10 Movie Characters Everyone Thought Were Secret Villains

Back in 2015, if Mark Strong was cast in a movie, there was a damn good chance he was playing the bad guy, and so many were instantly suspicious of him the moment he showed up in Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Strong plays Kingsman's tech support officer Merlin, and while Merlin doesn't appear in the comics, the equivalent techie character, Rupert Greaves, is in fact revealed to be a turncoat working for the primary antagonist.

So, why expect any different here? And again, that goes doubly true when you've cast Mark Strong in the role.

But in actual fact, Strong's casting was a fun little misdirect, as he ends up being one of the movie's most likeable characters and his allegiance to Kingsman never once wavers.

The real mole is Chester King aka Arthur (Michael Caine), the duplicitous leader of Kingsman, while Merlin goes on to suffer a heroic sacrificial death in the (admittedly lackluster) sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle.