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Benedict Wong | |||||||||||||
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_(cropped).jpg) Wong in 2016 | |||||||||||||
| Born | Eccles, Lancashire, United Kingdom | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Actor | ||||||||||||
| Years active | 1992–present | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 王漢斌 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 王汉斌 | ||||||||||||
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Benedict Wong is an English actor. He began his career on stage before starring in the film Dirty Pretty Things (2003), which earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination, and the BBC sitcom 15 Storeys High (2002–2004). This was followed by roles in the films On a Clear Day (2005), Sunshine, Grow Your Own (both 2007), and Moon (2009), and the CBBC series Spirit Warriors (2010).
Wong gained further recognition in the 2010s for his roles as Kublai Khan in the Netflix series Marco Polo (2014–2016), Bruce Ng in the film The Martian (2015), and Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange (2016). He has since starred in the Syfy series Deadly Class (2019). His performance in the film Nine Days (2020) earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
Early life and education
Wong was born in Eccles (a town within the City of Salford)[1] in 1970 or 1971, the son of Hong Kong immigrant parents who had travelled through Ireland before settling in England.[2]
He was brought up in Salford[1] and attended Salford City College (then called De La Salle Sixth Form College) in Salford.[3]
He then took a two-year performing arts course at Salford City College.[3]
Career
Early career
Wong's first role was in the 1993 BBC Radio play Kai Mei Sauce, written by his cousin, Kevin Wong. He appeared as Errol Spears alongside Sean Lock in the situation comedy 15 Storeys High, and as Franklin Fu in the second series of Look Around You.[4] In 2003, he was nominated at the British Independent Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Guo Yi in Dirty Pretty Things.[5]
In 2007, Wong starred in the feature film Grow Your Own.[6] He appeared in the second episode of Series 4 of the Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd as Prime, a previous Countdown contestant who had won the sixteenth Countdown teapot when he was known as Harold Tong.[7] He also appeared in the film Shanghai as Juso Kita, and played Li in the BBC series Spirit Warriors.[8]
In 2012, Wong appeared in the Ridley Scott film Prometheus as the ship's pilot, Ravel.[9] In 2013, he has the lead role in #aww: The Arrest of Ai WeiWei at the Hampstead Theatre.[10] Shortly after, the Almeida Theatre announced that he had joined the cast of the play Chimerica as Zhang Lin.[11] Also in he played gangster Lau in the BBC Two comedy-drama The Wrong Mans.[12] He was nominated for the West End Frame Award for Best Dramatic Performance for his role in Chimerica.[13][14][15]
International breakthrough
In 2014, Wong played Kublai Khan in the Netflix series Marco Polo,[12][16] which on 7 January 2015 was renewed by Netflix for a 10-episode second series.
The next year, he appeared in another Ridley Scott science fiction film, playing Jet Propulsion Lab director Bruce Ng in The Martian.[17] In 2016, he co-starred as Wong in the superhero film Doctor Strange (2016)[18] and later reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War (2018),[19] Avengers: Endgame (2019),[20] Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021),[21][22] Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021),[23] Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022),[24] and the 2022 Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.[25]
He appeared in "Hated in the Nation", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror, playing Shaun Li, an agent with the National Crime Agency in 2016. In 2017 he voiced Alex Yu in the Arkane Studios game Prey and starred in "2036: Nexus Dawn", a promotional short film prequel to Blade Runner 2049 directed by Luke Scott and co-starring Jared Leto. He appeared as the scientist Lomax in the 2018 science fiction horror film Annihilation.[26]
In 2019, he performed the voice of Skeksis general skekVar in the Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and the voice of Bull in the film Lady and the Tramp. In 2020, he appeared as a Necromancer in an episode of the FX television series What We Do in the Shadows. Wong's 2013 political play #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei was streamed through the news network The Guardian again in May 2020.
In 2021, Wong voiced the warrior giant Tong in the Disney animated film Raya and the Last Dragon. In 2021, he was nominated for a Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance as Kyo in Nine Days.[27] He joined the cast[28] of the Netflix live action adaptation of the Chinese novel The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin, which began shooting later that year.[29] In 2022, through BBC Radio, he partnered with Ai WeiWei again as the narrator for Ai's memoir 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows.[30]
In 2024, 3 Body Problem was released. The show was well received, with Wong's performance being singled out.[31][32]
Personal life
Wong is a fan of Manchester United FC.[1]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Screenplay | Le Van Dong | 1 episode |
| 1993 | Last of the Summer Wine | Chinese Man | 1 episode |
| 1994 | The Chief | Peng | 1 episode |
| 1994 | Frank Stubbs Promotes | Lee | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Cardiac Arrest | Radiographer | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Hearts and Minds | Chinese Interpreter | 1 episode |
| 1996 | Pie in the Sky | Michael Cheung | 1 episode |
| 1996 | Cracker | Peter Yang | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Supply & Demand | Frankie Li | Television film |
| 1997 | The Bill | Li Mann | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Breakout | Jerry | Television film |
| 2000 | Arabian Nights | Hassan | Miniseries |
| 2000; 2002 | The Bill | Michael Wei / DS David Chiu | 8 episodes |
| 2002 | TLC | Terry Cheung | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 2002 | Look Around You | Chess Player | 1 episode |
| 2002–2004 | 15 Storeys High | Errol Spears | Main role, 12 episodes |
| 2003 | State of Play | Pete Cheng | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 2005 | Look Around You | Dr Franklin Fu | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Eleventh Hour | Danny | 1 episode |
| 2007 | Frankenstein | Dr. Ed Gore | Television film |
| 2008 | The Peter Serafinowicz Show | Various characters | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Spirit Warriors | Li | Main role, 7 episodes |
| 2010 | The IT Crowd | Harold "Prime" Tong | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Spooks | Kai | 1 episode |
| 2010–2011 | Law & Order: UK | Eli Smart | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Covert Affairs | Shen Yue | 1 episode |
| 2011–2013 | Top Boy | Vincent | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 2013 | The Wrong Mans | Mr. Lau | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Prey | DS Ashley Chan | 3 episodes |
| 2014–2016 | Marco Polo | Kublai Khan | Main role, 20 episodes |
| 2016 | Black Mirror | Shaun Li | Episode: "Hated in the Nation" |
| 2017 | Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams | Ed Andrews | 1 episode |
| 2019 | Deadly Class | Master Lin | Main role, 10 episodes |
| 2019 | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The General (skekVar) (voice) | Main role, 9 episodes |
| 2020, 2023 | What We Do in the Shadows | Wallace the Necromancer | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | What If...? | Wong (voice) | Episode: "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?" |
| 2022 | She-Hulk: Attorney at Law | Wong | Special guest star; 3 episodes |
| 2024 | 3 Body Problem | Da Shi | Main role, 8 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Prey | Alex Yu | [35] |