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Tilda Swinton Speaks to 'Doctor Strange' Whitewashing Controversy

Tilda Swinton Speaks to 'Doctor Strange' Whitewashing Controversy

Tilda Swinton takes the cover of Out magazine’s November 2016 issue.

Here’s what the 55-year-old Doctor Strange star had to share with the mag:

On the ‘whitewashing’ controversy surrounding her role as The Ancient One in Doctor Strange: “There is little for me to add except to say that anyone speaking up for a greater accuracy in the representation of the diversity of the world we live in has me right beside them. As someone who has worked from the beginning as an artist within a queer aesthetic, the urgency of that voice is always going to be welcome. At the same time, the film Marvel has made – in which they created a part for which I was not bad casting, in actual fact – is a departure from the source material in more ways than one. Ironically, their casting is positively diverse in this case: The Ancient One in this film was never written as the bearded old Tibetan man portrayed in the comics. Baron Mordo, a Caucasian Transylvanian in the graphic novels, is here played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Benedict Wong plays a newly expanded and significant role as Wong, who in the comics is a mini-minor character. I believe in Marvel’s wholehearted commitment to creating a diverse and vibrant universe, avoiding stereotype and cliché wherever possible in a determination to keep things fresh and lively.”

On her relationship with David Bowie: “We talked about literature a lot, actually, and used to send each other recent finds and old passions. One of the things I am happiest about in my life is introducing him to the essays of Montaigne, which I’ve loved since I was a teenager. And he sent me Bruges-la-Morte by Rodenbach, for which I am forever grateful. Beyond all the myriad things to miss, I miss our conversation most badly.”

For more from Tilda, visit Out.com.

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Credit: Sølve Sundsbø/Out
Posted to: Magazine, Tilda Swinton