Marvel's Kevin Feige Regrets Casting Tilda Swinton in 'Doctor Strange' After Whitewashing Controversy

Kevin Feige has some regrets.

The 47-year-old president of Marvel Studios spoke out about Doctor Strange, and the casting of Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, in an interview with Men’s Health.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Tilda Swinton

The casting was criticized as being an example of whitewashing in Hollywood, as the character in the comic books is an Asian male.

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While director Scott Derrickson defended the casting at the time by saying that hiring an older Asian actor in the role would be seen as “contributing to a bad stereotype,” only to later to admit that was wrong, the Marvel exec is now also saying it was a wrong call.

“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,” Kevin explained.

“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.”

Here’s what Tilda Swinton said at the time about the controversy.

Many other stars have also spoken out about regretting their roles in movies and TV – find out who else.