It is still unclear at this time what Marvel Studios actually wants with Theroux (screenplay or actor... or both), though speculation by fans has mostly been geared towards sizing him up for the role of Stephen Strange itself. Talks of his resemblance to the character, his acting skill, his personality, and other qualities important to portraying a superhero have been spread like wildfire in the short time that this rumor has surfaced.
Well, as a devout Doctor Strange follower, I'm here to put my two cents in, as well.
The Look
In all honesty, the Doctor Strange "look" really isn't that difficult to nail. Plenty of suggestions from Johnny Depp to Patrick Dempsey have been bounced around, and they all, more or less, fit the bill quite well. Doctor Strange is an attractive Caucasian male in his early forties. Theroux, who is forty-one, is pretty much that. Throw in a nicely trimmed beard, and the man's got the look down pretty well. No complaints here.
The Acting
Honestly, clips of Justin Theroux acting on the internet are few and far between. That being said, the clips I did find point towards some pretty good work. The above is a compilation of scenes he did in the 2000 film American Psycho. Arrogance is certainly something that I see in this particular role and is something that Stephen Strange does exude many times, especially in his former life as a big-time neurosurgeon. Still, without any substantial material to really judge him on, I'm going to raise an eyebrow on the acting bit. But, who knows? We've seen obscure actors and actresses "wow" us in the past countless times. Who's to say that Theroux won't blow our minds, too?
The "Other Stuff"
But, seriously, Theroux seems like an all-around decent guy. He's been dating Jennifer Aniston for almost two years now, and the two were recently engaged. I'll give him some credit for being in a celebrity relationship that long.
On top of that, as previously mentioned, the guy has prior experience working in the comic book movie world. As the script writer for Iron Man 2, Theroux not only has worked with Marvel Studios before, but he's also delved personally into the inner-workings of a superhero. Theroux has also dipped his feet into comic book writing also, having worked on Iron Man: Public Identity, which was set after the first Iron Man film and before the second.
He also mentioned briefly a love for comic books as a young child in the Iron Man 2 interview below:
All in all, I think I can say, for now, that I would be pretty happy with Justin Theroux battling the likes of Dormammu in a Doctor Strange film. The guy seems like he could slip into Strange's tights quite nicely.
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