Mark Strong: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

2. Jim Prideaux - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

It would have been no shame if Strong had fallen to the periphery in a film that without question boasted the best ensemble cast of 2011, but Strong pulled right ahead to the front of the pack alongside Gary Oldman, giving a remarkably against-type performance as spy Jim Prideaux, who appears to have been shot and killed at the beginning of the film. However, as we later find out, he in fact has not, and his testimony is vital in Smiley (Oldman) finding out who the mole in The Circus is. Rather than being the aggressor, we see Strong in a rare role as the victim, whether it's his sheer terror as he is being tortured, or the unease at having to live a new life as a teacher. It is a performance positively dripping in anxiety, and even if Strong doesn't get a whole lot of dialogue throughout the film, what he conveys with facial expressions more than compensates. There's not a more sparingly-used performance in the entire film.