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Movies & TV

02nd Apr 2019

Mark Strong talks about how always playing the bad guy has affected his personal life

Rory Cashin

Mark Strong

He laughs about how “My wife’s family were very worried about her…”

Mark Strong gives good bad guy.

John Carter. Green Lantern. Robin Hood. Kick-Ass. Sunshine. Sherlock Holmes. Whenever Hollywood needs a great bad guy, Strong is usually somewhere near the top of the list.

So it stands to reason that DC would look his way to battle with Shazam!, playing Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, a man with a mission: to possess the powers that have been gifted upon young Billy Batson.

As we mentioned in our review, Strong is obviously having a blast playing a bad guy who actually relishes in being bad, and when JOE caught up with him in the lead-up to the movie’s release, we had to know: is being bad just more fun?

There have been some problems – he tells a very funny story about his wife’s family meeting him, and then fearing for her safety – but he is also well aware that the baddies get the best lines and wear the best costumes.

We also chatted about the differences in flying in this movie, versus when he had to fly in Green Lantern (i.e. has flying technology for the actors moved along much since 2011), and he also looks back on the Irish comedy classic The Guard as the movie approaches its tenth anniversary.

Check out our interview in full right here:

Meanwhile, we were also lucky enough to chat to some of the other folk involved in Shazam!, including the movie’s director and producer who discuss how the character couldn’t fit in if the DC movie universe had stayed dark and broody, as well as Shazam! himself Zachary Levi, who we quizzed on his superhero knowledge!

Check out all of those interviews on JOE’s YouTube Channel right here, while Shazam! is released in Irish cinemas on Friday 5 April, and you can get your tickets right here.

Clip via Warner Bros. Pictures

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