Iron Man 3 News: Ben Kingsley's Mandarin portrayal is literally scary and got on-set applause too

Marvel.com

Let's be honest in saying that one of the most important keys to having a great film is to have a villain who can steal scenes away from the hero. Warner Bros. has seen this first-hand when Heath Ledger played the Joker and Marvel Studios has been witness to this when they cast Tom Hiddleston as Loki for Thor and The Avengers (and in Thor: The Dark World too).

But what happens when you cast Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley as the villain the Mandarin? You get a round of applause—led by Robert Downey Jr.—after Kingsley's very first day shooting. And you also get a film production crew who is rumored to be scared to even approach the knighted actor while he is in character too.

Here's the exact quotes from a USA Today report, from the set of Iron Man 3:

"On his last take of his first full day as the Mandarin, when they yelled 'Cut!' the entire crew burst into applause, spearheaded by Mr. Downey himself," he says. "It was pretty amazing to see that." 

The producer can count on one hand — or maybe on a couple of ringed fingers — how many times he's witnessed a similar scene. 

"That's what you get when you hire Sir Ben Kingsley. He's so excited about his part and so into this character, and frankly just scaring the heck out of everybody," Feige says. "They're like, 'You've broken us out of our skeptical malaise!' "

This sounds like the Mandarin could indeed be a badass in the new movie and we'll all have to wait and see if he will have the same level of villainy as Ledger or Hiddleston before him. At least Marvel Studios doesn't kill off their main villains, so you can bet Kingsley had to sign a multi-picture deal as the majority of actors, who have main roles, have had to sign with Marvel.

May 2013 can't come soon enough to see how evil Kingsley takes the character up on the big screen.


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