Leading up to the premiere of Doctor Strange this past fall, we were shown in the movie’s marketing that the primary antagonist of the film would be Kaecilius, a fallen Master of the Mystic arts.Because of that, it came as a surprise when long-time Doctor Strange nemesis Dormammu was the real big bad of the movie.
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While Benedict Cumberbatch ended up voicing Dormammu in addition to his a role as the movie’s titular character, it may not have originally started out that way.In an interview with CBR, veteran voice actor Tony Todd revealed he almost voiced the keeper of the Dark Dimension. According to Todd, the producers behind Doctor Strange invited him into a studio for a six-hour voiceover session for the part of Dormammu before ultimately deciding on going a different direction, which ended up seeing Cumberbatch voice the supervillain.
“I have to tell you about one recent disappointment. I almost did ‘Doctor Strange.’ I went in to do a session to play Dormammu. Benedict [Cumberbatch] had already recorded it but the producers wanted another voice just as an alternative,” Todd told CBR in a recent interview. “We did a six-hour session then two weeks before the movie came out they let me know that they went back to the original choice.”
Although Todd was understandably disappointed he didn’t come away with the final role, he says he understood and is using the process as a motivational tool for himself.
“I say this just to point out to everybody that you’ve got to roll and sway with all these punches and waves that come at you. Did I cry? No. I understood,” reflected Todd. “I was disappointed at the value that I lose — people going, ‘Dude, are you Dormammu?’ [Laughs] But there’ll be another Dormammu.”
Todd certainly isn’t a stranger to the superhero genre — most recently, he was the voice of Zoom on CW’s The Flash. In addition to his voice work as Zoom, he’s also voiced Darkseid on a few LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes animated shows as well as Icon on Young Justice.
Although he’s most known for his voiceover work, he has appeared as an actor in horror films such as Night of the Leaving Dead, Candyman, and Final Destination. He also appeared opposite of the late Christopher Reeve in a handful of TV films.
Doctor Strange will appear next in Thor: Ragnarok, and is also due to appear in Avengers: Infinity War, which began principal photography this week. Doctor Strange hits digital HD February 14, and DVD/Blu-ray on February 28.
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