Tilda Swinton is a shape-shifter. During her career — spanning 30 years — she’s been Narnia’s white witch, an Academy Award winner, muse to indie auteurs (with director Derek Jarman she’s made seven films over an eight-year period) and fashion designers, and a performance artiste. She may have crossed over to big-budget Hollywood, but Tilda has managed to retain her cult quality.
In Marvel’s latest superhero film Doctor Strange, that releases here on November 4, the actress plays the Ancient One, the one the protagonist turns to after a horrific car accident. In a typical Swinton-esque twist, her character is ageless and bald.
When director Scott Derrickson was writing the film, he only had Tilda in mind. “I even told Kevin (Feige, president of Marvel Studios) that if she didn’t do it, I would have to rewrite the script. We needed to find someone who would embody the intrigue of the Ancient One. The character is enigmatic, ethereal and androgynous. We wanted an actress who would bring the complexity of that character to life.”
I met the actress in a sterile banquet room at The Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong. It’s the day after she, along with the film’s director Scott and leading man Benedict Cumberbatch landed in the city. In person, she looks every inch the spectral beauty I expected her to. Impossibly tall and thin, her ghostly-pale androgynous face is illuminated by emerald eyes and capped by a brushed-back crop of blonde hair.
Remarkably, Tilda turns 55 this year (not that you’d know... her skin is freakishly free of wrinkles). Over a quick 15-minute chat, she spoke about being The Ancient One and her school in the Scottish Highlands.
In Doctor Strange, you play a timeless character like you did in Narnia. Is there anything in particular that brings you back to characters that don’t age?
It must. It’s not something that I think about consciously, but I am interested in the limits of mortality and the idea of immortality. But I am more interested in mortals because I think we need all the attention we can get. The idea of transfor-mation and living long enough that you have perspective is of interest to me. The Ancient One has lived for so long that she can choose an attitude that can persist through all the earthquakes that living on earth involves. I don’t know… I think I have just slipped into these roles. It could be because of the way I look. I look like I could be in old paintings and side of pots… I look like my ancestors! (Laughs)
What kind of research did you do to play the Ancient One and did you really go bald?
You’ll never know if I did shave my head! (Laughs) Scott and I talked about what this character needs to be for Doctor Strange. The whole story is a challenge to him. He (Doctor Strange, played by Cumberbatch) is at the end of his life when he meets the Ancient One who gives him the opportunity to literally be born again, but in a different reality with different superpowers.
So, whatever the Ancient One is, she needs to provoke that in Doctor Strange. She needs to be the opposite of him. He is so egotistical, narcissistic, materialistic and full of anger... she needs to be entirely relaxed and ego free. She doesn’t sweat the small stuff. She doesn’t even sweat the medium stuff…The Ancient One just doesn’t sweat! Even when she is fighting, she doesn’t even scowl. That was the starting and the finishing point for who this character is.
In previous interviews, Benedict has said that his role demanded a lot physically. Was it true for you as well and did that change how you approached the film?
There was a fair bit of running around. And fighting with two fans, which was really enjoyable. Apart from this, the approach was like any other film. But it was a Marvel film! Every time I stepped in front of the camera, I would be reminded that we are making a Marvel film. It was completely unique and thrilling every time.
The wonderful thing about Marvel is that they have set up these special experiences in our lives that transport us into these fantastical worlds. It doesn’t matter how old we are but when we go into the cinema to watch a Marvel film, it’s like being on a magical mystery ride. What we get this time is a little different and special.
What was the most fun part of doing this film?
It would have to be the fighting... it was really thrilling. Possibly the hardest part was casting spells while remembering lines! It was tricky but truly, the film was a blast.
There’s been such a backlash against your casting in the film, with many objecting to the “whitewashing” of The Ancient One, who is originally of Tibetan descent. Did that catch you by surprise?
We are confident that the film is clearly dedicated to a diverse universe in every aspect. So it was surprising and uncomfortable that there has been so much backlash against our film. At the same time, we are so up for the debate… the outcry that there should be a greater representation of diversity in cinema. So, it’s ironic for us and Marvel….
You’ve started Drumduan Upper, a school in Scotland, and it sounds like the kind of school I would want to go to…
Please come!
Like you teach Doctor Strange, do you teach in the school?
I don’t have a compound like Kamar-Taj (the home and training grounds to the Masters of the Mystic Arts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and I don’t have as many followers. And, I have more dogs than the Ancient One does! (Laughs) No, I don’t really teach. I help with the plays and things. I live in the Highlands of Scotland and I have two children (daughter Honor and son Xavier) who were very happy in a school that we loved very much. The school ended at 15, so another parent and I founded a school so that the children could continue their education. It’s been three years since it started and it’s going very well. It’s a radical education with no exams. The kids are outside a lot and they are happy… happy teenagers!
TILDA TITBITS
Age: 55
Debut: Caravaggio (1986)
Known for: Adaptation (2002),The Chronicles of Narnia films, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Won an Oscar for: Michael Clayton (2007), Best Supporting Actress
Off the beaten track: Has played Mozart on stage, a man in Orlando (1992) and an androgynous angel in Constantine (2005)
In a relationship with: Sandro Kopp, a painter from New Zealand
Good friends with: Writer-actress Amy Schumer
Quotable quote: “The other day, I was going through the airport security and I was searched by a male security guard. I’m very often referred to as ‘Sir’ in elevators and such. I think it has to do with being this tall and not wearing much lipstick. I think people just can’t imagine I’d be a woman if I look like this.”
Is Tilda the right choice for The Ancient One? Tell t2@abp.in
