# Roles/characters actors should have taken but it didnt happen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [September 2, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829 "2022-09-02T18:18:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/21 "2022-09-04T17:44:17Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I’m not sure there was an intentional resemblance to Vincent Price especially if the source for that is a notorious confabulist like Stan Lee. It’s pretty well-known. > **[Did You Know Vincent Price Inspired the Look of Doctor Strange?](https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3413716/know-vincent-price-inspired-look-doctor-strange/)** > > Today, he dominates the box office. 53 years ago, he was born. Sinister director Scott Derrickson has a massive hit on his hands with Doctor Strange, easily the most wonderfully weird movie that Marvel has released to date. Like Guardians of the... > Doctor Stephen Strange, who first appeared in July 1963’s Issue #110 of _Strange Tales_ , was created by artist Steve Ditko, and among the principal inspirations for Marvel’s mystical superhero was Chandu the Magician. Another inspiration? Legendary horror icon Vincent Price, who played a powerful sorcerer in a film (_The Raven_ ) released the same year as Strange’s arrival! > > Yes, the character was originally drawn up to look quite a bit like Price, and Strange’s middle name even paid tribute to the horror master. His full name? Stephen Vincent Strange, of course! > > Vincent Price himself had a little fun with the Doctor Strange connection years later by voicing the character Vincent Van Ghoul in the animated series “The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo.” Like Strange, Van Ghoul has black hair with prominent streaks of grey on each side of his head, and in addition to dressing much like Strange, he even possesses magical abilities. > **[The Comic Book Character Inspired By Vincent Price - Grunge](https://www.grunge.com/436680/the-comic-book-character-inspired-by-vincent-price/)** > > Vincent Price's career spanned more than six decades, and he appeared in countless films, including those outside the horror realm. > In January 1963, months before Doctor Strange’s debut, Vincent Price starred in a horror-comedy movie titled “The Raven.” In it, Price played the role of Dr. Erasmus Craven, a sorcerer who retires after losing his wife Lenore. Vincent Price’s portrayal of a sorcerer may have been what inspired character artist Steve Ditko to model Doctor Strange’s appearance after the actor. According to Goliath, Ditko even gave a tribute to Price through Doctor Strange’s full name, which is Stephen Vincent Strange. In talking about Doctor Strange over the years, Stan Lee even acknowledged the character’s similarity to Vincent Price. They almost put a tribute to Price in the second Dr. Strange film. > **['Doctor Strange 2' alt ending featured Vincent Price's iconic laugh](https://entertainment.ie/amp/movies/movie-news/doctor-strange-vincent-price-ending-530693/)** > > It turns out that no, the original ending to 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' wasn't as rose-scented as we saw on our screens this summer - in fact... ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/22 "2022-09-04T17:45:24Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > You say this like its a bad thing. It is a bad thing ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/23 "2022-09-04T19:12:38Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It’s pretty well-known. Repeat anything enough times and, sure… I’ve read those books, and until about 1964, Ditko clearly intended the character to be Asian. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/24 "2022-09-04T19:21:40Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I’ve read those books, and until about 1964, Ditko clearly intended the character to be Asian. That can be your opinion but it contradicts what is established in history. Frankly I don’t see it, and I’ve read all those old comics. (Doc is one of my two favorite superheroes.) Also, come on… “Doctor Stephen Strange” was intended to be Asian? Really?! You think that’s the angle Marvel was taking? Especially in the 60s, his name would be “Doctor Ling Wu” or something else clearly Asian. They weren’t exactly subtle about that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/25 "2022-09-04T19:29:32Z")
Although it was Ditko who designed the character and plotted the stories, it was Stan Lee who wrote the text. For all Ditko knew, Doctor Strange was just another superhero alias (that conveniently tied into the title of the comic book.) Show me an editor’s note telling Ditko to make the character look like Vincent Price and I’ll buy it…but then wonder why Ditko drew him with Asian features. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/26 "2022-09-04T19:31:40Z")
In the earliest comics, Strange does have “Asian” eyes, and an elaborate “Fu Manchu” mustache. But the rest of his facial features could easily be modeled on Vincent Price. Steve Ditko was never known for photorealism in his artwork, so I don’t think anyone can be precise about what he intended. Given the popularity of Yellowface in the entertainment industry in those days, I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/27 "2022-09-04T19:35:44Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Show me an editor’s note telling Ditko to make the character look like Vincent Price and I’ll buy it… Look, whatever is in your headcanon is cool. You’re entitled to your opinions. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/28 "2022-09-04T19:44:16Z")
“Hey, Stan! I have a great idea for that new character! Let’s take Vincent Price, and make him Tibetan! Wouldn’t that be cool?” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/29 "2022-09-04T19:59:55Z")
To late to edit my last reply. One last thing about his name and then I’ll drop it. I skimmed the Doctor’s first appearance and he isn’t given a first name. Like his Caucasian features, his full name came later. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/30 "2022-09-04T20:18:35Z")
Here’s Strange’s first appearance. Definitely exotic, if not easily defined. [https://s2982.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/doctor-strange-st-110-3.jpg.webp](https://s2982.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/doctor-strange-st-110-3.jpg.webp) ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/31 "2022-09-04T21:05:36Z")
Strange also seems to have been influenced by Ronald Colman in Lost Horizon. Here’s Colman in oriental dress, interacting with a Tibetan High Lama/Ancient One/Master. [![](https://resizing.flixster.com/6nzJgkNoGE9mJ8294mW5GrpKkoo=/300x300/v2/https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/15622_af.jpg) ](https://resizing.flixster.com/6nzJgkNoGE9mJ8294mW5GrpKkoo=/300x300/v2/https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/15622_af.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829/32 "2022-09-04T21:29:25Z")
Also, CHANDU! [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ZZEAAOSw3L1fopGt/s-l400.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ZZEAAOSw3L1fopGt/s-l400.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-characters-actors-should-have-taken-but-it-didnt-happen/970829.md?page=1)