I saw him in Bridge of Spies recently. I had felt bits of familiarity between how he played Thomas Cromwell and his character in BoS. Yet while I had found he had more presence and material to work with in Wolf Hall, I thought he had a subtle presence in BoS. When he was on screen in BoS, I was drawn inand the few scenes he had kept my attention more than the scenes with Tom Hanks leading.
I've thought actors who do great work in theater and eventually transition to TV or film have a better chance of success because they have the experience and capacity to play their characters.

The show is slow paced and that's OK but I love every moment of Mark's screentime. He is brilliant

I agree, ruth44,
Each performer in Wolf Hall was at the top of their game.

Toshi51: He can do more with a glance than some actors with a page of dialogue.
That just about sums up his performance as Cromwell, so subtle and with so much depth. Quiet but so ominous. A truly outstanding performance but then I can't fault any of the performers in Wolf Hall.

So true, Toshi51. He's an amazing actor.

He can do more with a glance than some actors with a page of dialogue.

He was marvelous as usual. I loved his Cromwell. An amazing actor!

Mark Rylance has shown us Thomas Cromwell's humanity. Who would have thought an actor could make such a man as Cromwell a sympathetic character? I'd love to see him on stage one day.

Any Mark Rylance stage performance will be one you will remember all your life. He haunts. Thanks 50% to informed visitors to NYC his performances always sell out every night. For comparison in 2013 a fine No Mans Land with Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen both 10X more widely known did not sell out every night.
We saw four of the five plays mentioned above (Le Bete, Jerusalem, Twelfth Night - twice - and Richard III) making him the actor we have seen the most. Jerusalem in particular shook audiences to the core. The Wolf Hall series seems to me his only movie & TV work where his extraordinary magnetism comes across with full force.

He was hilarious as a shy midwesterner trying to become a '60s swinger in BOEING BOEING
Sounds great! Rylance is obviously a star of the New York (and I presume London) stage, which I did not realize. I guess I did have a vague idea of him being primarily a stage actor.
He actually played an Elizabethan actor doing a Shakespeare stage role in 'Anonymous' (not a great film, BTW).
Probably his most shocking role, though, was in INTIMACY, a 2001 movie some called pornographic
Oh, yeah I had forgotten all about that film. I think I saw part of it on cable a while back.
Too bad Rylance has not done more film work. I will be sure to check him out on stage if he's ever in a play that tours to my city.
It Follows: 8.5
Whiplash: 9
'71: 8.5
Two Days, One Night: 9

I've seen him several times on the New York stage. He was hilarious as a shy midwesterner trying to become a '60s swinger in BOEING BOEING, for which he deservedly won a Tony. His Olivia in TWELFTH NIGHT was so authentic, you'd swear he was a woman (another Tony, no surprise), and devilishly malevolent as RICHARD III. He was also very effective as a bombastic blowhard in both JERUSALEM and LA BETE. I try to see everything he does on stage in NYC.
Probably his most shocking role, though, was in INTIMACY, a 2001 movie some called pornographic, probably because while the moviegoing public is used to seeing women in nude scenes, seeing a man that way is still off-putting somehow. It's a searing drama about a man (Rylance) desperate for a relationship.

I wasn't that familiar with him not having seen him act before
Rylance hasn't had much exposure to U.S. audiences
in film and TV
. Not everyone is a theatergoer.
I loved him 20 years ago in "Angels and Insects." As you put it so well:
He is such a subtle actor with a quiet but personable presence
I felt that immediately in 'Angels and Insects.'
He starred in that film with Kristin Scott Thomas.
Thirteen years later he was paired with Scott Thomas again in the less-than-stellar "The Other Boleyn Girl." In that film they played Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, the parents of Anne and Mary. Ironic, hmm?
It Follows: 8.5
Whiplash: 9
'71: 8.5
Two Days, One Night: 9

At first I didn't like Mark Rylance at all because I wasn't that familiar with him not having seen him act before. After the second episode he had won me over. He is such a subtle actor with a quiet but personable presence that he's perfect for the part.

He is also remarkably photogenic in those period costumes as though he was born to be in Tudor England.

Brilliant bit of acting from him in this series.

I saw him in Twelfth Night and Richard III on Broadway - he and the entire company were absolutely wonderful. His rich, dangerously-engaging Richard was one of the best I've ever enjoyed seeing.

He won last year also, for Twelfth Night.

He won Tonys in 2008 and 2011, so he's done some high profile stage work in the US.
I'm the clever one; you're the potato one.

Not too well known in the U.S., unfortunately.
It Follows: 8.5
Whiplash: 9
'71: 8.5
Two Days, One Night: 9

He is an excellent and much respected actor.