ACTORS assemble!

Stars YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II and SIR BEN KINGSLEY on joining forces in the Marvel universe for a satire set in Hollywood

- WORDS: REBECCA MAHONEY

WONDER MAN

NEW FROM WED 28 JANUARY, DISNEY+ SUPERHERO DRAMA

Scooping the Best Actor Oscar for 1982 biopic Gandhi and terrifying audiences as a volatile gangster in 2001 crime story Sexy Beast may have cemented his stardom, but there's one character that holds a uniquely cherished position in Sir Ben Kingsley's heart.

'I'm very fond of Trevor Slattery,' smiles the British acting legend, who is delighted to again be playing the Marvel Liverpudlian luvvie – first introduced in 2013 blockbuster Iron Man 3-in new Disney+ action comedy drama Wonder Man.

Blending heroics with satire, the eight-episode adventure finds bumbling has-been Trevor back in Hollywood, where he's itching to reclaim the spotlight when he crosses paths with day-jobbing thespian Simon Williams (American actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, star of DC Comics' film franchise Aquaman and sci-fi series Watchmen).

But when Trevor tells Simon about a remake of superhero movie Wonder Man and schools him for an audition, can Simon keep his own extraordinary powers under wraps?

Westworld's Ed Harris plays Simon's agent, Neal Saroyan, while Arian Moayed returns to his Spider-Man: No Way Home role as Agent P Cleary from the Department of Damage Control. Here, in an exclusive interview, Ben, 82, and Yahya, 39, tell TV Times why these are the roles of a lifetime...

Where do we find Trevor and Simon as the series starts?