Benedict Cumberbatch’s Best Quotes
Our very own benediction to The Cumberbatch
Rex FeaturesOn being criticised
"Someone will always hate what I say. There’s always going to be somebody spitting blood about my wooden-faced, toffee-named, crappy acting."
That won't be us though Benedict.
On keeping secrets about Star Trek/The Hobbit/the Sherlock cliffhanger:
“You could stick a knife in my thigh, and I wouldn’t tell you. [But] pull the hair on my head the wrong way, and I would be on my knees begging for mercy. I have very sensitive follicles.”
Don’t you just love a man who admits to having sensitive follicles?
PA PhotosOn being (and there’s no other way to say it) posh:
“Being a posh actor in England you cannot escape the class-typing from whatever side you look at it.”
PA PhotosAnd again:
“All the posh-bashing that goes on… It’s all so predictable. So domestic, so dumb. It makes me think I want to go to America*”
*Please don’t, Benedict!
Rex FeaturesOn the difficulties of his day job:
“Lines are very difficult to learn.”
Rex FeaturesOn his unusual name:
“Cumberbatch - it sounds like a fart in a bath, doesn't it? What a fluffy old name. I can never say it on a Monday morning. When I became an actor, Mum wasn't keen on me keeping it.”
WennOn being cast in War Horse:
“It's the standard actors' joke - 'What are you doing after this?' 'Oh, if Spielberg doesn't call then I'm going to go on holiday.' But a week after I'd said that, I got the call [from Spielberg] to say I had the job. It's one of those moments you never forget - I just fell off my chair. Which is not a good start to the horseriding.”
Rex FeaturesOn series two of Downton Abbey
“Downton traded a lot on the sentiment in the last series…but we won’t talk about that series because it was, in my opinion, f***ing atrocious.”
Getty ImagesOn Downton Abbey’s award success:
“I just looked at [the Golden Globe] and went: ‘Begone, woman. Bring it back when it says Sherlock Holmes or Steven Moffat or myself — someone else who’s more deserving than the second series of Downton Abbey*. ’”
*There goes our dream of a cameo then.
Rex FeaturesOn his upbringing:
“I wasn’t born into land or titles, or new money, or an oil rig.”
PA PhotosOn dating:
“I’ve punched well above my weight this year.”
PA PhotosOn the perils of fame:
"I'm still very sensitive and wary of people recognising me... The only thing that really annoys me is people trying to surreptitiously take a photo on their phone without asking. I feel it's cowardly and a bit pathetic. Just ask me if you really want me to have a photograph with you."
PA PhotosOn his gorgeous head:
“I dislike the size and shape of my head. I've been likened to Sid the Sloth from Ice Age…”
Benedict, you do yourself a disservice!
PA PhotosOn bulking up:
"I've gone up two suit sizes. The character I'm playing, he's strong, I can say that much. I've changed my physique a bit, so that requires eating like a foie gras goose, well beyond your appetite. Providing I don't feel too ill, I then work out two hours a day with a phenomenal trainer. It's the LA way."
BIG PicturesOn the polystyrene cup of coffee he has on-set:
“I try to get them to write ‘Sir Benedict’ on it. Occasionally they oblige.”
Getty ImagesOn his role in Tipping The Velvet
"I was the boy that turned a girlfriend into the most celebrated lesbian on television. I got so much stick for that."
Rex FeaturesOn winning an Actor of The Year Award
“This is amazing, thank you. It makes up for a blog I accidentally read last night that described me as “horse-faced, arse-named, wooden and untalented.” I can dispute the last two because you have honoured me with this, but the first two? Yeah: I am horse-faced and arse-named, but there you go - it’s what I was born with.”
PA PhotosOn dieting for Third Star
“I ate healthily, but there was no snacking, no drinking, no bread, no sugar, no smoking. Afterwards I had a pork belly roast.”
Rex FeaturesOn who he would want to meet in the world dead & alive & what he would say to them:
“Hitler. I'd tell him his paintings were great and to stay off the politics and get laid. Alive... The mother of my children and I'd ask them to take a deep breath and if they fancied a drink*”.
*Did our hearts just miss a beat?
Rex FeaturesOn his popularity:
“I am very flattered. I have also become a verb as in I have cumberbatched the UK audience apparently. Who knows, by the end of the year I might become a swear word too! It’s crazy and fun and very flattering.”
PA PhotosOn theatre:
“One interviewer asked me if I was worried about being trapped in the theatre. I said, ‘It’s the best place to be.’ I know it sounds wanky, but as an actor the more I do it the more I need to do it.”
FlynetOn criticisms of selling out:
“[There has been] a huge blogging response to me selling out to Hollywood and dating a model and become a walking cliché. That was nice.”
