Benedict Wong on Joining ‘Doctor Strange’ Cast

Wong had to keep his casting a secret on the set of Marco Polo.

Benedict Wong, who has recently been seen in Netflix’s Marco Polo series and the Golden Globe-winning film The Martian, will next be seen as Wong in Marvel’s Doctor Strange, which also stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton.

Check out Marvel’s official synopsis for the film:

From Marvel Studios comes “Doctor Strange,” the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he is forced to look for healing, and hope, in an unlikely place—a mysterious enclave known as Kamar-Taj. He quickly learns that this is not just a center for healing but also the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying our reality. Before long Strange—armed with newly acquired magical powers—is forced to choose whether to return to his life of fortune and status or leave it all behind to defend the world as the most powerful sorcerer in existence.

“I was always really crestfallen when watching a lot of Marvel films and not seeing any Asian superheroes…we’re bereft of them,” Wong remarked to BackstageOL’s Dave Morales.

“I had a lunch with Chiwetel [Ejiofo] one time and I was asking ‘What are you up to? Doctor Strange?’” he recalled. “[I did] a little tip-tapping on the Internet and then I saw this character Wong, and I just thought… ‘I’ve got to go for this!’”

“I was doing Marco Polo around the world and auditioned in Budapest, Slovakia, and then I found out in Malaysia,” he added. “Then I was holding this secret dressed as Kublai Khan, muffling to myself that I’m going to be doing a Marvel film, so that was a great moment.”

Doctor Strange hits theaters November 4th.

Watch our interview with Won below: