Mark Strong disappointed by Oscars

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Mark Strong

Mark Strong is still disappointed about the Oscars.

The 'Zero Dark Thirty' star believes the movie's director Kathryn Bigelow deserved to be nominated for Best Director at the prestigious ceremony last month and that the film about the real-life hunt for Osama Bin Laden failed to pick up any of the top awards, including Best Picture, because of its controversial nature.

The 49-year-old British actor exclusively told BANG Showbiz at the gala screening for his new crime movie 'Welcome to the Punch': "All I feel is that it probably did suffer a little bit because of the political controversy, which is a shame because I still think it's the best film."

The actor's new movie, which tells the tale of a detective trying to catch a notorious criminal after he is forced to come out of hiding, also stars actor James McAvoy and Mark really enjoyed working alongside him.

He said: "It was great because we had to find a way to be very antagonistic towards each other but not eliminate the possibility of us finding a way to work together, which is what the film requires. So it worked out quite well.

"I play Jacob Sternwood, he's a retired criminal who on his last job shoots James McAvoy's character Max in the knee and cripples him. Three years later he gets a call from his son whilst he's retired to Iceland to come back and help his son out and when James' character gets wind of it, the cat and mouse chase starts around London.

"What's amazing about this is what they've managed to do with a relatively small budget, you just can't make action thrillers on the budget that we had. So to have that combination of action and a conspiracy thriller I think is rather clever."

Model Kelly Brook, Take That star Mark Owen and the film's director Eran Creevy also attended the screening at London's Vue West End cinema on Tuesday night (03.05.13).

James briefly popped in to pose for pictures with his cast before rushing over to Trafalgar Studios to perform in 'Macbeth'.