<Li> Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery : A British actor with substance - abuse problems whom Killian hired to portray the Mandarin , a terrorist persona in jammed television broadcasts , in which he is depicted as the leader of the international terrorist organization the Ten Rings . Kingsley was filming Ender 's Game when he was cast , and said that , `` Quite soon I 'll be with everybody and we 'll be discussing the look and the feel and the direction of the character . It 's very early days yet , but I 'm so thrilled to be on board . '' On his performance , Kingsley stated : `` I wanted a voice that would disconcert a Western audience . I wanted a voice that would sound far more homegrown and familiar -- a familiarity like a teacher 's voice or a preacher 's voice . The rhythms and tones of an earnest , almost benign , teacher -- trying to educate people for their own good . '' The Mandarin was initially set to appear in the first Iron Man film , but he was put off for a sequel as the filmmakers felt that he was `` too ambitious for a first ( film ) . '' On the character , Feige stated , `` The Mandarin is ( Iron Man 's ) most famous foe in the comics mainly because he 's been around the longest . If you look , there 's not necessarily a definitive Mandarin storyline in the comics . So it was really about having an idea . '' Shane Black explains that Ben Kingsley 's Mandarin is not Chinese in the film as he is in the comics in order to avoid the Fu Manchu stereotype : `` We 're not saying he 's Chinese , we 're saying he , in fact , draws a cloak around him of Chinese symbols and dragons because it represents his obsessions with Sun Tzu in various ancient arts of warfare that he studied . '' The filmmakers also cited Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now as an influence for the character . The videos where the Mandarin gives historical background to the attacks expressed how it emerged as the product of `` a think tank of people trying to create a modern terrorist . '' Thus the Mandarin `` represents every terrorist in a way , '' from South American insurgency tactics to the videos of Osama bin Laden . </Li>
<Li> Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery : A British actor with substance - abuse problems whom Killian hired to portray the Mandarin , a terrorist persona in jammed television broadcasts , in which he is depicted as the leader of the international terrorist organization the Ten Rings . Kingsley was filming Ender 's Game when he was cast , and said that , `` Quite soon I 'll be with everybody and we 'll be discussing the look and the feel and the direction of the character . It 's very early days yet , but I 'm so thrilled to be on board . '' On his performance , Kingsley stated : `` I wanted a voice that would disconcert a Western audience . I wanted a voice that would sound far more homegrown and familiar -- a familiarity like a teacher 's voice or a preacher 's voice . The rhythms and tones of an earnest , almost benign , teacher -- trying to educate people for their own good . '' The Mandarin was initially set to appear in the first Iron Man film , but he was put off for a sequel as the filmmakers felt that he was `` too ambitious for a first ( film ) . '' On the character , Feige stated , `` The Mandarin is ( Iron Man 's ) most famous foe in the comics mainly because he 's been around the longest . If you look , there 's not necessarily a definitive Mandarin storyline in the comics . So it was really about having an idea . '' Shane Black explains that Ben Kingsley 's Mandarin is not Chinese in the film as he is in the comics in order to avoid the Fu Manchu stereotype : `` We 're not saying he 's Chinese , we 're saying he , in fact , draws a cloak around him of Chinese symbols and dragons because it represents his obsessions with Sun Tzu in various ancient arts of warfare that he studied . '' The filmmakers also cited Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now as an influence for the character . The videos where the Mandarin gives historical background to the attacks expressed how it emerged as the product of `` a think tank of people trying to create a modern terrorist . '' Thus the Mandarin `` represents every terrorist in a way , '' from South American insurgency tactics to the videos of Osama bin Laden . </Li>
who played the mandarin in iron man 3
who played the mandarin in iron man 3
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley