Benedict Wong (born 3 July 1971) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as

Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

's ''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in '' The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

'' (2014–2016), Bruce Ng in '' The Martian'' (2015), and

Wong Wong may refer to: Name * Wong (surname), a Chinese surname Places * Wong Chuk Hang, an area to the east of Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island * Wong Chuk Hang Estate, a public housing estate in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong * Wong Chuk Hang Road, a majo ...

in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

since ''

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

'' (2016).

Early life

Wong was born on 3 July 1971 in

Eccles, Greater Manchester Eccles () is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, west of Salford and west of Manchester, split by the M602 motorway and bordered by the Manchester Ship Canal to the south. The town is famous for the Eccles cak ...

, the son of Hong Kong immigrant parents who had travelled through Ireland before settling in England. He was brought up in Eccles, and attended Salford City College (then called De La Salle Sixth Form College) in the surrounding area of Salford. He then took a two-year performing arts course at Salford City College.

Career

Wong's first role was in a 1993

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

play called ''Kai Mei Sauce'', written by his cousin, Kevin Wong. He appeared as Errol Spears alongside

Sean Lock Sean Lock (22 April 1963 – 16 August 2021) was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000 he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Pe ...

in the situation comedy ''

15 Storeys High ''15 Storeys High'' is a British sitcom, set in a tower block. It originated as two radio series broadcast in 1998–2000, transferring to television in 2002–2004. The main characters in the television series are Vince Clark, a depressed, ...

'', and as Franklin Fu in the second series of '' Look Around You''. 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''. In 2007, Wong starred in the feature film '' Grow Your Own''. Wong went on to appear in the second episode of Series 4 of the Channel 4 comedy ''

The IT Crowd ''The IT Crowd'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, written and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in the offices of the f ...

'', playing the character Prime, a previous ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and ev ...

'' contestant who had won the sixteenth ''Countdown'' teapot when he was known as Harold Tong. Wong also appeared in the film ''

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

'' playing the character Juso Kita and the BBC series ''Spirit Warriors'' in the role of Li. In 2012, Wong appeared in the

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

film ''

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...

'' as the ship's pilot, Ravel. In 2013, Wong was cast in the lead role of ''#aww: The Arrest of Ai WeiWei'' at the Hampstead Theatre. Shortly after, the Almeida Theatre announced that Wong had joined the cast of the play ''

Chimerica Chimerica is a neologism and portmanteau coined by Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick describing the symbiotic relationship between China and the United States, with incidental reference to the legendary chimera. Though the term is largely ...

'' as Zhang Lin. Also in 2013, Wong played the role of gangster Lau in the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

comedy-drama ''

The Wrong Mans ''The Wrong Mans'' is a British BBC Television comedy-drama series, co-produced with the American online television provider Hulu. It premiered on BBC Two on 24 September 2013 and in the United States on 11 November 2013. Considered a critica ...

''. He was nominated for the West End Frame Award for Best Dramatic Performance for his role in ''Chimerica''. In 2013, Wong played the role of former Chinese contemporary artist

Ai WeiWei Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly c ...

in a political play called ''#aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei'' adapted from Ai's account in Barnaby Martin's Book "The Hanging Man". In 2014, Wong played the role of

in the

series ''

'', 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 the director of the Jet Propulsion Lab, Bruce Ng in '' The Martian''. In 2016, he co-starred as Wong in the superhero film ''

'' (2016) and later reprised the role in '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), ''

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film ...

'' (2021), '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021), '' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'' (2022), and the 2022 Disney+ series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law''. Wong appeared in " Hated in the Nation", an episode of the

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

'' Black Mirror'', playing Shaun Li, an agent with the National Crime Agency in 2016. In 2017 he voiced the character of Alex Yu in the Arkane Studios game ''

Prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

'' and starred in " 2036: Nexus Dawn", a promotional short film prequel to ''

Blade Runner 2049 ''Blade Runner 2049'' is a 2017 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. A sequel to the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'', the film stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, ...

'' directed by Luke Scott and co-starring

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Gold ...

. He appeared as the scientist Lomax in the 2018 science fiction horror film ''

Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total ener ...

''. In 2019, he performed the voice of the 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 ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and ...

''. 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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' 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''. Wong joined the cast for the

live action adaptation of the Chinese novel ''The Three Body Problem'' by Liu Cixin which began shooting later that year. In 2022, through

, Wong partnered with Ai WeiWei again, serving as the narrator for Ai's memoir '' 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows''.

Personal life

Wong is a fan of

Manchester United FC Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Benedict 1971 births Living people 20th-century British male actors 21st-century British male actors British male film actors British male stage actors British male television actors British male voice actors British male actors of Chinese descent British people of Chinese descent British people of Hong Kong descent Male actors from Salford People from Eccles, Greater Manchester