director of the millennium

"Benedict, it's nice to finally meet you."

In the Kathmandu hotel booked by the "Doctor Strange" crew, Wu Yuan, with a smile on his face, gave an intimate hug to Benedict Cumberbatch, a tall and strong man with a horse face.

Wu Yuan has heard of the actor Benedict Cumberbatch for a long time.

First of all, his name is very special - Benedict Cumberbatch. It is a name that is full of British flavor regardless of whether it is the first name or the last name. You can basically tell at a glance that he is a British, and a relatively upper-class one. Perhaps his ancestors were British people from aristocratic families.

that's the truth.

Cumberbatch's great-grandfather, Henry Arnold Cumberbatch, was ambassador to the British Embassy in Turkey.

His grandfather Henry Carlton Cumberbatch was a British naval lieutenant commander who served in World War I and World War II as a submarine commander.

Although there is no inheritance of aristocratic titles in the family, it is indeed a British upper-class family.

As for why he chose to become an actor, it was mainly due to the influence of his parents.

Both of his parents are actors. Under the influence of his parents, Benedict Cumberbatch was admitted to the drama academy and entered the acting circle after completing his studies.

For most Chinese movie fans and audiences, their main impression of him is the role of Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock Holmes". He performed very well in this TV series and was unanimously recognized by audiences and fans around the world.

The Daily Telegraph ranked him first in the "20 Greatest Sherlock Holmes of All Time" and was voted "the Greatest Sherlock Holmes" by readers of Digital Spy.

You know, this is not easy.

If we make an analogy, the status of Sherlock Holmes played by him in the hearts of the British is probably similar to that of Sun Wukong played by Liu Xiao Ling Tong. Both of them have portrayed the essence of the male protagonists of their country's classic masterpieces and are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

In this respect, even another Sherlock Holmes next door, Robert Downey Jr., cannot compare to him.

What is even more admirable is that most actors, after having such a classic role, will generally be bound by the role. When they play other roles in the future, the audience will not be able to immerse themselves in the story at all and can only see the classic character image played by him.

There are countless examples of this. Liu Xiaolingtong can only be Sun Wukong forever, Chen He's label of Zeng Xiaoxian is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and Sha Yi looks like Bai Zhantang no matter what he does.

But even though Benedict Cumberbatch is regarded as "Sherlock Holmes" himself by audiences around the world, he can still break away from this role and bring new interpretations.

That is Doctor Strange - Stephen Strange!

It's not easy.

In the past, most Marvel roles restricted actors, just like after Robert Downey Jr. played Iron Man, he was regarded as Iron Man wherever he went, and his public image also became that of a Playboy.

The same is true for classic characters such as Captain America, Thor, and Black Widow. Although they have brought unparalleled popularity to the actors, they have also become one with the characters and are bound by the characters.

Benedict Cumberbatch is the only one who already had a world-famous classic image before starring in Marvel movies. On the contrary, it was through starring in Marvel movies that his image changed and he broke free from the cage of the role.

Perhaps this is also the reason why he is willing to take on "Doctor Strange" when Hollywood's top actors are increasingly unwilling to play Marvel protagonists. He really needs a Marvel role to change his impression in the public's mind.

So, when Benedict Cumberbatch saw Wu Yuan, he was really happy from the bottom of his heart. He smiled brightly and hugged Wu Yuan: "Daniel, I'm glad to meet you too."

"Everyone is waiting for you."

Yes, Wu Yuan was the last one to join the group. Including Wang Xueqi, who was invited by Wu Yuan, he joined the group two days earlier than Wu Yuan.

But this is not a big deal. As the biggest boss during the filming, Wu Yuan has this right.

He laughed and skipped the topic, saying with a smile: "It's not a big deal. The crew will start filming tomorrow, right?"

"Looks like the guys are ready?"

Benedict Cumberbatch was not the only one who welcomed Wu Yuan in the hotel lobby. Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played Baron Mordo, Mads Mikkelsen, who played Casillas, Benedict Wong, who played Wong, Rachel McAdams, who played Doctor Strange's lover, and Wang Xueqi, who was specially invited by Wu Yuan, were all present.

Everyone is an acquaintance, and Mads Mikkelsen has worked with Wu Yuan twice, so he is an old acquaintance.

"Max, I really didn't expect you to take this role." Wu Yuan raised his eyebrows and talked to Mads Mikkelsen with some surprise.

Mads Mikkelsen in this life is different from his previous life. With the leading role in the movie "Interstellar", he is doing quite well in Hollywood.

Although "Interstellar" is not a movie that can bring much popularity to the actor, like "Avatar", the audience comes to see the science fiction story rather than the actors, but he is still the leading actor in a movie with a global box office of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Although Mads Mikkelsen is not a top-tier actor in Hollywood today, he is definitely in the second-to-last tier.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't and doesn't need to play the villain in a superhero movie.

So even though he knew that he played the role of Casillas in the original version, Wu Yuan didn't think the crew would still ask him to play the role this time.

But unexpectedly, Mads Mikkelsen really came.

Facing Wu Yuan's doubts, Mads Mikkelsen explained calmly: "They said you were the director, so I came."

What is this, a way of repaying the kindness of someone who has helped me?
Wu Yuan was a little speechless. He didn't invest any money in this movie and was just working there. Even if he wanted to repay a favor, it shouldn't be on this one.

But he didn't say anything, just patted Mads Mikkelsen on the shoulder to show his gratitude.

At this time, Rachel McAdams, who had been standing quietly by the side and looking at Wu Yuan with admiration, finally couldn't help it. She took the initiative to step forward and shook Wu Yuan's hand, and said excitedly: "Director Daniel, I'm glad to work with you. I really like your movie."

"I've been your fan since Juno, and I've watched every one of your movies!"

"Can you please sign an autograph for me later?"

Wow! Wu Yuan looked at the beautiful girl in surprise. He never expected that Rachel McAdams was his fan.

Rachel McAdams is a once famous romantic film actress in Hollywood. She became famous in Hollywood with three romantic films: "The Notebook", "The Time Traveler's Wife" and "A Time Traveler's Wife", and she is known as a pure goddess.

However, in recent years she has been actively transforming herself into an intellectual and sexy beauty, which is why she took on the movie "Doctor Strange".

"Of course no problem." Wu Yuan agreed with a smile, turned his head to look at everyone, and said solemnly: "So, are you ready for the next four months of filming?"

Several actors looked at each other, responded to Wu Yuan's gaze, and nodded.

The next day, "Doctor Strange" officially started filming in Kathmandu, Nepal! (End of this chapter)