HOW BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH BECOME MARVEL'S STRANGEST SUPERHERO
Marvelâs Doctor Strange is an actor with a lot to say, but, as his off-screen life is transformed, the all-conquering Sherlock and Hamlet wants to take back control of the narrative.
When I meet Benedict Cumberbatch, he raises his arms in front of himself, a good few feet out, giving the unmistakable sign that what we are about to do is hug.
This is both worrying, as I hug like a panicked passenger executing a talk-down landing of a plane, and welcome. At least I have time to prepare.
We pat solidly on backs, ask how the other is, and generally inspect each other for damage. The hug isnât overly familiar, exactly: weâve met before, but no more than that, yet he greets me like a long-lost friend, which is perhaps one of the politest things you can do to someone who isnât.
Specifically, we met for the other time Cumberbatch featured on the cover of this magazine, a little more than three years ago, back when he was single, when he was about to appear in a third season of Sherlock (heâs now about to appear in a fourth), and had spent the year dividing his time between scene-stealing bit-parts in big films (the villain Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness; the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug) and lead roles in smaller ones (Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate; Alan Turing in The Imitation Game).
Weâve bumped into each other since, off and on - at a charity auction; at the 2014 GQ Men Of The Year awards, an event where he took to the stage less than sober (âIâm here with motor-drivers⊠motor-drivers? What century am I from? Someone auditioning for Downton Abbey or some such s***⊠Not thatDownton Abbey is s***!â); and, finally, at the afterparty, where I found him quizzing a sommelier in the way one might question a recently landed alien who could, say, smell headaches. Not just intense interest in the details, but a sort of semi-baffled glee that such a thing could exist in the first place. I think he was asking about a Shiraz.
In fact, if I had to pick, semi-baffled-glee-that-such-things-exist-in-the-first-place would probably be my takeaway character trait from that first encounter with Cumberbatch. It spanned three hours and saw him semi-baffled (with glee) at such things as: our burgers, the wine (of course), this magazine, coffee (flat whites, and just how do you make flat whites? And what makes a flat white not a flat white?), my bike, and everything in between.
It was pretty fun. Heâs earnest and enthusiastic and guileless in a way thatâs rare and refreshing. But I also understood Martin Freemanâs assertion that, âHeâs sweet and generous in an almost childlike way. I could take advantage of him playing cards.â
Most crucially, since we last met, heâs upgraded to playing big parts in big films - notably, the reason weâre here, which is his lead as Doctor Strange, the latest from the Marvel superhero factory, which to go by the trailer is Inception crossed with The Matrix and then some (âI would advise people not to take any drugs before watchingâ). He plays a surgeon who gains mystic powers, and itâs a role that could do for him what Iron Man did for Robert Downey Jr.
Put another way: if you thought Cumberbatch was famous before, just wait.
And yet, heâs a curious kind of famous. Or, rather, heâs all of the kinds.
Some actors are suburb-famous (these are either Hollywood megastars or in TV shows); some are award-famous (these are the ones who star in biopics and get earnestly interviewed by weekend supplements; they are often not actually famous); some are internet-famous (these are the ones who spawn memes and hashtags and Tumblr accounts and see devoted teenage fans guard them jealously from the rest of the internet). But itâs only Cumberbatch who is all of these, only he who lands the straight flush.
People love him more, but get infuriated with him more, too. Heâs a lightning rod, a meme generator, a conversation starter, a Rorschach test in human form.
Since we last met, heâs been nominated for an Oscar, for his standout role as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, but also had an otter named after him in a zoo (it was put to the public vote and the internet did what the internet does). Heâs starred inHamlet at the Barbican, in what was the most in-demand London theatre production in history (it sold out within minutes, a year in advance), but also had a fan-made play produced about him (Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die) in which a âsex-crazed celebrity obsessiveâ and a âsocially phobic fan-fiction writerâ get together and⊠letâs leave it there.
Just how many people, you have to ask yourself, have had life-size statues of themselves made out of both wax (Madame Tussauds), and chocolate? The latter was a stunt for UKTV; when it was put on display at a shopping centre, people starting eating him, which is a crude metaphor about fame if you want it.
We sit down in the garden of his local pub, just below Hampstead Heath in north London (itâs just past 9am, and it has opened especially for us), and I ask about a year in which heâs recently turned 40.
Did it affect him? No, he says, heâs not bothered by the number. Before, he admits, he might have been. He ignored his 30th birthday entirely - âYou know, for some reason, clinging on to the idea that I didnât want to be 30â - and used to obsess about having kids by 32 (that was when, he had decided, he would be a âfull adultâ). Now, not so much.
âI think I would have been bothered if it hadnât been for the more important things of my life. You know, the clock ticking over into another decade, maybe Iâd be going, âOh, Iâm missing something in my life. I should have done that by now.â But I feel so complete. I feel so lucky.â
And itâs true, he does look absurdly happy. Those important things in his life are his marriage, last year, to 38-year-old theatre director Sophie Hunter, and the birth of a son, Christopher, now one, not long after.
On the sunny summer morning we meet, heâs just come off 12 months working back to back, from Hamlet in London to Doctor Strange in LA to Sherlock in Wales. He only finished the last last night, and, in a few hoursâ time, heâs flying off to LA again for a final week of shooting Doctor Strange. But, after that, he says, heâs done. Heâs taking two months off. Heâs finally laying plans to move into the family house heâs bought, on a tree-lined road a few doors down from Ed Miliband in Dartmouth Park (âAs a neighbour, Iâll say helloâ), and which is currently being refurbished (âWe just havenât had the timeâ). Heâs planning, he says, on a big, belated party for his 40th, perhaps making up for the one he swerved a decade earlier.
âYou know, people joke with me that I never stop, and I really havenât this year. Itâs been insane. To the point where Iâve got a two-month break after this. And my smile just gets bigger and bigger.â
And, generally, things are going to change.
âI want to get to the stage where I do a couple of big projects, then Iâm taking a break, then maybe three or one, then another break. You know, other people are involved [now]. Sophie is working. And thereâs the kidâs education.â
Mostly, though, this means that the next Sherlock, the role that made him so Coca-Cola famous and such an opinion-piece generator in the first place, could be the last for some time.
Cumberbatch doesnât so much throw himself into each role as get sucked into them. Itâs a follow-through of his hyper-enthusiastic nature: not so much dedication as helplessness.
He had several questions, he says, for the director Scott Derrickson before he decided to take on the Doctor Strange role. Not least because, like every lead in the Marvel superhero stable, it requires him to sign up to the inevitable sequels and Avengerscrossover films (âHeâs coming into existence to bring lots of other things into existence in the Marvel Universe, and to forward the story of the Avengers, and then another film for himâŠâ).
Yet, when I ask what they discussed, it elicits an answer that runs to over 1,000 words - roughly four pages of a book - and takes in the following: occultism, origin stories, eastern mysticism meeting western logic, the word polaristic (âI donât even know if thatâs a wordâ), DNA, Cern, the standing of a neurosurgeon in the Seventies (âHe was the go-to guy for logicâ), the salary of a neurosurgeon in the Seventies, quantum mechanics, string theory, alternative universes (âOr multiple potential corresponding universes to our ownâ), the point at which science and belief meet (âWhere you have to take a leapâ), our understanding of the brain (âItâs still hugely uncharted territoryâ), our understanding of the Wand of Watoomb (donât ask), threats from other dimensions, threats from Isis, Charles Manson, Waco, cults in general, the humour in Marvel films, Iron Man (âRobert Downey Jr created the studio with that performanceâ), self-discovery, a car crash, special effects, and redemption⊠in general.
To which a cynic could add: and the paycheque too? But I think that would misunderstand Cumberbatch. He becomes - in the best possible way - a fanboy for everything he does. No wonder the internet loves him.
We meet when fanboy conspiracy theories are swirling that critics are being paid to write negative reviews of DC comic book films (Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad), and positive reviews of Marvel comic book films (everything else). Cumberbatch is happy to tease - âGuys, youâve hit the nail on the head. Look, can we just keep this machine oiled, please? Itâs true. People are paid to review films well. Thatâs exactly how it worksâ - but is at pains to point out that Comic-Con âwas just utter positivity, utter enjoyment⊠there is so much cynicism in the world.â
Itâs also no shock to me that when he speaks about going to the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (heâs a fan), he says: âIâve never been in a kind of punch-the-air atmosphere at the beginning of the film before. When those titles started it was⊠âYeah!ââ And he actually punches the air. They even gave him, he adds with trademark glee, a lightsaber.
And, as he adds of Doctor Strange: âWhen you get your complete ensemble on for the first time, and you see yourself in the mirror⊠you just get this ridiculous kidâs grin. Weâre still playing. Itâs a sandbox.â
The plot, as far as we know it, is this: Cumberbatch is Doctor Stephen Strange, the worldâs top neurosurgeon, whose career is over after a car accident crushes his hands, only to find himself (handily) recruited by the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), whoâs nice enough to teach him the mystic arts, and - whatcha know - along with a fellow sorcerer (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) battles an ancient evil (evil rarely being new).
It is, at an estimated $200 million budget, by far the biggest film heâs had on his shoulders.
âI guess when the film comes out Iâll be more concerned by it,â he says. âItâs best not to worry about that. Of course it affects your career, thatâs the reality of being a leading man. But Iâm sanguine about that, I really am. But youâre right, itâs a new level. Thereâs no denying that.â
His enthusiasm, though, can have side effects, notably an inability not to talk about the things he says he doesnât want to talk about, if he actually wants to talk about them.
This becomes clear early on, when he says he mustnât, under any circumstances, under pain of death, talk about his new family. He then, of course, proceeds to talk quite a lot about his new family.
Most topics, it turns out, lead to it: from his age (âThe only thing about age that hits home is that you are very aware of your own mortality. Itâs not about your life or ageing or anything like that, itâs actually about wanting to live long enough to be able to protect that childâ), to how sunny it is (âWith the baba, I smother him in factor 1,000, and he still gets a tanâ), to his up-at-4am workout routine to get ripped for Doctor Strange (âThat actually got me through being a first-time father. I say that as if I was always the one getting up. Sophie really was incredible during those first few monthsâ), to working long days on Sherlock(âGetting home to see your family becomes the main thing - Iâll do the overtime, but can I make bath time?â).
Itâs more than understandable. After all, take any new fatherâs unbridled joy, then times it by Cumberbatch, and itâs almost a surprise we talk about anything else.
And yet, as Cumberbatch would be the first to admit, it can land him in hot water, too.
Yes, he says, the night he was doing his customary donation request for Save The Children following a performance of Hamlet, he should not have ended said request with, âF*** the politicians!â
This, in turn, became a news story. In retrospect, he says, he was not surprised.
âIn retrospect, no, I wasnât. Of course I was going to be accused of being a hypocrite, but at the time I just thought, 'Weâre going to raise some money for Save The Children.ââ
Why a hypocrite? âBecause, culturally, youâre perceived as being white, male, upper-class, privilegedâŠâ
Isnât that reason to help?
âWell, thatâs what Iâve always thought! Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Exactly. I think the logic is I have to give away all my⊠I think if I was walking around in hessian pants, as scary as that would be, and I possessed no materialâŠâ
He starts again. âOne of the arguments was, when are you going to put a refugee in your house or your flat? And, you know, I do have a house, but itâs empty, itâs gutted, thereâs no electricity or water, so that wouldnât work, and I have a baby in my flat, there are no spare rooms.â
For my money, I donât think it was about class - at least, not as much as Cumberbatch thinks it was - or the fact Cumberbatch isnât running a north London refugee camp. It was far simpler, and therefore much more dumb: it was a famous person who swore. News story. Clicks. Comments.
Cumberbatch goes on to talk, for almost half an hour, sailing past several of my flailing attempts to interject, about his thoughts on the migrant crisis.
Theyâre not controversial views, but, for the record, hereâs a brief (ish) summary: heâs raised money in theatres all his life, and so this was nothing new. He wasnât forcing people, he was asking. He wasnât claiming to have a long-term solution, but proposing a band-aid. From now on, he plans to simply provide a platform for others to speak, rather than necessarily speaking himself. He plans, in his two months off, to see some of the charity work done on the ground. And, finally: âI wasnât saying, 'Yes, open the doors to everyone, yes, give them our jobs and our wives,â and that whole kind of stereotype fear that nationalism has leapt on.â
Finally, he slows and says: âGod knows⊠This isnât what weâre supposed to be talking about.â
I donât doubt his earnestness. And yet, the only thing I really want to know is this: he didnât swear every day, after his speech. So why that night?
âI think itâs because I got so riled up,â he says finally. âLike a lot of parents, over that summer⊠that picture of that boyâ - the three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, pictured drowned and washed up on a beach in Turkey - âa beach we can recognise from family photographs, from holidays that weâve all had ourselves⊠itâs not about privilege, itâs about a child dead on a beach because heâs tried to escape a warâ.
The fourth season of Sherlock, the show that made Cumberbatch so lightning-rod famous, and which starts at the end of the year, is set to be the last. At least, he adds, the last for quite some time.
âIt might be the end of an era. It feels like the end of an era, to be honest. It goes to a place where it will be pretty hard to follow on immediately.â
Still, heâs not ruling out a comeback - but one some years down the line.
âWe never say never on the show. Iâd love to revisit it, Iâd love to keep revisiting it, I stand by that, but in the immediate future we all have things that we want to crack on with and weâve made something very complete as it is, so I think weâll just wait and see. The idea of never playing him again is really galling.â
But, of course, it goes without saying, heâs a huge fan of the last series theyâve done.
âJust wait and see. Itâs wonderful, itâs very exciting. Itâs exceeded all kind of expectations for how we top what weâve done before, and itâs ramped up the whole thing. It just gets better and better and better.â
More than other series, he says, this one feels more like one story in three parts - with a villain who âcomes slamming into the centreâ by the end of the first episode, âand carries on into the second and resolves in the end. Itâs f***ing ridiculous, itâs so excitingâ.
It is, he says, âone of the best pieces of drama Iâve ever had to do, some of the best sequences Iâve ever had to shootâ.
Curiously, he says he never thought heâd even make a good Sherlock. Really?
âNo, I never thought Iâd make a good Sherlock. That wasnât my idea, you know what I mean? Maybe I was a bit lazy about that.â
One of the takeaways from filming in Wales, he says, was to be there at the time of the Brexit vote. It upsets him still.
âI was in Wales when it happened. And there is such poverty in Wales. There are real problems. Real problems. You know, we used to film in Merthyr Tydfil, one of the most impoverished places in that country, and of course people are angry. Of course people want change. What people are f***ed off about is that they were promised change that wonât happen.â
Cumberbatch put his name to a list of 250 people in the arts - including the likes of Danny Boyle and John le Carré - that backed remaining in the EU. And, lightning rod as ever, it was front page news⊠that he and Keira Knightley had signed it.
âI mean, come on, look at the other names on that list. Itâs so lazy, isnât it? Itâs just who gets the most clickbait. I find it frustrating, because I do have very strong opinions about things, and I do want to say things that matter, and that are important, and I have to wrench myself back. Because itâs so easily framed by the right as 'Booo, whoâs he? Heâs a hypocrite, heâs an actor, heâs paid shit-tonnes of money, who is he to tell us how to live our lives?ââ
He mentions this more than once, so to reiterate: Benedict Cumberbatch is not telling you how to live your life.
âI mean, even the ones you donât agree with, theyâre smart as hell, Farage is an amazing politician, regardless of what he says. Look at the success heâs had. It terrifies me.â
He takes a call on his mobile from Sophie - announcing this in one of the many pitch-perfect impressions that he peppers our conversation with, in this case itâs Borat and, âItâs my wife!â - and when he hangs up itâs like heâs been told off.
âOh my God, Iâve talked about politics and family, the two things that were completely off the table!â He almost mutters to himself: âCompletely off the tableâŠ
âItâs just a weird balance between just wanting to f***ing be yourself and thinking, 'To hell with it, this is who I am, this is what I think.â And another part of you going, there has to be a certain amount that you hold back on.â
I say I donât really think heâs said anything particularly controversial. But then again, with him, it probably doesnât matter. Everything he says seems to be a story.
âThis whole thing with interviews, itâs about context,â he says. âThis conversation, itâs so easy for anyone to tabloid it. And then it becomes a point of view without context, without nuance. Itâs all about narrative, as we know in this post-factual time.â
Which, I realise, is the point behind everything weâve discussed: from Syrian refugees to Brexit to how the papers write about him. Itâs the story thatâs being told.
âPeople can - by the lies going on in this political world at the moment - be turned into scapegoats. An entire people. Itâs genuinely frightening times, because the parallels, the echoes, in history are so strong. Weâre reaching that stage where people forget about the genocide and destruction of the Second World War. Weâre moving about the generation that survived that. And thereâs a cycle in history, and weâre going into that cycle, and thatâs really frightening.â
And so, thatâs the reason weâre still talking about it, despite him not wanting to, because actually, he really does want to talk about it.
As he says, finally: âYou have to stand tall to your critics a little bit at that time.â
Itâs a curious thing to be too famous, but, in many ways, Benedict Cumberbatch just might be it. Accumulating fame is like accumulating gold: it starts as a currency but it ends as a weight. Heâs too famous, clearly, to have anything but the most vanilla of opinions about the world around us, less he spawn some form of backlash, and the inevitable backlash to that.
Heâs too famous, probably, for the likes of Bond now, though I imagine being out of bookiesâ list for that - and the constant questioning it brings - must be a blessed relief.
âHaha, well, I think people are obsessed with other people being Bond at the moment, so the heatâs off me.â
When he played Hamlet, such was the hysteria and the hype, the Times snuck a reviewer in for the first preview, in flagrant disregard for theatre-reviewing etiquette that says you wait until opening night, as until then itâs still considered a work in progress (the initial iteration opened with the famous âTo be or not to beâ soliloquy, but it was later moved back).
âIt was disgraceful,â says Cumberbatch. âLiterally, she came in with her knives sharpened. Apparently she tweeted the week before that she couldnât stand the idea of having to see this pile of shit⊠not pile of shit, but the fact she thought people would be dressed up as Sherlock and screaming Cumberbitches. She was already⊠you know, like that before the curtain went up, on the first preview, and then she reviewed it⊠â
Before we go, we talk briefly about how, now, he tries to keep a semblance of a normal life. He says some days heâs really recognisable, some days not so much, âbut I canât go through my daily life in public without being recognised at some point. Or at every point, sometimesâ.
And yet, heâll make sure he still takes his son to the swings and slides, because what else can one do? âBuild your own playground? And I donât ever want to do that, itâs a way to have a screwed-up kid, without a shadow of a doubt.â
But something else stayed with me. He mentioned an experience of being at a celebrity event - in fact, âI think it was one of your dosâ - and, as he was about to leave, Matt Smith was just in front of him, and so all the press followed Smith instead, leaving him blissfully alone.
âIt was excellent. It was the perfect decoy. It was like, f***ing hell, thatâs the storm cloud that normally follows me. I wear that lightly some days. And some days itâs a bit harder. Because,â he adds, âitâs not about me any more.â
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