Why Alithea From Three Thousand Years Of Longing Looks So Familiar

One of Tilda Swinton's early roles that put her on the map for prominent Hollywood filmmakers was her performance in Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky." The film follows a man named David Aames (Tom Cruise), who finds himself embroiled in a bizarre sci-fi journey of self-discovery. In the film, Swinton portrays a character named Rebecca Dearborn, an official involved with the company Life Extension, keeping David in the lucid dream state that much of the film takes place within.

One notable element of Swinton's involvement in "Vanilla Sky" is how she came to be in the project. In fact, in an interview released before the film's debut while she was promoting the premiere of "The Deep End," Swinton admitted (via Slant Magazine) that she took her part as Rebecca Dearborn upon the request of Cameron Crowe via email. Swinton explained, "Cameron Crowe asked me in an email to be in the film, so I went and did it."

One of Tilda Swinton's earliest forays into blockbuster filmmaking came in 2005 with the debut of "Constantine." Starring Keanu Reeves as the titular character — an exorcist from the DC Comics canon — on a quest to stop Swinton's Gabriel from unleashing hell on earth. Within the film's story, Gabriel is presented as an archangel who has grown increasingly weary and frustrated with God's forgiveness for humanity's sins. Despite being an adaptation of a character from the DC world, Swinton defied many traditional conceptions of Gabriel, who is often canonically male in the comics, by portraying the character in a more androgynous fashion than fans were used to seeing.

In October 2022, it was confirmed that Reeves would finally return to the role of John Constantine for a long-awaited sequel to the original film (via Variety). However, while it is entirely possible that Swinton could come back as Gabriel, her return remains unconfirmed at this time.

One of Tilda Swinton's most interesting creative partnerships in Hollywood is her work with Joel and Ethan Coen. The actress first teamed up with the Coen Brothers in 2008 for the release of "Burn After Reading," a black comedy spy caper set in the bureaucracy of Washington. In the film, Swinton portrays Katie Cox, the soon-to-be ex-wife of CIA analyst Osbourne Cox.

Almost a decade later, in 2016, Swinton re-teamed with the Coen Brothers for their zany Hollywood satire, "Hail, Cesar!" This time, Swinton got a chance to go bigger than she had in "Burn After Reading," portraying the dual roles of Thora and Thessa Thacker — gossip columnists who happen to be identical twins. In creating the character, Swinton wanted to do something akin to kabuki theater and lampoon Hollywood actresses of the 1950s. 

Per The Guardian, she explained, "I felt my role was to represent those American actresses from the 1950s that you can't tell if they're English or not. They have these strange accents: they might be speaking Americanised English or doing a British accent. Overprepared and enunciated, constantly ready for her closeup. It felt really of the period — it's the style of performance. That appealed to me: it's not exactly kabuki, but it's not far off."

While Tilda Swinton has acted in many dramas and black comedies throughout her career, she has also appeared in broader comedies. One notable example is her performance as Dianna in Judd Apatow's 2015 comedy "Trainwreck." A star vehicle for Amy Schumer, the film sees the standup play a writer for a men's magazine who works for Dianna, an abrasive British editor.

One significant component of Swinton's "Trainwreck" performance that was much talked about at the time of the film's release was her incredible visual transformation to become Dianna. Arguably unrecognizable as the character, Swinton felt that the look was essential to help her take on the role. Describing the experience (via The Mary Sue), Swinton explained, "It's just fun to dress as someone different, and this woman looks frankly like a lot of women I pass on the street every day — the women who go for that particular tandoori tan and the eye make-up and hair. But for me, that look is pretty extreme. It's just as much a burlesque as playing the character I played in 'Snowpiercer,' and both are deep disguises, which is such fun. It was fun to imagine what it would be like to walk down the street dressed like Dianna."

Tilda Swinton has appeared in several significant franchises throughout her career. However, the biggest of the bunch is none other than the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Starring as The Ancient One, the character first appeared as a pivotal supporting character in Scott Derrickson's 2016 film "Doctor Strange." From there, Swinton has gone on to reprise the role multiple times. This included a critical scene in Avengers: Endgame and a voiceover role in the animated Marvel series, "What If?"

Swinton's arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was not without controversy. Marvel was accused of "whitewashing" a traditionally Asian character when The Ancient One was repositioned as a Celtic mystic. Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige recently opened up (via Men's Health) about the controversy and admitted that the decision to move away from The Ancient One as an Asian character was a misstep. Feige said, "We thought we were being so smart and so cutting-edge. We're not going to do the cliché 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."