{"id":692780,"date":"2026-07-15T10:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T10:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/692780\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T10:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T10:17:21","slug":"marvel-actor-benedict-wong-recalls-pub-lock-ins-and-sweeping-theatre-floors-as-he-credits-salford-for-hollywood-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/692780\/","title":{"rendered":"Marvel actor Benedict Wong recalls pub lock-ins and sweeping theatre floors as he credits Salford for Hollywood success"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘All the shiny things that you\u2019ve heard are standing on the foundations of where I grew up’\"Benedict<\/p>\n

Benedict Wong was awarded with a Honorary Doctorate at the University of Salford this week(Image: Nick Harrison)<\/p>\n

Hollywood actor Benedict Wong has been handed a prestigious Honorary Doctorate at the University of Salford.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Eccles<\/a>-born actor has appeared in movies like Sunshine and The Martian but he is perhaps best recognised for his role of Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has seen him appear in the likes of Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Avengers: Endgame.<\/p>\n

On Monday (July 13), the 55-year-old was awarded with an honorary Doctorate of Arts during a graduation ceremony at the university is in recognition of his achievements and efforts as an actor of international standing, a powerful creative voice and a true success story of the city of Salford<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click here <\/a>for the latest on Manchester’s food & drink scene, gigs and more in our CityLife newsletter<\/p>\n

Honorary Doctorate of Arts in recognition of his achievements and efforts as an actor of international standing. The former Performing Arts student at Salford City College has also performed at Shakespeare\u2019s Globe theatre under the guidance of Academy Award-winning actor Sir Mark Rylance, and also appeared as Zhang Lin in the five-time Olivier Award-winning play Chimerica.<\/p>\n

The actor said of the honour: \u201cIt\u2019s been over 30 years in this wonderful profession, and to be recognised by The University of Salford and in the City of Salford\u2019s centenary year makes this homecoming even sweeter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Benedict<\/p>\n

Benedict posed for photos after collecting the Doctorate(Image: COPYRIGHT NICK HARRISON)<\/p>\n

During the graduation ceremony at The Lowry theatre<\/a>, Wong took to the stage to accept the Doctorate and to provide some inspirational words of wisdom to the many graduates in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a 34-year overnight success and all the shiny things that you\u2019ve heard are standing on the foundations of where I grew up,\u201d he said of his emergence as an actor. He added: \u201cI didn\u2019t know I was going to be an actor, it was something I said quietly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offering some advice, he told the crowd: \u201cNever lose the sense of belief, you just need a kernel of it. That\u2019s all you need.\u201d He added: \u201cDo something every day that leads you to your dream until it\u2019s no longer a dream, until it\u2019s realised.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his speech, Wong also recalled \u2018lock-in\u2019s at the Black Horse\u2019 pub, his time at the university\u2019s Adelphi theatre, and his shifts ‘sweeping the floors and collecting the tickets\u2019 at the Green Room theatre, formerly on Whitworth Street West.<\/p>\n

\"Benedict<\/p>\n

Benedict Wong (right) in Avengers: Infinity War alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr, and Mark Ruffalo(Image: AP)<\/p>\n

He also gave a mention to the Arts Emergency fund, which are helping young actors \u2018get a good foot in the door\u2019, as well as thanking his friends, family and people he had come across throughout his career – including those at the Library Theatre, located in the basement of Manchester Central<\/a> Library until 2010, where he\u2019d \u2018be sneaked in to watch a show\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cManchester was always the foundation of my learning, really,\u201d he explained on stage. \u201cSadly, I couldn\u2019t get much work in Manchester so I had to go to London.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one last piece of sage advice, he told the crowd: \u201cTake those things that resonate with you, that\u2019s what I did in acting. You need grit, a lot of perseverance, dedication, hard-work, and a lot of sacrifice. I wish you all the best.” He added: \u201cSo, to all the students, I say on your marks, get set, go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Benedict<\/p>\n

Benedict said Manchester was ‘always the foundation of my learning'(Image: COPYRIGHT NICK HARRISON)<\/p>\n

Professor Nic Beech, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Salford, said: \u201cBenedict Wong has built a remarkable career across stage and screen with talent, integrity and quiet determination. From Shakespeare to science fiction, intimate character drama to global cinema, Benedict provides a strong sense of truth on every performance and his work is grounded in craft, humour and humanity.\u201cHe has represented Salford on the world stage and shown that local roots can support global reach. We are proud to recognise him today as an actor of international standing, a powerful creative voice and a true Salfordian success story.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘All the shiny things that you\u2019ve heard are standing on the foundations of where I grew up’ Benedict…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[18073,96,2332,2839,2447,214690,230582,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-692780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-eccles","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-movies","tag-salford","tag-salford-university","tag-the-lowry-theatre-and-arts-centre","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}