In the wake of yet another rumor of who will be given the coveted role of Doctor Strange in Ewan McGregor, I wanted to state my case for the one man who people have seem to have given up on to play the Sorcerer Supreme. Now before I give my reasons, I will say that I love Ewan McGregor and really even some of the other names attached to play the good doctor (Cumberbatch, Hamm, Leto, Phoenix), but only one name in my in my opinion truly embodies the man known as Doctor Stephen Strange…Timothy Olyphant.
1. Physically he looks exactly like the Sorcerer Supreme
I mean, c’mon just look at this picture! I know that looks don’t weigh in as much when you can use makeup and effects to change a person’s appearance, but with this guy you literally have to do nothing down to the greying temples. He IS Stephen Strange…period.
2. He has the acting chops to prove it.
I know Timothy Olyphant may not have quite the same recognition as some of the other names that have been thrown around, but his body of work is fantastic. I have loved some of the roles he has played in film, even if the movie itself wasn’t particularly great, he always brought a certain air of confidence every time. Broken Hearts Club, Gone In 60 Seconds, A Perfect Getaway and my personal favorite, The Girl Next Door, are good examples of that. I think where he has excelled the most though is definitely in television with top notch performances as Sheriff Seth Bullock in Deadwood and currently as Raylon Givens in Justified. The guy just exudes a certain level of cockiness when he acts and that brings me to my next point.
3. He can bring the arrogance which Strange needs.
The problem I have had with some of the other actors rumored (with the exception of Cumberbatch and Hamm) is that I can’t see these guys bringing a natural feeling of cockiness to the character of Doctor Strange. I think a lot of people forget that Doctor Strange is an arrogant S.O.B. on par with the likes of Tony Stark and Doctor Doom. I mean this guy was a wealthy, neurosurgeon before the age of 30. Of course we all know the story of how he damaged the nerves in his hands ending his medical career which humbles him and how he redeems himself by learning the magic arts, but he never quits being totally arrogant. Timothy Olyphant would play this aspect of Stephen Strange in his sleep.
4. Multiple movies would not be a problem.
One of the problems Marvel has had so far is retaining an actor that can play Strange for multiple movies. Timothy Olyphant would be perfect for this purpose. He is a great actor who hasn’t really hit that next plateau that all actors want to achieve. He would sign up for multiples movies in a heartbeat and Marvel would have a guy who could carry it into the next phases with ease.
I hope that Marvel will reconsider its stance on Olyphant and give this role to a guy who is in reality a walking version of Stephen Strange on this real earth. Probably won’t come true, but who knows?
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