The Untold Truth Of Benedict Wong

From "The Martian" to "Annihilation" to "Black Mirror," it might seem like British actor Benedict Wong has popped up in just about any recent science fiction project you can think of. He doesn't just appear in the one genre, but he's made a name for himself as a dependable supporting actor in any movie or television show where he shows up. 

Of course, Wong may be best known for acting alongside the other great Benedict (Cumberbatch) in "Doctor Strange," playing the aptly named character Wong. With more Marvel Cinematic Universe appearances lined up and his star continuing to rise, let's take a look at the full career of this talented thespian who's turned in great performances in multiple genres. From science fiction to horror to comedy to Shakespeare, Wong can always be counted on to be a compelling presence. Here are some things you might not know about Benedict Wong.

Not everyone who acts in a Marvel movie is necessarily familiar with the source material, but Benedict Wong has been a big fan of comic books ever since he was young. As he said in an interview with Baby Savers, "I used to collect a lot of Marvel comics. I was always a Spider-Man fan. I would always be at a comic book store in Manchester, reading stories till I got chucked out."

Despite his knowledge of comic books, the actor Wong told Variety that was unfamiliar with the character of Wong before he got the role. However, he was able to finally come face to face with his childhood hero with a cameo in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." And his exhaustion with Dr. Strange was beloved by fans before the film even opened. He also got to work with Sam Raimi, the director of the original "Spider-Man" trilogy, in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." 

Not all of us know what we want to do when we're 21, but Benedict Wong did. The problem was that he only had three years to turn his dream of acting into a reality. He explained his immigrant father's wishes to Independent: "My dad wanted me to quickly get a job. But I found a loophole when I thought, 'Oh, my brothers didn't get proper jobs till they were 24,' so I thought, 'Just give me these three years and then if it goes a bit t**s-up, I'll do whatever you say by being 'the obedient Chinese son.'

"He was like a solemn Victorian dad, not saying anything. My mum was like, 'Let him do what he wants.'" Lucky for Wong, he was able to land his first acting gig a year later and got to continue doing what he wanted.

While Wong was able to get work in bit roles on television, playing "Chinese Man" on "Last of the Summer Wine" and "Chinese Interpreter" in "Hearts and Minds," they weren't very fulfilling for him. He recalled one bad audition for The Guardian: "I was waiting for about an hour and 40 minutes and no one came out to say sorry." It was for a small role as an undocumented immigrant, and it turned out to be his breaking point. "I left there feeling really emotional. I called my agent and said: 'That's it, I'm done, I've had enough.'" 

His agent suggested one last script, and he thought it was going to be yet another stereotype. "I said, 'What's the part?' [He said], 'It's an illegal immigrant.' I went, 'No! F**k that! I'm not doing that again!'" However, he changed his mind after reading the script for "Dirty Pretty Things," which featured a more nuanced portrayal of undocumented immigrant Guo Yi. It wound up getting him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2003 British Independent Film Awards. It also paired him with his future "Doctor Strange" co-star, Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Fans of FX's "What We Do in the Shadows" were delighted to see Wong pop up in the Season 2 premiere, "Resurrection," as a very bad necromancer who revives Haley Joel Osment's character, only to accidentally turn him into a zombie. That wasn't the first time Wong shared the screen with "Shadows" fan favorite Matt Berry, though, as fans of "The IT Crowd" may also remember Wong from the Season 4 episode "The Final Countdown," in which he played a game show winner named Prime with access to a secret club and groupies. And before that, Wong and Berry both appeared together in the science fiction film "Moon." 

As "Moon" director Duncan Jones told Polygon, "Yeah, Matt Berry — and Benedict Wong, next to him, the two of them, they were buddies of mine. Back in London, where we were making the film, it's quite a small, tight community in film, and there was this notorious drinking spot where we all used to hang out. I asked if they would come and do the cameo, and they [were] way more established than I was, and it would be really fun to have a cameo with these two guys that I knew." Considering the fact that Jones is not only a noteworthy filmmaker but David Bowie's son, he was probably being modest there.

Matt Berry isn't the only colleague that Wong has remained friends with. Working on 2002's "Dirty Pretty Things" wasn't just a turning point for Wong's career; it was also the beginning of a great friendship with co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor. As Ejiofor told the "I'm So Obsessed" podcast: "When I did "Dirty Pretty Things," I did it with Benedict Wong and it was the first film I was able to be the lead in and it was really awesome film in terms of my relationship with cinema. I met this really brilliant actor, Benedict Wong, and we had this fantastic time together working on that film, so we became very, very close friends."

Needless to say, Ejiofor was excited about working together again on "Doctor Strange," starring as Mordo alongside Wong as Wong. "We were actually talking about 'Wong for Wong,'" Ejiofor recalled. "We were talking one over lunch about it about how Benedict came to be Wong and I would say, because I have that specific history and those really great parts we've been able to play together, I'm really excited about that relationship." 

"The Baby-Sitters Club" actor Xochitl Gomez got her big screen break when she was cast in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with the addition of her character America Chavez. The character's queer identity and a short scene where she mentions having two moms has even got the film in trouble with censors in Saudi Arabia.

Gomez tried to brush off the undeserved hatred, telling AsiaOne, "Yes, my name may be circled within hate and stuff but it's okay." But her co-star Wong refused to accept it as normal, adding that "It's not okay ... There's a real level of shame for all those trolls that are cowards not to actually put their face on ... It's sad that fans in that country won't get to see this as yet. But all we are doing is radiating representation, voicing the voiceless. And that's all that we can do; represent people so that they can be seen." Wong takes particular umbrage with the fact that Gomez is still just a teenager who doesn't deserve that kind of hate ,and we commend him for speaking up. 

Some actors are so good at using accents that people can be surprised to find out how they speak in real life. For "Nine Days," Wong actually got to use his real accent and he was happy to do so. He revealed to We Got This Covered that playing characters from other parts of the world was a necessity for him, saying, "I tend to play a lot of different characters who are either East Asian or some kind of American ... It was really difficult trying to get gigs in Manchester back in the day, so I had to be other people, kind of play different roles until called upon."

In an interview with The National, he also said that he had to move out of his hometown for work, lamenting that "the real heartbreak was that I couldn't get employed in Manchester. It genuinely broke my heart to have to leave Manchester, which I love, and go to London because there was no work for me in Manchester. That shouldn't be the case, and it has to change." It's sad that Wong couldn't remain where he wanted to, but at least he was able to have a fruitful career afterwards.