Benedict Cumberbatch surprises fans, plays his own nemesis in Dr. Strange

Mumbai: In addition to playing the role of Dr. Stephen Strange in his recently released movie, Benedict Cumberbatch also plays 'Dormammu' the perennial foe of the arrogant surgeon.

Unbeknown to many of the fans who flocked to see 'Doctor Strange' after it opened in the UK last night, Cumberbatch also had another 'secret' role in the movie, as evil cosmic entity Dormammu, reports the Telegraph.

At one point in the film, Dormammu materialises as a giant humanoid face - and the 40-year-old actor supplied the facial motion capture needed for this scene.

Director Scott Derrickson, in an interview, said, "We knew [Dormmamu] was an all CG character, but as we were in production Benedict brought it up as an idea. He said, 'What would you think about me doing it?' I said, 'Let me think about it, you know.'"

According to Derrickson , the casting decision also helped adding an interesting edge to the scene by creating a symbolic connection between Strange and the monstrous, world-devouring Dormammu.

"The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. Because no one understood Dormammu better than Benedict did. I also wrote that role to be a kind of ultra-inflated version of Strange," the director shared, adding, "There's something about that worked well, and I didn't think anybody [could interact better] with Benedict than he, himself."

In the particular scene, Strange manages to trick his adversary, manipulating time to trap them both in a never-ending loop- Dormammu is given a choice to either leave the Earth alone or endlessly live out the same few seconds again and again.

Based on the Marvel character by the same name, ' Doctor Strange' follows an adventure of a former neurosurgeon who learns the mystic arts from the 'Ancient One' after a career-ending car accident.

The movie releases in India on November 4.