That said, Cumberbatch practices Buddhist meditation and has a surprisingly optimistic outlook on life.
If you are searching for happiness, you are not happy."
“I had a problem focusing [at school].
“I was petrified by the idea of what other people thought of me.”
Before they knew it, six people with guns emerged and frisked Cumberbatch’s group.
“At that point, this adrenaline of fight or flight just exploded in my body.
I was like, ‘Oh f***, we’re f***ed!'”
Cumberbatch and his friends were then bound and taken into a car.
The actor was even put into the trunk when he complained about how tight his binds were.
“I was scared, really scared,” he shared.
“I said: ‘What are you going to do with us?
Are you going to kill us?'”
Their relationship ended, and it was rumored that Poulet was the instigator of the breakup.
Fortunately, a few years after their split, both Poulet and Cumberbatch found their other halves.
And this time, it seemed to be the real deal.
“The minute you have kids this sense of time sinks in far more profoundly,” he said.
It’s gone so fast.”
The actor addressed these theories in a September 2014 interview withMetro.
“Sherlock is a sociopathic show-off, and Alan was anything but that,” Cumberbatch said.
“I don’t think he was on the spectrum.
I think a lot of people are very lazy with that.”
He went on to suggest that it’s “dangerous” to make such assertions about his characters.
But I don’t go into a job going, ‘Is this autism?'"
“I’ve met people with those conditions.
It’s a real struggle all the time.”
“Everything was just about bodily functions.
S***ting,” he said.
Oftentimes, though, the physical toll of these changes can be felt by the actor.
He utilized diet and exercise, and strived to transform in the healthiest way possible.
However, in speaking withCinemaBlendin March 2021, Cumberbatch revealed how difficult he found the process.
“It’s horrible.”
And it wasn’t just fat loss, Cumberbatch said, but muscle.
“You get very disoriented, you feel dehydrated, you feel hungry all the time.
You feel emotionally and physically very vulnerable,” he remarked.
While he used these uncomfortable feelings to play his character well, it was far from an easy feat.
“Cumberbatch does a magnificent job at grasping this portrayal,” critic Josh Parham ofNext Best Pictureshared.
There was literally nowhere else in the road to go."
Lawrence was struck on his arm by the mirror, which his friend claimed caused a gruesome injury.
In response, Lawrence slapped the actor across the face.
It was only after Cumberbatch took off his hat that Lawrence realized who he’d just assaulted.
“Scooby said he nearly had a heart attack,” his friend continued.
Cumberbatch also declined to press charges on Lawrence for the assault.
“I wanted that layer of stink on me.
I wanted people in the room to know what I smelt like,” he said.
“That was really hard,” Cumberbatch remarked.
“Filterless rollies, just take after take after take.
I gave myself nicotine poisoning three times.”
Again, Cumberbatch’s dedication to his role was worthwhile, as the film received rave reviews.
“She died of cancer,” the “1917” star told theDaily Mailat the time.
“She’d been battling it for seven years.”
Peacock was just 62 when she died, and was survived by her husband and daughter.
“She was nothing to do with this world.
She was markedly different,” he shared.
“She would have loved this.
I’m sure you are.”
But, he’s also delved into more artistic roles that explored themes like mental illness.
“I really miss him,” Cumberbatch toldThe I Paperin December 2021 while reflecting on playing Wain.
The film was met with mixed criticism on how Wain’s mental health was portrayed.
That said, “it backfired a little bit,” Cumberbatch concluded.
Nearly a decade on, this role still haunts the “Sherlock” star.
In speaking withVarietyin January 2025, Cumberbatch was again asked about his part in “Zoolander 2.”
