Mark Strong Quotes

I like the opportunity to play characters who have these dark sides but make the audience empathize with them. You want them to think there is some kind of sweeter, softer side to it.

Even the toughest people have a backstory, and villains don't feel like they're the bad guys.

At the end of the day, what I try to bring to villainous characters is a sense of humanity.

I love to start characters in a place where you think you know them. We can make all kinds of assumptions about them and think they have no redeeming qualities, but like everyone, they're complex.

I'm drawn to villains that are three-dimensional and raw and that I can kind of see in my own life.

Sometimes there is more exploration in the character for a villain.

The bad guys are not typical; they are not just bad, they are interesting. They might be good or bad.

I think Shakespeare really got it. He was the first one to introduce psychology to villains and give them a real point of view.

No actor can play a villain if they don't sympathise with him or her - otherwise the character just becomes a two-dimensional caricature.

There have to be moments when you glimpse something decent, something life-affirming even in the most twisted character. That's where the real art lies. See, I always suspect characters who are painted as lovely, decent human beings. I would always question where the darkness lies.

Shakespeare's villains are fabulous because none of them know that they are villains. Well, sometimes they do.

Usually, characters that are doing something nefarious have some extra layers to them. The general rule is bad people don't necessarily think they are bad.

I try to find what makes even the worst, most despicable character sympathetic at his or her core.

Representation means having characters with layers, showing them as human beings, so we can relate or have mixed emotions for that character.

I think conflicted characters are always more interesting.

Some of my acting heroes have built careers on playing characters who do horrendous things - they're repellent and lovable. They're not likable, but they're lovable. I think Christine is one of those characters.

I love playing characters who are multilayered and multidimensional and have a darkness to them, which makes them more realistic and more fun to play.

The beauty of Sudhir's protagonists is that they are not shown as black and white. There are various layers to the characters.

I like movies that make you semi fall in love with the villain so you have sympathy for him.

Exploring the dark side of my characters' personality is my forte.

I think there's grays in characters if you look at all the great characters, those characters that have those layers of being good and being bad and what's the struggle. It's always more interesting to watch.

If it's a really well written villain, he probably has more layers than the archetypal good person. So that would be very attractive to an actor. No one chooses to be a villain; it's usually a reaction to something else.

I enjoy playing a quintessential antihero. There's something therapeutic about playing such characters. I know it sounds corny but I feel like I learn about myself when I play that characters.

I get the feeling that audiences have become mature and they understand that not every character is in black or white. There can be grey shades to it.

I can't be an arm candy to the hero. I need to play characters that have layers, that people can relate to.