Shazam! is not the first time Mark Strong is stepping out on the big screen as a major villain from the pages of DC Comics. The actor previously worked with Warner Bros. to appear as Sinestro in the infamous Green Lantern movie. While the movie is notoriously known for its lackluster results, Strong’s performance and role are often the only element to gain any praise. In Shazam!, Strong takes on the role of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana in a movie which both he and the film as a whole are earning quite a praise.
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Speaking to ComicBook.com, Strong opened up about the difference in experiences from working on Shazam! and Green Lantern — and his words carry a good bit of weight. These aren’t the only comic book movies he has appeared in, either. He’s also earned credits in Kick-Ass and Kingsman movies.
“I loved Sinestro because I always thought if we can really manifest that guy, a look for that guy as he is in the comics, that would just be insane,” Strong said in the interview featured in the video above. “I love the fact that he looked the way he did, and I really enjoyed it, and it was such a shame to me that movie didn’t kick in, you know, because I thought that part was great, but I feel with Sivana, what I’m being allowed to do is take Sinestro on, if you like, so that sequence at the end of the first one where he puts the yellow ring on and goes bad, I feel like it’s almost like a battle, like a relay, when the battle is being handed over from Sinestro to Sivana.”
While Shazam! offers up a hefty amount of fun for the entire family, the movie also features strongly contrasting moments to counter the lighthearted beats. Those elements have Strong, front and center. “We talked about it and realized that the fun stuff is only gonna work if it’s bookended by really terrifying stuff,” Strong explained, “And the terrifying stuff is only gonna work if the fun stuff is really irreverent, and it’s no accident, I think, that that balance takes the fun stuff to kind of a place that we’ve– it’s almost more fun than I’ve ever seen before, and the same with the darkness, it’s gotta be properly scary.”
This is where the genius of an Annabelle franchise alum comes into play. “The fact that [Shazam! director David F. Sandberg] comes from a horror background was to my benefit,” Strong said. “I have to say I feel completely supported by a guy who knows how to make an individual scary.”
Shazam! hits theaters on April 5.
