My name is Rene Rosa and I’m one of the managers over at JHU Comic
Books in Manhattan. I’ve had my fair share of cool run-ins, celebrity
encounters and fanboy dream moments, but nothing prepared me for what
happened on April 4th, 2016.
Dr. Strange was filming on 32nd street, just mere feet away from our
store’s door, and as I was working, my friend Z. Lee came by. (He’s the
one that took the pictures you’ve been seeing all over the net.“)
Well, during the day, the crew came in to check out the place because
they were shocked to see a comic book store where they were filming. The
bulk of the crew is based out of the UK and there are very few comic
book stores there. They apologized a bunch of times about how the street
was going to be mostly closed down for the bulk of the day for shooting
and many of them came in to buy stuff. Seriously, these guys were
incredibly nice and considerate. Then, at one point, one of the
producers joked about how great it would be to have Benedict come into
the store in costume. Of course, I didn’t know he was one of the
producers, at the time. I told him that if he did, I would lose my damn
mind.
Photo By: Rene Rosa
It started to get really cold so many more of them started coming in and
I told the PA that if ANYONE on the crew needed to use the bathroom,
our door was open to them. A couple of hours later and in walks Dr.
Strange.
Everyone there was excited, laughing and couldn’t believe it. Benedict
Cumberbatch was incredibly nice, gracious and he and I went back and
forth with some banter for a little bit before he had to go right back
out and shoot more scenes. He didn’t have time to do much more than
shake hands, talk and take a few pictures, but we totally understood
that and were lucky just to have him in! Z. decided a comparison picture
was in order and handed him “The Oath.” I was able to get my picture
with him and then he had to go. The whole thing lasted no more than a
few minutes, but luckily we were able to get some pictures of it and the
very few of us that were there have some unforgettable memories.
Photo By: Z. Lee
I don’t usually get star-struck, but it’s a different situation when one
of the best actors of our time is standing before you in full costume,
in your store, while filming the big-budget movie of a character you’ve
loved since you were a small child. I felt like a 5 year-old.
