Fury of the Gods.
Was that part of the appeal?
MARK STRONG: Yeah.
These are the kind of parts that Im always looking for.
You want to play characters that are interesting, multi-layered, conflicted, and sometimes morally dubious.
If youre too much of one or the other, its too one-dimensional.
Image via Spectrum Originals
When you get some more realistic characterization, it just becomes more interesting.
Thats why I enjoyed this particular character because it asks questions of the audience.
STRONG: I watched the pilot of the original Norwegian series and I was engaged by it.
Image via Spectrum Originals
They were very happy to let us have them.
They didnt place any stipulations on us at all.
In fact, what we did was adapt their original.
Image via Spectrum Originals
Its very different from the original.
Some of the characters are similar but the storylines we created ourselves.
It was just a great jumping off point.
Image via Spectrum Originals
I thought that the original was unusual.
I hadnt seen anything like it.
How far into watching the original series did you see yourself able to take on something like this?
Image via Warner Bros.
STRONG: Oh, thats a good question.
I cant remember, to be honest.
I initially started watching it and it wasnt to adapt it.
I was literally watching it as a television series.
Those were enough boxes for me to tick to be interested.
I love that even though this guy is a doctor, its not a medical show.
Its much more about how far hell go to protect what hes doing.
Was it important to you that you not do something that falls into that procedural trap?
Im always trying to find things that are unique, wherever possible, and certainly a little bit different.
It has medical sequences and he is a doctor but its not a medical show.
Its funny and it has a dark humor to it but its not a comedy.
In that sense, it doesnt really fall into any neat category.
I love the way that London is represented.
Thats a part of London but not the London we live in.
That was really the only thing that I felt you could say about it.
Its a very London-centric show.
Thats what Im hoping.
Is it also fun to show a side of London that people dont typically get to see?
STRONG: Its fascinating, the idea that its rooted underneath Temple tube station.
It was built in the 1800s and were still riding those tunnels.
They say that they find up to 15 new spaces underneath London every year that were previously unknown of.
The Victorians were very gung-ho about building underground.
To set a show there, underneath London, I just saw thought was curious and interesting.
Its a part of London that exists but not a part of London that people know.
STRONG: Hes not a hero or protagonist in the true sense of the word.
I love the fact, too, that everything hes doing is for the love of his wife.
Should you accidentally nick an artery, you have to get it sewn up before theres any blood lost.
You literally deal with everything as it comes along, and thats very much Daniel Milton.
Unfortunately, those arent always the best decisions to make.
Ethically and morally, he makes some very dubious choices but hes doing it with the best of intentions.
How do you feel this character really challenged you in ways that other characters youve played havent before?
Thats what I always thought acting was.
Those are the things that Im often most comfortable with.
I think of myself as a character actor.
This is much more of a leading man.
Hes much closer to me because hes my age and he lives in my city.
We learn a lot about this guy as the series goes on.
What did you grow to appreciate about this character the longer you played him?
STRONG: I underestimated his tenacity.
At the same time, its admirable that its being done for the love of his wife.
STRONG: Well, youre right.
If you enjoy [Season 1], theres more in store.
We never intended or started shooting with a view to there being a second season.
We were only gonna make the eight episodes as they are.
There was never a second season of the Norwegian show.
So, the second season that were doing is all our own work.
When the story starts, were in a world above ground that we recognize.
We realized that was a great leaping off point to tell some more of the story.
What were you most excited about in continuing to explore who this guy is?
How are you expanding on that in the second season?
STRONG: Now, we have to make choices about whether we like him or not.
When we begin the second season, hes not longer a fairly average guy with a very comfortable life.
I start from a slightly different level.
Daniel Milton is now tainted and we take him even further in the second season.
Youre at a place where youre playing a lot more bad guys or at least morally questionable characters.
STRONG: Do I go around threatening people in the streets?
I think we all have a little bit of good and bad inside us.
We all have the potential irritability, anywhere on the scale from irritability to rage.
Its just a question of being able to tap into that when its required.
Its something that I do at work, if you like.
For me, that was always what acting was.
The Brits have a great tradition of that.
Having said that, Daniel is closest to me.
I suppose what I mean by that is that the comfortable element of his life is closest to me.
Youre also inCruella, which we know is the origin story of the Disney villain Cruella de Vil.
STRONG: Well, I had a great time.
Craig Gillespie, who directed it, I was a big fan of.
It was fantastic being on set.
Its such a massive production.
There are huge fashion and ballroom sequences in it, which are just so impressive.
Im definitely excited and curious about the film.
What are you looking most forward to in getting to return to doShazam 2?
Im just waiting to hear.
I think the script is in development and theyre trying to get ready to do it.
At the moment, its all under wraps.
I honestly know very little about it.
Its not that I dont want to tell you anything about it.
Its just that I dont actually know very much about it.
One of your first major roles was the mini-seriesOur Friends in the North.
What are your memories of that project?
STRONG: No, I dont think any of us really knew, at that time.
I saw it as a theatrical role on film.
It just gave us an awful lot of choices.
We were very lucky to have that break at that time.
I dont think any of us knew what an impact it would have while we were making it.
You were also involved with theDark CrystalTV series, which was such a special, beautiful, magical series.
What was your reaction to the cancellation?
Are you as upset as everyone who loved watching it that there wont be any more of it?
STRONG: It is a shame because it was such a magical show.
It was a real family show.
Kids were fascinated by it but adults could relate to the storylines.
Its a shame that it hasnt gone for a second [season].
Ive no idea why that is.
That often happens with me with the shows.
If Im lucky enough to survive, often they dont get picked up.
I take all of those things as they come.
Templeis available at Spectrum on-demand.
