How Ben Kingsley Took Trevor Slattery from ‘Iron Man 3’ Villain to ‘Wonder Man’ Star

Ben Kingsley never expected Trevor Slattery to endure — let alone to someday star in his own Marvel Television series.

The Academy Award winner first joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2013’s Iron Man 3, starring as the down-on-his-luck actor Trevor (who poses as the terrorist leader known as the Mandarin). Kingsley later reprised the role in the 2014 Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King and the 2021 film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Now, Trevor is stepping back into the spotlight, this time headlining the new Marvel Television series Wonder Man (premiering January 27 on Disney+).

“There are not many beloved characters one can have an opportunity of revisiting so many times,” Kingsley tells Marvel.com. “Trevor Slattery now has his own franchise, which is very bizarre! I don’t think he would have ever believed that as a struggling actor on stage in Liverpool!”

Created by Andrew Guest and Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton, Wonder Man follows Trevor as he returns to Hollywood and strikes up an unlikely friendship with Simon Williams, an aspiring actor played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Together, the two thespians find themselves bonding over their shared love of the craft, as they both pursue life-changing roles in a remake of the 1980s movie Wonder Man. 

The show’s emotional heart is the odd-couple relationship between Simon and Trevor: Both are at wildly different points in their careers, as Simon is eager to land his big break and Trevor wonders whether his glory days have already passed him by. But there’s a genuine warmth to their friendship, something that Kingsley says has always been a part of Trevor’s DNA.

“Trevor is, at his heart, a kind person,” Kingsley explains. “In the biblical sense, he has fallen amongst thieves, but he has made an attempt to restore himself and also made a concerted effort to be the actor his mother always dreamed he would become. There is a lasting bond between Trevor and his late mother, and it is that ambition that drives him to justify himself in her eyes, even though she may be in heaven.”

That ambition is part of what leads Trevor to Simon — another young actor with shared dreams.

“That kindness and that sincere dedication to his craft makes him an ideal mentor to an actor of another generation who is struggling to be seen and heard, as Simon Williams is struggling to be seen and heard,” Kingsley continues. “Instead of bringing the accusatory of the envious or the diminishing out of Trevor, [Simon] brings something very kind. Trevor does openly and willingly volunteer to advise, guide, and help Simon. I think this is a very attractive quality, and I think that has a lot to do with the genuine relationship between those two characters. One has something to say, and the other is eager to listen.”

It’s a relationship that echoed off screen, too. Abdul-Mateen II remembers preparing to shoot one pivotal conversation between Trevor and Simon, and he found himself overthinking and obsessing over his performance. Kingsley offered him advice similar to what Trevor tells Simon in the series: Just breathe, and let the words flow through you. 

“The funny thing is that the lines blurred sometimes like that, where we would fall into our characters in a mentor-mentee type of way,” Abdul-Mateen II adds.

For Kingsley, getting to chart Trevor’s evolution from fake terrorist to penitent acting guru has been a welcome surprise — and one he certainly didn’t expect when he first signed on to Iron Man 3. He admits that he knew “very, very little about Marvel” when he first stepped on to that set, but he felt immediately at home, and he still remembers the warm greeting he received from Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, writer Drew Pearce, and director Shane Black. 

“My first impressions of Marvel are very fond and respectful, and that has absolutely continued over the years,” he says. “My experiences are that it is a company that cares greatly about storytelling, that really cherishes its actors and creative teams.” 

Kingsley pauses. “I sound like I’m auditioning,” he says with a laugh. “But it’s a great place for actors to work. Here ends my love letter to Marvel, but it’s from the heart!” 

Still, even though Kingsley had already starred in two Marvel films and a one-shot, the eight-episode Wonder Man brought new challenges. 

“A day of television is three times the workload of a day on a film,” he admits. “Honestly, it’s very hard work. Sorry, boys and girls, to upset you! I know it looks like a joy. And it is a joy, but guess what: Hard work can be joyful.” Spoken like a true master of acting. 

Wonder Man premieres on Disney+ on January 27, 2026.