The actress, who played the mentor to Benedict Cumberbatch's superhero character, remembers she had 'a question mark' on her mind when she was cast by Marvel.
- Jul 2, 2021
AceShowbiz - Tilda Swinton agrees with Marvel boss Kevin Feige that her casting as the Ancient One in "Doctor Strange" was a mistake.
The 60-year-old actress played the character in the 2016 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but the studio boss recently confessed he now felt casting her as the Tibetan guru was a misstep and that they could have avoided cliches if an Asian actor was hired for the part.
While Tilda has now admitted she had a "question mark" about taking on the role of Doctor Strange's mentor.
She told Variety, "I remember at the time having a question mark in my own mind, and being attendant to the public response to the idea that a Scottish woman will be playing this character, and being aware that there was no resistance at all - there was widespread welcome - which shifted at a certain point, for very good reason with which I had an enormous amount of sympathy."
Tilda accepted the criticism that came from fans and is glad there is a conversation between filmmakers and the audience regarding the narrative of blockbusters.
The Oscar-winning star said, "The audience feels even more empowered to contribute to the narrative and to feel heard within the narrative, and that's a really healthy social development."
Kevin admitted the studio thought they were being "so smart and so cutting edge" by casting a white actress and insisted he has learnt from the experience.
"We're not going to do the cliche of the wizened, old, wise Asian man. But it was a wake-up call to say, 'Well, wait a minute, is there any other way to figure it out? Is there any other way to both not fall into the cliché and cast an Asian actor?' And the answer to that, of course, is yes."
