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Mark Strong is quickly becoming the big screen bad guy for all the biggest films. He took on Robert Downey Jr. in SHERLOCK HOLMES, takes on Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl in KICK-ASS, goes toe to toe with Russell Crowe in ROBIN HOOD, and soon will play the impending villain “Sinestro” in the GREEN LANTERN movie starring Ryan Reynolds – filming now. But there’s been some debate about how exactly he would play Sinestro, as the character in the comic books wasn’t always a baddie. Now we’re getting that cleared up a bit, and directly from the man himself. Strong is in the process of shooting JOHN CARTER OF MARS in the U.K., but will be flying to New Orleans in a few months to do battle with Reynold’s “Hal Jordan.” He recently talked to USAWeekend, and dropped some info on his Sinestro characterization.
“for anybody who’s familiar with the Green Lantern and the origin story, the film closely follows the early comics. Sinestro starts out as Hal Jordan’s mentor, slightly suspicious and not sure of him because obviously Hal is the first human being who’s made into a Green Lantern. He’s certainly very strict and certainly unsure of the wisdom of Hal becoming a Green Lantern. He is a military guy but isn’t immediately bad. It’s the kind of person he is that lends himself to becoming bad over the course of the comics being written, but initially he’s quite a heroic figure.”
USAWeekend noted that Sinestro first appeared in DC Comics’ GREEN LANTERN series in 1961, and Strong says that the outfit and other aspects of the character very closely follow the character’s early days.
“That widow’s peak and thin mustache was for some reason originally based on David Niven, and Hal Jordan was based on Errol Flynn. In the ‘30s and ‘40s, they shared an apartment together in Hollywood when they were making movies and they were great friends. Obviously at the time, whoever was doing the original comics must have looked at them as guys doing very well in the film industry, and based those characters on them. So I would like to do justice to the Sinestro that was conceived for the comic books.”
Strong is said to have been fitted for special contact lenses, undoubtedly giving Sinestro a somewhat alien look. I can’t wait to see how they bring these characters to life, and director Martin Campbell is the perfect man for the job. Are you excited about GREEN LANTERN? Let us know in the comments.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
