Mindscape

Mark Strong (Actor) .. John

Born: August 05, 1963 in London

Best Known For: Being a prolific character actor.

Early-life: Born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London on August 5, 1963, Mark is the son of an Austrian mother and an Italian father. His father left home soon after his birth and he was raised by his mother. She had has name changed by deed poll when he was young. He studied in Munich with the intention of becoming a lawyer but after a year, he returned to London to study English and drama at Royal Holloway, University of London. He went on to develop his acting craft at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Career: Strong made his TV debut in a 1989 episode of After Henry and followed this up with a number of guest roles in the likes of The Bill, Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect 3 and Kavanagh QC. In 1996, he had a starring role in acclaimed BBC miniseries Our Friends in the North. Since then he has appeared in dozens of TV shows and featured in a number of films, including Revolver (2005), Syriana (2005), RocknRolla (2008), Kick-Ass (2010), Robin Hood (2010), Green Lantern (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), John Carter (2012) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). In 2013, Strong played a detective in short-lived AMC crime drama Low Winter Sun, reprising the lead role he played in the original 2006 British miniseries.

Quote: "Because I had children relatively late - in my 40s rather than in my 20s - it wasn't anything I ever knew that I would do. It kind of happened to me: I met the right woman and we had children."

Trivia: Away from acting, Strong is heavily in demand as a narrator.

Taissa Farmiga (Actor) .. Anna

Brian Cox (Actor) .. Sebastian

Born: June 01, 1946 in Dundee

Best Known For: Being the original Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter.

Early-life: Brian Denis Cox was born on June 1, 1946, in Dundee, to an Irish immigrant family. He was the youngest of five children. His mother, Mary Ann Guillerline, worked in the jute mills as a spinner, while his dad, Charles McArdle Campbell Cox, was a weaver and died of cancer when Brian was nine. Brian developed a passion for movies and, inspired by the work of Marlon Brando and Spencer Tracy, decided he wanted to become an actor. At 14, he joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre, and in 1966 honed his craft with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career: Cox's earliest TV appearances were as an extra in cult TV series The Prisoner. He has been a mainstay in the world of TV and film ever since, popping up in Hammer House of Horror, Minder, Frasier and Deadwood. He played Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter, Michael Mann's adaptation of Red Dragon. (The name was later spelled Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs). He has appeared in a string of major Hollywood offerings, including The Long Kiss Goodnight, X-Men 2, Troy, The Bourne Supremacy, Zodiac and Red. On the stage he has appeared in Titus Andronicus, Taming of the Shrew and King Lear. He has also voiced characters in the video games Killzone and Manhunt.

Quote: "I'm an actor who does really interesting work in independent movies. I want to keep doing that because I don't want the burden of an opening weekend sitting on my shoulders."

Trivia: In 2003, Cox was awarded a CBE for services to drama.

Indira Varma (Actor) .. Judith

Jessica Barden (Actor) .. Mousey

Noah Taylor (Actor) .. Peter Lundgren

Born: September 04, 1969 in London

Best Known For: Playing Locke in Game of Thrones.

Early-life: Noah George Taylor was born on September 4, 1969 in London to journalist and book editor Maggie and copywriter and journalist Paul. When he was five, his parents moved with him to Australia, where they were originally from, and Noah grew up in the Clifton Hill and St Kilda suburbs of Melbourne. His parents divorced when he was 14. Noah left school and home at 16 and took up theatre as a hobby, based on a friend's suggestion, before choosing to make a career out of acting. He then enrolled at St Martin's Youth Theatre.

Career: Taylor was cast in the lead role of The Year My Voice Broke (1987), and its sequel Flirting (1991), after catching the attention of director John Duigan while at St Martin's Youth Theatre. He gained international attention when he played David Helfgott in Shine (1996). His film credits since then have included Almost Famous (2000), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Vanilla Sky (2001) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Taylor has also appeared in a range of TV series, including Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, Powers and Preacher.

Quote: "Italy is definitely where I feel most at home, or alternatively, living in total wilderness, in the bush in Australia."

Trivia: He has sung and played guitar in several of his own bands and he released his first EP, Live Free or Die!!!, with his band Noah Taylor and the Sloppy Boys in 2011.

Antonia Clarke (Actor) .. Susan

Saskia Reeves (Actor) .. Michelle Greene

Jorge Dorado (Director)

01:05 am - 03:00 am, Wednesday, December 17 on Legend (41)

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