Benedict Cumberbatch explains how a near-death experience changed his outlook on life
3 min read
Benedict Cumberbatch shared that he was kidnapped in South Africa while filming in 2004, an experience that shifted his outlook on life, making him value time and embrace risks. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP)
Benedict Cumberbatch is known for his roles as a superhero and his involvement in high-stakes, action-packed scenes, particularly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Strange. However, the actor’s life outside of the screen has also included a life-threatening encounter that reshaped his perspective on life. In a recent interview with Variety, Cumberbatch recounted a terrifying experience that occurred in 2004, which deeply impacted his outlook and approach to both life and his career.
While filming the BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth in South Africa, Cumberbatch and his friends were on a remote road when their car’s tire blew out. What followed was a terrifying ordeal: they were ambushed and abducted by six armed men. The group was tied up and forced to sit in an execution-style position, unsure of their fate. The robbers eventually fled, leaving Cumberbatch and his friends unharmed, but shaken.
Reflecting on the incident, Cumberbatch admitted it changed him. “It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one,” he explained. “It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience.” The harrowing experience made him acutely aware of the fragility of life, pushing him to seek out extreme experiences that would provide adrenaline-fueled thrills. “The near-death stuff turbo-fueled all that,” he said, explaining that the fear of death made him feel compelled to take greater risks. “It made me go, ‘Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment.’ I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks.”
At the time, Cumberbatch didn’t have many dependents, but his perspective has changed in the years since. “Apart from my parents, I didn’t have any real dependents at that point. Now that’s changed, and that sobers you,” he reflected, now that he has a wife and three sons. “I’ve looked over the edge; it’s made me comfortable with what lies beneath it. And I’ve accepted that that’s the end of all our stories.” The reality of his family’s dependence on him has tempered his earlier desire for thrill-seeking and taken on a more sobering approach to life.
The actor also touched on how his life experiences have influenced his approach to acting. Cumberbatch is known for his intense and emotionally charged performances, and in the interview, he responded to his Marvel co-star Tom Holland, who credited him with teaching him how to cry on command. While Cumberbatch acknowledges the importance of technique in acting, he also emphasized that it is essential to tap into one’s own life experiences to connect with the emotions required in a scene.
He went on to explain that as an actor, it becomes easier to draw on emotions and experiences as you get older. “It’s harder when you’re very young. I’m 48, so I’ve lived a bit of life,” he said, acknowledging the lessons he has learned over time. “I’ve experienced loss, I’ve experienced pain, I’ve experienced some of the very worst, as well as the best.” These life experiences, he believes, give actors a deeper well of emotion to draw from, allowing them to connect more authentically with their roles.
Cumberbatch’s harrowing experience in South Africa in 2004 and the lessons he has learned from it have shaped not only his approach to life but also his career. The traumatic event made him confront mortality head-on, and since then, he has made more thoughtful choices about how he lives his life, both personally and professionally. It has given him a new perspective on the fleeting nature of time and the importance of cherishing moments, while also providing him with the emotional depth required for some of his most powerful performances.
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