I don’t know that Director Scott Derrickson could have cast the part of The Ancient One to anyone better than Tilda Swinton. In Marvel’s latest release, Doctor Strange, Tilda is perfection. Balanced with her mystical powers with her mesmerizing look, The Ancient One in the film will not disappoint the biggest of comic book fans. Yes, it’s far from the character in the comics, however, when you see her on screen, I promise, it will be hard not to fall in love.
When Tilda Swinton enters a room, people can’t help but stare. She is the most unusually beautiful person and claps right back at us as we applaud her entrance. Her smile is huge, and just like onscreen, her look is mesmerizing. I sat right next to her, and she had little to no makeup on, and her hair is super short, and she pulls it all off perfectly.
I sat right next to her, and she had little to no makeup on, and her hair is super short, and she pulls it all off perfectly. When she smiles, you can see a few small lines from around her eyes, but other than that, my guess is that she drinks plenty from that fountain of youth. (wink-wink)
We jump right in with the concern of those comic fans I mention above.
How did you feel about being cast in a role that’s traditionally an Asian man?
“Yeah, the comic strip–was an Asian man, in fact, a very ancient Tibetan man living on the top of a mountain. The film script that I was given wasn’t an Asian man, so I wasn’t asked to plan an Asian man–I was asked to play an ancient Celtic person. If I’d been asked to play an Asian man, I would’ve shown them Benedict Wong… <LOL> … Kevin and Scott were very, very clear about the reasons they wanted to shake up the stereotype. They felt that there were a couple kind of gnarly, racial stereotypes around the two big Asian characters in the film. One was Wong’s character; he was sort of a servant. And the other was The Ancient One–who was a kind of old, Fu Man Chu character. Scott wanted to make it a woman… I think was a really, really cool move, you know, to put a woman in the Marvel Universe who’s not twenty-one and in a bikini–although we love the girls in bikinis–it’s really important, I think, the idea of a sorceress supreme being a woman. Then, when he thought of an Asian woman, he was worried that it would turn into a kind of dragon lady thing. He can explain it better, but basically they kind of came through the wash, and ended up with me.”
That costume!
“Oh it’s such a great costume! It’s like pajamas… and those beautiful colors…”
“Well, it was my decision. It was my suggestion and we had several months of playing with options, all sorts of weird wig ideas, all sorts of long lobes and… we went ’round the houses with it but eventually, it felt like less was more… and I loved it. I thought it looked really, really ancient, but also kind of modern and rad and yeah, it was a nice feeling as well.”
What was the biggest struggle for you to play the role of The Ancient One?
“The only real struggle was casting spells–learning all these amazing things with fingers and then remembering what to say at the same time. And then they would say, ‘So, you have to put your hands there, not there, because the light is going to go [from here]. So it was these kind of maths, but it was all good.”
“I did a lot of them, but there was an amazing stunt double who I worked with called, Julia, who became a friend. We all had stunt doubles–we always do–because they do the things that are really dangerous.”
Was it difficult to shoot some of those types of scenes?
“The fighting is fantastic fun, really good fun, and difficult and interesting in fun ways. But, yeah, tough. Lots of looping about, and I set myself the task that the Ancient One would be completely serene through all the fighting. That was something… One thing that I find very challenging–and I would challenge anybody to do these moves without making sound effects like a nine-year-old boy… that was quite hard–not making faces.”
Can you talk about the dynamic of everyone on set?
“We were sooooo happy! I mean, it’s a little like–I don’t know about anybody else in Marvel movies, but for me it was like being asked to join the circus. We all joined the circus and we were all given these incredible costumes and everybody in the Marvel Universe that I’ve met so far is so psyched to be part of it. Even though there are some people who have been there for years–technicians or people who have lit these films for years–or Alex Byrne who does the costumes–she’s done like level Marvel films… nobody’s jaded. Everybody’s psyched. It’s a playground! And the cast… we’re all so happy to know each other. We’re so happy to see each other here… Benedict and I were in China just now, but today we’re all meeting our other cast members. We’re so happy.”
“I have, yes. But not in 3D… that magic–well, what we call the ‘magical mystery tour’ when I first push him into it–no one is going to need acid after this.”
HA! Agreed! So what did you think after seeing it all come together?
“I was really, really happy… I mean, maybe it’s weird for all of us, if you see yourself on a home movie–like when someone’s fuzzed out in a police video–you sort of see everybody else except yourself for a bit. But with this one, I don’t know whether it’s the way in which it’s in this heightened universe… but we all look like Marvel characters. We don’t really look like ourselves. There’s something very smooth about everything, and that’s to do with the way it’s lit, and the way it’s designed. And it’s cut like a comic strip. So it’s quite an experience and it was better than I’d hoped.”
What did you learn about yourself during the process of making Doctor Strange?
“I loved all the action, and I loved the feeling of being… I mean, this is kind of a boring answer, because it’s about the daily work. But there was something about it–we were all very physical while we were working, and we would jump over to a B stage and do some physicial stunts, and then we’d come back and do some quite Zen scene. And I learned… I had a reminder of something I should’ve learned earlier, which is that it’s really important to do the two. Nice, physical kind of energetic life along side some kind of introspection… is a really healthy thing. And I didn’t get sick throughout the shoot–and we all always get sick when we’re shooting–and I didn’t get sick, and I think that’s something to do with that. But then, I was reminded of how lazy I am. And how difficult I find learning lines is… I tried something with the Ancient One which was quite tricky–I tried to actually be in a kind of state of mindfulness when I was speaking, which meant that I didn’t really learn my lines very well. That was something I learned. I don’t think I’ll do that again. That was quite hairy. I just was reminded again, of how good it is to be happy when you work.”
Can you share the story of how you got the role of The Ancient One?
“Well, I was in a very fortunate position of not auditioning at all. I was in LA anyway… and I was told that Scott Derrickson wanted to meet me and I didn’t know why. I’d met him in the past… but we had tea and he told me he was going to do this film, and he told me that he had written this part for me and he basically kind of emotionally blackmailed me and said, ‘If you don’t do it, I’ll have to rewrite it so, I was flattered and honored and intrigued. Then, of course, I read it and I felt really good about it. I was very lucky. He presented it to me like that.. he about about the film there at that tea table–I remember was incredible–he said, ‘This is going to be a film, a big, tent pole Marvel film about creation, and not about destruction.’ And now we’ve seen it–that’s what he’s done! That’s what’s so moving I think about the film… this power that Doctor Strange is taught to wield is a power for good. It’s new. I know that all Marvel superheroes eventually work for good, but there’s a lot of city-flattening that goes on. But we actually put a city together again. When he described that to me, I remember thinking, ‘Oh wow, I can’t wait to see this film, let alone be in it.’ I was in at that point.”
Be on the lookout for a future post where I will be sharing spoiler quote after the movie release on 11/04/16.
Images of prizes are for promotional purposes only. Prize value is worth up to $50 and will be based on availability at the time of prize delivery. The winner has 48 hours to respond to winning announcement email. If no response after 48 hours of attempted contact, winner forfeits their prize and another name will be drawn. Once a winner is announced a name will be shown on this tab. Contest open to U.S. residents only, ages 18 and over. No Purchase Necessary to enter. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube or Twitter. One entrant per household/IP address.This disclosure is made in accordance with the FTC 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements. Entrants must only enter with either one email address, IP address, and/or Facebook account. Anyone found violating these rules will be disqualified. It is at the sole discretion of the admin of the giveaway if the winner has met the rules or not.
*I was invited by Disney and Marvel to attend a press junket covering Doctor Strange. All opinions are my own.
Tara began her blog in 2012 and quickly became an Online Influencer in Travel and Entertainment. Trippin' with Tara is a lifestyle blog covering all things entertainment and travel, but don't be surprised by some great food and product reviews in the mix. Read more
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Leave a Reply