Paul Bettany stars in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Wandavision" as the android superhero Vision.
After giving voice to the artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. of Tony Stark for several films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this was a role that he did not expect to play at all.
"I had just had a meeting with a producer, who will remain anonymous, and he told me my career was over. He said 'You're done, you're done in this town,'" Bettany told the Magazine.
Insider spoke to Bettany about how he landed the role of Vision in 2015 during the "Avengers: Age of Ultron" press event.
"I went out to Hollywood and I sat on the sidewalk with my feet in the gutter and I thought 'B — mother," Bettany recalled after the meeting with the producer ended badly.
But then fate intervened for the 47-year-old actor.
"My phone rang and it was ['Age of Ultron' director] Joss Whedon and he said, 'Do you want to play Vision in the next 'Avengers' movie?" Bettany said.
He said yes.
"I looked up at the sky and I thought karma is so fast these days ... and I turned to the building behind me and gave it an obscene wave," Bettany said. «It happened like this. I sat up and my phone rang. Very funny. But if I had a dollar for every time someone told me my career was over, I could finish it."
In "Infinity War," Thanos (Josh Brolin) collects all six Infinity Stones to wipe out half the life in the universe. Unfortunately, the location of one of those stones was in Vision's head, keeping him going. At the end of the movie, Thanos ripped the stone from Vision's head.
Despite his death in "Infinity War", Vision returns as the protagonist of the series "WandaVision" along with Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch.
Bettany also has the honor of being one of the few actors to play two characters in Marvel movies. He joins Chris Evans (Human Torch/Captain America), Peter Dinklage (X-Men Bolivar Trask and an "Infinity War" character), and actor Josh Brolin,, who plays the villain not only in "Infinity War," but also in the antihero Cable in "Deadpool 2" too.
