Swinton turns Tibetan mystic Celtic ‘to keep China happy’

TILDA SWINTON, the British actress, was cast to play what was originally a Tibetan character in a new Marvel film to avoid offending China, the screenwriter has suggested.

Doctor Strange, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch, has angered some with what they see as an example of Hollywood ignoring ethnic minority actors.

But C Robert Cargill, the main screenwriter, said: “[The Ancient One] originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people.”

He said there was a risk of “the Chinese government going … ‘We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’ ”

In the comics that the film is based on, the Ancient One is an Asian man. Mr Cargill said that they had made the character a woman in the film to mitigate the stereotypes.

Marvel said in a statement that the character of the Ancient One was written as a Celt in the film, and was not Asian at all.

Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in a scene from the forthcoming Marvel film, Doctor Strange. The character is a man from Tibet in the comic, but Marvel said that in the film story, she is a Celtic woman instead