Trevor Slattery

Trevor Slattery
Marvel Cinematic Universe character
Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, in-character as the Mandarin, in promotional material for Iron Man 3. The reveal that Kingsley was playing Slattery, not the Mandarin, in the film received both fan backlash and critical praise.
First appearance	Iron Man 3
Created by	Drew Pearce Shane Black
Portrayed by	Ben Kingsley
Information
Occupation	Actor
Nationality	English

Trevor Slattery is a character portrayed by Ben Kingsley in the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). An actor hired to portray the legendary terrorist the Mandarin, he first appeared in the 2013 film Iron Man 3. General response to the character was mixed, with many comic fans criticizing the character and how his reveal affected the film's Mandarin portrayal, while others defended the twist as "brilliant" and "satisfying", noting its social commentary and how it avoided the racist caricature of the comics' Mandarin. Kingsley reprised the role in All Hail the King, a 2014 Marvel One-Shot short film also set in the MCU.

Slattery is a washed-up, drug-addicted actor hired by Aldrich Killian and the think tank Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) to portray the Mandarin, a persona influenced by many modern terrorists and named after a supposed legendary Chinese title. Slattery stars in propaganda videos that are broadcast to the world as a cover for AIM's explosive Extremis experiments. Slattery lives oblivious to the true meaning of his actions, surrounded by wealth and drugs provided by AIM, until he is discovered by Tony Stark. Slattery is arrested following Stark's defeat of Killian.

In Seagate Prison, Slattery lives luxuriously, with his own personal "butler" and adoring fans among the other inmates, until he is broken out by Jackson Norriss, a Ten Rings terrorist posing as a documentary filmmaker, who explains that the real Mandarin is angered with Slattery's use of the title, and wishes to see him.

While writing the screenplay for Iron Man 3, Shane Black and Drew Pearce wanted to thematically reflect "the idea for Tony [Stark] of false faces and the idea of the dual personality of Tony as an out superhero who is basically using his self-definition through the false face of Iron Man." Pearce pitched, "what if the Mandarin is an actor?" to Black, and the character was developed from there.Ben Kingsley entered negotiations for the role in April 2012, and had joined the cast of Iron Man 3 by September, when he stated, "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."