Tom Burke

At the wheel in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), Tom Burke stays calm while the war rig comes under attack. As Praetorian Jack, he gives George Miller's film a warmth it otherwise struggles to find. His scenes with Taylor-Joy are played mostly in glances, with no need to announce how much those looks mean. We laughed and gripped the armrest as the motorbikes and kite-borne attackers closed on the rig. Burke's stillness gives us someone to watch amid the commotion.

There were supporting parts such as Billy in Only God Forgives (2013) before the television lead of Cormoran Strike in Strike (2017). The wider recognition came with Anthony in The Souvenir (2019), a part suited to his ability to make charm unsettling. Orson Welles in David Fincher's Mank (2020) followed. These are persuasive uses of an actor who can suggest intelligence without asking us to trust the person possessing it.

Steven Soderbergh finds a welcome use for his less dignified side in Black Bag (2025). His Freddie Smalls drinks too much at a dinner where George has put something in the food to help the conversation along. Burke's solemn presence is useful here because it leaves room for a man to make a fool of himself. The dinner is the film's strongest stretch, and its sharp ensemble gives him room to be funny, even if the mystery is tidier than it is gripping.

Legends (2026) asks for the seriousness again, casting him as Guy in Neil Forsyth's undercover thriller. He makes the strain of an assumed identity matter because we remain interested in the person doing the job. Alongside Steve Coogan as Don, he keeps the people distinct when the plotting threatens to become a set of instructions. But the crowded story and persistent solemnity also expose the limit of relying on an actor's weight to keep a series moving. For Burke with a little less dignity to protect, choose Black Bag.