong, Eccleston and Craig to sound distinct even when their characters face shared concerns. Rob Hinds's production design keeps the rooms familiar enough that we attend to the people in them. Colin Towns's music is less helpful when it supplies emotional emphasis their faces do not need.

The reservation is how often the later casting calls on the same authority. A reputation for villains can make Strong's appearance promise a performance we already expect, however carefully he delivers it. We would welcome more parts that need Tosker's plainness and less reliance on his ability to sound in charge. Start with Our Friends in the North, where the other actors give him something to respond to and the domestic scenes give him time.