Exclusive: Marvel star Benedict Wong on nearly quitting acting, going agent-free and championing rising actors

Well, this is it – this is what's fantastic. We're all going to be discussing this – we'll be holding our cigars saying: "Who's got the star quality?" – and there's a real great example of that. I watched Hamnet a few weeks back and it was the little kid, Jacobi Jupe, and within the first sort of 30 seconds, I was thinking: 'Hang on. Who is this kid?' It's just that moment that makes you sort of stand up and pay that extra attention. They hold the screen, they draw you in and you invest in them. And you want to go on a journey with them.

It's really wonderful that an industry here in England is so good at making all these amazing films – through cast, crew and directing – and that we get a chance to celebrate, elevate and uplift young actors. And also on a global stage, send out a message of who we think is the best of the crop. We should definitely also think about all those ones who are nominated, just to enjoy that moment as well – as they are all rising stars. It's always sad that we have to pick just one. But even just having that nod is a reassurance of: "Right, okay. We're on the right path."

Someone who's really impressed me is exactly who you've mentioned: David Jonsson. When I saw Rye Lane, that was it. That was my number one rom-com. It was authentic and again it just made me sit up and kind of go: "Who are these two actors?" One of those was David Jonsson and I've seen him in The Long Walk and Wasteman – everything that I see him in is just quality. It's wonderful, because it also creates a ripple effect – executive-producing helps draw in more stories and, hopefully, bring more work here to England. 

Do you know what, I was on the precipice of literally giving up acting after about 10 years. I think I'd had enough, and I was thrown a lifeline of the role of Guo Yi in Dirty Pretty Things with Stephen Frears. That's where I got nominated for a British Independent Film Award. So then I thought: "Okay, I'm on the right path. That's get back in."

I don't know, maybe a private detective or something!

Obviously there was Kublai Khan in Marco Polo and Wong in Marvel. The two plays I did were The Arrest of Ai Weiwei and Chimerica, which was quite a double bill for me. But it was pivotal in a way that it was 13 years ago that I actually became my own agent. It was one of those being left on the shelf stories and either you give up or you fight back – and that's what I did. I first started out in Manchester and I joined a cooperative for years, where actors are basically representing each other. There was about 20 of us and you do about two weeks in the office. So I was an agent representing these 20 actors kind of going: "Okay, I've got to take care of these actors."

Not now, no. It's difficult out there and there are many rungs of the ladder to climb – especially when you're starting out. It was a great experience and learning ground. I didn't go to drama school, so I just cut my teeth there and every failure was a learning curve. Just to throw it back to 13 years ago, I thought: "What do I do now?" And I realised I'd just represent myself. There's a Spotlight directory as well, so you'll get people reaching out to speak to you. So from that, I signed my own Marvel deal.

I have a wonderful lawyer! I keep sending him pictures of Robert Shaw and Roy Scheider from Jaws and I say: "That's me and you! With all the sharks circling around."

I'm enjoying the moment of everybody watching Weapons right now. I stopped watching horror ever since I saw Hellraiser because I got too many terrible nightmares from the Pinhead guy. But this script came along and there were great characters – and smatterings of horror, which I could just about deal with. But it's the communal experience that everyone's been having when going to watch together – and the screams and laughter. It was a bit terrifying for me because I remembered my scenes, but then I ended up forgetting everyone else's. So when I went to the premiere with a thousand people, I just kept jumping up and down – Alden Ehrenreich was trying to hold me down from behind. That's been a great one. 

Way back – it's like 30 years now – I have great memories of doing a stage version of Star Trek, where I played Mr Sulu. It was by Gene Roddenberry, who did Thunderbird's FAB. There was a show here in the West End and it was Gene's dream to put on a live stage show of the '60s version of Star Trek. They got all the rights and music and all the teleportation scenes were fantastic. They had Derek Meddings, the special effects designer behind Superman, who did the visual effects. It was really clever. Everyone would come in and stand on their marks in the teleportation area. Then Captain Kirk would give the command: "Mr Scott, energise!" Beams of light would shine on us, the surrounding lights would fade and everything would go pitch-black except for the shimmering effects. Then they'd change the scenery and it would all appear around us. It was great – this is where you start out, on the stage and that's always really close to me.

Keep going! I think it's the grit to get up and keep going. There were those two moments for me and I'm grateful for the people who gave me that nod – of giving me that kernel of hope to keep going.