Being On Set Is Quite Difficult, Because It's So Big And You've Got To Try And Relax, Which Isn't Easy When You Know You're In A Massive Film. I Was Terrified For Quite A Long Time.

-Benedict Cumberbatch

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Being On Set Is

Benedict Cumberbatch

Being On Set Is Quite Difficult, Because It's So Big And You've Got To Try And Relax, Which Isn't Easy When You Know You're In A Massive Film. I Was Terrified For Quite A Long Time.

Topic

Long

Trying

Relax

More From Benedict Cumberbatch

[season 4 Of Sherlock Holmes Will Be] Myopically Dark. You're Talking About The End Of The Universe Darkness. You Can't See In Front Of You And Would Walk Into Everything Dark.

Dark

Talking

Ends

I Think Anyone Who Works In Medicine Has Superpowers.

Thinking

Medicine

Superpower

Sometimes Being Away, On Location, I Feel Like I'm Away For Much Of My Own Life. I Want To Be Better At Staying Connected.

Want

Location

Sometimes

There's Another Weight Of Us Being In The Public Eye, Which Is This Presumption That, Because Your Work And Your Promotion Work Is Very Public, Your Private Life Should Be, Too.

Eye

Weight

Promotion

I'm Not Loyal To One Genre. I Want To Mix It Up.

Loyal

Want

Genre

[doctor Strange] Is Difficult, He's Arrogant, But He's Kind Of Brilliant And Charming And You'd Think, "yeah, I'd Want Him On My Head If I Needed Brain Surgery." He's Good Enough To Warrant His Arrogance And He Respects Other People But Not When He Thinks He's Right And He'll Just Do What He Deems Needs To Be Done When He Knows Or Feels That He's Right And The Problem From Humility's Point Of View Is That He Is Right, He's Really Really Good At His Job.

Jobs

Humility

Thinking

I Had The Privilege Of Being Able To Choose, Or At Least Have The Opportunity To Work At, Being Anything But An Actor.

Opportunity

Actors

Able

Even Though Doctor Strange Is An Established Character, When You're Doing An Origin Story There's A Lot Of Room For Manoeuvre.

Character

Doctors

Stories

I Drive A Motorbike, So There Is The Whiff Of The Grim Reaper Round Every Corner, Especially In London.

London

Grim Reaper

Motorbike

The Number Of People My Age, Younger Now, A Whole Generation Younger, Who Are Fiercely Bright, Over-educated, Under-employed And Who Are Politicised And Purposeless Really Upsets Me. It's Soul-destroying.

Numbers

People

Soul

I Thought, Well, Why Am I Giving Up On My Primary Dream To Work Doubly Hard, To Do Something As An Alternative To What It Really Still Want To?

Dream

Giving Up

Alternatives

I Always Seem To Be Cast As Slightly Wan, Ethereal, Troubled Intellectuals Or Physically Ambivalent Bad Lovers. But I'm Here To Tell You I'm Quite The Opposite In Real Life. In Fact I'm A F**king Fantastic Lover.

Kings

Real

Opposites

Talking About Class Terrifies Me. There Is No Way Of Winning.

Winning

Talking

Class

Animations Are Really Powerful - It's Not Just Entertainment, It's A Very Cunning Way To Get Good Ideas Across.

Powerful

Ideas

Way

I Know He [julian Assange] Is A Man Of Fierce Determination, And Now Living Under The Strain Of House Arrest In The Ecuadorean Embassy As A "political Exile," As He Calls Himself.

Determination

Men

House

When You're A Kid, 'star Trek' Is A Slower Burn. It's Funny, It's Entertaining, But It Also Has A Maturity About It - Which Is Its Universal Appeal, I Think.

Stars

Kids

Maturity

If You Can't Fail, You Can Never Get Better.

Get Better

Failing

The Guy [doctor Strange], He's Like Most Of Us, He's Uncorrupted Flesh From The Beginning Of His Life, He's Somebody Who's Not Marked With Original Sin Or Any Kind Of Crap Like That. He's Somebody Who's Come Into This World And Had Experiences That Have Shaped Him To The Point That We First Meet Him. There's Always Got To Be Leverage. I Think There Is Some Clear Explanation Of That Within This Film, But Potentially Further Down The Line...for More Of That To Come Out As Well.

Thinking

Doctors

Lines

Do I Like Being Thought Of As Attractive? I Don’t Know Anyone On Earth Who Doesn’t, But I Do Find It Funny. I Look In A Mirror And I See All The Faults I’ve Lived With For 35 Years And Yet People Go Kind Of Nuts For Certain Things About Me. It’s Not Me Being Humble. I Just Think It’s Weird.

Humble

Thinking

Mirrors

I Like To Think That We’re Revolving On This Planet And Revolving Through The Galaxy. I Love Having Context That’s So Much Bigger Than I Can Fathom. It’s Fantastic To Realise How Insignificant You Are.

Thinking

Fantastic

Bigger

[while Voicing Cartoons] You Have To Lose Your Sanity And Inhibitions And Any Kind Of Dignity And Just Throw Yourself Around A Bit.

Cartoon

Dignity

Kind

I've Turned Up To Costume Parties In The Wrong Costume. I've Made Social Faux Pas A Plenty. I've Put One Foot In Front Of The Other And Fallen Over.

Party

Feet

Costumes

I Actually Do Mind Having A Photo Taken Because It's One O'clock In The Morning And I'm Off My Face.

Morning

Taken

Mind

What's Not To Look Forward To? It's Like All The Actors In All Of The Films. It's Difficult To Get Martin Freeman And I In A Room Together. Imagine What It's Like To Get Myself, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Elizabeth Olsen... These Extraordinary Actors Who All Have Careers Outside The Marvel Universe.

Careers

Together

Looks

There's So Much In The 21st Century That Is Stymied By Bureaucracy And Mediocrity And Committee.

Mediocrity

Century

Bureaucracy

I Can’t Stop Traffic On Fifth Avenue, Not Unless I Walk In Front Of An Oncoming Cab.

Fifth Avenue

Traffic

Walks

It Is A Wonderful Thing To Get Married Young And Become A Father.

Father

Married

Wonderful

I Remember Very Clearly Someone Saying, 'don't Shake Hands With The Cactus,' And I Thought, 'well, Why Not? What Could Possibly Go Wrong?' Shaking Hands Is A Friendly Gesture.

Hands

Friendly

Cactus

I Feel That Tv And Film Feed Off Each Other Well. It's More In The Perception Of The Viewer Than It Is Of The Actor.

Perception

Actors

Tvs

I'm Quite Sensitive To People Noticing Me. There Are Times When I'm Relaxed, Then Others When It Does Make Me Self-conscious.

Self

People

Doe

There Are Very Specific Demands, Though, In Television, And You Notice The Budget Constrictions. It's The Time Constraint And A Purse Constraint More Than Anything Else That You Notice. But The Ambition Of The Writing And, Hopefully, The Delivery Of It Gets Better And Better Because We Want To Outdo Ourselves To Keep Ahead Of A Very Expectant And Hungry Public.

Writing

Ambition

Get Better

Look At You Lot, You're All So Vacant, Is It Nice Not Being Me It Must Be So Relaxing.

Nice

Looks

Being Me

I Have An Appetite For The Normal In My Life, As Well As The Abnormal.

Abnormal

Appetite

Wells

Sometimes During A Conversation With A Journalist - Where You Are Answering Things You Never Normally Talk About, Not Even With Some Of Your Closest Friends - You End Up Being Quite Confessional, And You Don't Think About The Amplification Of That. No Matter How Fancy These Journalists Are, They Have Editors Or Political Leanings Behind Their Publications, Which Means That, Basically, They're Going To Shape What You've Said Into An Article They've Already Written. So You Have To Be Really Careful With Your Words.

Mean

Thinking

Political

I'm A High-functioning Sociopath, Do Your Research.

Research

Sociopath

Psychopath

I've Been Broody Since I Was 12, But I Can't Just Get Anyone Pregnant. It Has Got To Be The Right Person.

Persons

Pregnant

I Can

When You Freefall For 7,000 Feet It Doesn't Feel Like You're Falling: It Feels Like You're Floating, A Bit Like Scuba Diving.

Fall

Feet

Floating

I Was Thrilled With How The First Series Of 'sherlock' Was Received. It Was Such Great Fun To Film, Which Makes It So Rewarding When Something You Enjoy Is So Well Received.

Fun

Firsts

Film

Any Irrational Fears?no, I'm Quite A Rationalist. I'm Not Superstitious, I Think Life Is Too Full Of Natural Wonders And Logical Complexities To Worry About Illogical Things.

Thinking

Worry

Irrational Fear

It's Great For The People Who Supported Me Early On To See The Success I'm Enjoying.

People

Enjoy

I Ate Healthily, But There Was No Snacking, No Drinking, No Bread, No Sugar, No Smoking. Afterwards I Had A Pork Belly Roast.

Drinking

Smoking

Pork

The Further You Get Away From Yourself, The More Challenging It Is. Not To Be In Your Comfort Zone Is Great Fun.

Fun

Challenges

Comfort

I Try To Work Hard. I'm Really Proud Of What I Get To Do As A Living. I Still Pinch Myself. But I Also Know It's A Craft, And I Can Get Better At It And Learn Every Time I Do It. So I Try To Work Hard No Matter What The Task Is.

Hard Work

Get Better

Trying

The Awful Lesson Of History Is That We Too Often Ignore People, Just Because They're Foreigners Or Different From Us.

People

Different

You Come Into This World As You Leave It, On Your Own. It's Made Me Want To Live A Life Slightly Less Ordinary.

Ordinary

World

Want

It Still Makes Me Giggle That I'm Paid To Act.

Giggle

Stills

Paid

I Just Increasingly Enjoy The Quiet Moments When I Can Be On My Own With My Friends And Family, Or With A Book, Having A Live Experience. That's Really What I Crave, And I Always Have Done.

Book

Quiet Moments

Family And Friends

I Struggle To Learn By Rote. I've Had Meltdowns On Set. Which Is Embarrassing And Shameful.

Struggle

Embarrassing

Meltdowns

My Dad Read The Hobbit To Me Originally When I Was Young. So, It Was The First Imaginary Landscape I Ever Had In My Head From The Written Word. It Gave Me A Passion For Reading, Thanks To My Dad's Performance Of The Book.

Dad

Book

Reading

When You See A Good Horseman, You're Unable To Tell Where The Instruction Is Coming From. It's Like Telepathy.

Instruction

Telepathy

Horsemen

Landing The Role Of Stephen Hawking Was The Most Positively Surprising Thing That Has Happened To Me.

Roles

Landing

Surprising

I Don't Want To Miss Things.

Missing

Want

I'm Not Very Geeky. I'm Quite Homespun. I Would Say I'm More Modern Rustic Than Gadget-orientated. I Like Woollen Things And Log Fires And Whiskey

Fire

Gadgets

Whiskey

I Think I've Had Very Knee-jerk Emotional Reactions To Things, And Sometimes I've Said Things Without Thinking. Being Overly Emotional Clouded My Judgment.

Emotional

Thinking

Sometimes

I Got Live Tweeted Once By Someone Who Was Opposite My Home In Some Rented Accommodation. He Was Actually Describing On Twitter What I Was Doing. 'i Took A Shirt Off, I Went To The Window, I Put A Shirt Back On... ' And I've Got Blinds In My Flat!

Home

Opposites

Window

I Suppose My Bodily Proportions Are Quite Flattering. I'm Ripped, Doing Something I Wouldn't Normally Do With My Body, Or Having Done To It, Involving Watson.

Done

Body

Proportion

I've Realised Now That The Reality Of Children Is You Have To Be In The Right Place With The Right Person.

Children

Reality

Persons

There's No Shame In Stealing - Any Actor Who Says He Doesn't Is Lying. You Steal From Everything.

Lying

Actors

Shame

I'm A Prince Of Wales Trust Ambassador, So I'm All About Giving Youth An Education, A Voice And A Chance To Not Take The Wrong Road.

Voice

Giving

Ambassadors

My Massive Motivation In Life Is To Make Parents Proud. But Even That Has To Stop At A Point.

Motivation

Parent

Proud

It Will Be Obvious To Anyone Who Sees It That He [doctor Strange] Earns That Cloak. You Think He's Doing All Right And Then You Realise That There's One Massive Lesson To Learn.

Thinking

Doctors

Lessons

There Are Moments When, Like All Of Us, You Get A Bit Self-conscious And You'd Rather Not Be Living Any Of Your Day In Public. Those Are The Awkward Times, But You've Got To Have Fun With It.

Fun

Self

Awkward

I've Been Reading The Books. It's The Origination, It's The Primary Source. You Should Always Go Back To The Books.

Book

Reading

Source

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.

Fun

Crazy

Years

I Don't Call Myself An Expert Because I've Played Experts. I Know A Little Bit About Very Little. But It's Very Hard To Not Be Drawn Into Saying Something, Especially If It Has To Do With The Work.

It's Very Easy To Be Cynical About Any Kind Of Interference In Things That Are Beyond Our Skill Set.

Skills

Cynical

Kind

If I'm Playing Someone Who's Smart, Suddenly Every Character I've Played Is Smart. If I'm Playing A Bad Guy, Every Character Is A Bad Guy. I Suppose It's That Thing Where People Want To See A Through-line To Understand You. I Mean, You Know, I Have Played Pretty Ordinary People Too.

Smart

Character

Mean

There Was A Moment Of Extraordinary Humbleness And Humility And Pride, As Well, With My Father When He Turned To Me - And I Think It Was After I Played Salieri In "amadeus" At University. And He Said, You're Better Than I Ever Was Or Ever Could Be, You Should Do This For Profession. You'd Have A Good Time.

Father

Humility

Pride

I Have Actual Acting Scars.

Acting

Scar

Honestly, It's Very Satisfying, And I'm Very, Very Happy About How Successful The Last Few Years Have Been... It's Great For The People Who Supported Me Early On To See The Success I'm Enjoying Now.

Successful

Years

People

If You Have An Over-preoccupation With Perception And Trying To Please People's Expectations, Then You Can Go Mad.

Expectations

People

Mad

That's Something I Have To Work On: To Separate What Really Matters, To Conserve Energy By Not Worrying About What Other People Think. When I Walk Through That Door, It's About Home. If I Didn't Do That, I'd Become Consumed By One Thing Only And Damage The People Who Love Me. And It Would Damage The Work.

Home

Thinking

People

My Own Grandfathers Were A Submarine Commander And A 'desert Rats' Tank Operator In The Second World War.

War

Grandfather

Tanks

What Makes A Good Animated Movie Is Being Able To Balance Adult And Knowing In-jokes And Also Just Out And Out Funny Things That Make All People Laugh. The Idea That It's Actually Something That Will Appeal To A Family, That's The Trick.

Funny Things

Ideas

Knowing

I Was Very Keen To Work On The Script With Scott Derrickson And [c. Robert] Cargill, And Working Out The Important Story Beats, Changing Lines, Upping The Comedy, Changing The Pace, All Of That Was Great Fun.

Fun

Work Out

Important

Doctor Strange Is Selfish But He's Still Saving Lives.

Selfish

Doctors

Saving

We're Living Through A Time Where We Are Fighting Wars Fostered By Politics, Admittedly Not On The Same Scale As The First World War, But With Equally Tragic Realities For Our Soldiers And Their Families.

War

Fighting

Reality

I Play Enough Other Mad People, As Well And Some Sane People, To Vary The Palette Of What's Scrabbling Around In My Head And Soul To Bring To The Floor, As A Storyteller.

Play

People

Mad

Mum Did A Lot Of Commercial Theatre And Farces In The 1980s And '90s To Make Sure The School Bills Were Paid.

School

Theatre

Farce

You Have To Sometimes Just Run With The Problem Rather Than Trying To Solve It With Hi-tech Wizardry And Lots Of Planning.

Running

Trying

Wizardry

There's A Huge Amount Of Footage Of Julian [ Assange] Online, But He's Usually In Presentation Or Defending Mode, Talking About His Cause, Or The Revelations Which Wikileaks Have Brought About. There's None Of Assange Relaxing Or In Private Mode. There's None Of The Personality I Tried To Give Him Behind Closed Doors [in The Fifth Estate ].

Doors

Talking

Giving

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 L.a. Way.

Strong

Character

Two

I've Never Done A Lead Role In A Film This Big [like Doctor Strange], In A Franchise This Big. One Of The Reasons Was, I Wanted To Know What The Toy Box Was Like. And It's Just Insane, The Amount Of Facility That Everyone Gets, But The Amount Of Artistry And Craft That's Brought To Every Aspect Of Filmmaking. I Mean, You Go To Your First Costume Fitting And It's One Of Thirty. It's A Myriad, But It's For A Reason. There Are So Many Incredible Costumes In This.

Mean

Doctors

Insane

I've Been Very Lucky At What's Happened In My Career To Date, But Playing Something As Far From Me As Possible Is An Ambition Of Mine - Anything From A Mutated Baddy In A Comic Book Action Thriller, To A Detective. If Anything, I'd Like Gary Oldman's Career: He's The Perfect Example Of It. I've Love To Have A Really Broad Sweep Of Characters - To Be Able To Do Something Edgy, Surprising And Unfashionable.

Book

Ambition

Character

I Was Very Nervous About Doing The Entertainment Weekly Cover, Because I Thought, "okay, This Is The First Taste, This Is The First Visual Moment." By Then I Obviously Knew A Lot Of The More Iconic Moments In His Comic History, But Still It's Me. It's Not A Drawing, It's Not An Artist; It's Me And I'm Kinda Frightened, But It Seemed To Go Down.

Artist

Drawing

Taste

We Look At Science As The Ultimate Answer For Everything Yet We Are Really Messy Organisms And When The Two Collide In The Upper Echelons Of Medicine You Think Science Will Prevail But It's Not Always That Way.

Thinking

Two

Medicine

Live A Life Less Ordinary.

Ordinary

This Is An Odd Profession, And Sometimes People Get Jealous, But I Haven't Really Experienced Any Of That. Everyone's Been Really Happy For Me, Which Is Really, Really Great.

Jealous

People

Sometimes

I Haven't Done Period Dramas Back-to-back, Or Really Anything Back-to-back. You Get Asked To Do What You're Most Recently Famed For, So I'm Careful Of Not Repeating Myself.

Drama

Done

Periods

Enjoy The Journey Of Life And Not Just The Endgame. I'm Also A Great Believer In Treating Others As You Would Like To Be Treated.

Journey

Treating Others

Enjoy

There's A Heroic Amount Of Effort That Goes Into Making Him [doctor Strange] A Superhero By The End Of The Film.

Doctors

Superhero

Effort

An Inflated Sense Of Self-importance? Absolutely, But I Think It Comes From Doctor Strange Need To Control Things And That's What Happens To All Surgeons, I Think. There's A Huge Degree Of Uncertainty And Bafflement.

Thinking

Doctors

Self

I Have Memories Of Clouds Whisking By While Sitting In The Pushchair On The Roof Of My Parents' Flat. I Loved It! I Just Loved Staring At The Clouds And Dreaming Away.

Dream

Memories

Clouds

I Think I'm A Very Good Driver. Apparently, The Cause Of Road Rage - As With Most Anger - Is Some Kind Of Superiority Complex, Which, God Knows, Cars Foster.

Thinking

Car

Kind

I'm Not One For Doing The Children's Party Version: "hi, I'm A Character In A Movie And Now I'm In Reality!" I Was Doing The Last Shot Of The Film Before Reshoots Outside Their Shop. I Was Starting My Run Into The Frame And I Thought, "you Are Literally Ending Where This Began. The Loop Of Serendipity's Too Much To Not Go In And Acknowledge It." I Just Wanted To See The Look On Their Faces.

Running

Children

Party

I Think It's Fair To Say That, Yeah, I'm Playing Doctor Strange, I Get There.

Thinking

Doctors

Strange

I Had Parents Who Were Working Actors, Who Did Really Well In Their Careers, But It Was A Living. So It Was A Reality For Me Growing Up; It Wasn't A Fantasy. It Wasn't Sitting There Going, "i Want To Be Adored." It Wasn't That At All. Not To Say That The Screams Of Fans Aren't A Smile-raiser, But That Was Never The Pull For Me.

Growing Up

Reality

Careers

Laughing And Crying Are Really Similar - What Happens To Your Body. It's A Very Similar Process In Your Diaphragm. Like A Musician, You Have To Do Your Scales Once In A While And Warm Up Your Voice.

Laughing

Musician

Cry

I Had To Imagine Myself Into Certain Aspects Of [julian Assange] Character For Our Version Of Events. That Involved Extrapolating Based On Clues In His Biography, His Public Persona, Photographs, And Other Accounts Of Him By People Who Encountered Him During That Extraordinary Period From 2007 To 2010 That We Charted In The Film [the Fifth Estate]. So, It Involved A Lot Of Research But, Sadly, No Contact With The Man Himself.

Character

Men

People

[ Stephen Strange] Is Less Strange Than Other Characters I've Played. He's Lost The Power To Love, Which Doesn't Make Him A Nasty Person. I Just Think He's Closed-off.

Character

Thinking

Nasty

[sherlock Holmes] Has To Understand The World. That's Very Much John's [watson] Influence On Him. But Like A Lot Of The Friendships And Relationships In That World, It's Born Out Of Necessity. It Makes Him Better. There's A Pragmatism To It. It's Not Whimsical Or Sentimental. It's Born Out Of Necessity.

World

Sentimental

Influence

It Does Get Strange When You Realize People Will Hang Around For Hours To Get A Glimpse Of You Doing Scenes Outside.

People

Glimpse

Doe

Marvel Always Make It Fresh So You Can Give It Your Personal Twist.

Giving

Twists

Anyone Who Works In The Nhs Has Superpowers. It's A Miracle, It Is Magic.

Nhs

Miracle

Magic

Do I Like Being Thought Of As Attractive? I Don't Know Anyone On Earth Who Doesn't, But I Do Find It Funny.

Earth

Attractive

Knows

I Was Never Geeky About Anything.

I'm Quite Surprised By How Many People Grew Up With This Character [doctor Strange ].

Character

Doctors

People

I've Seen And Swam And Climbed And Lived And Driven And Filmed. Should It All End Tomorrow, I Can Definitely Say There Would Be No Regrets. I Am Very Lucky, And I Know It. I Really Have Lived 5,000 Times Over.

Regret

Would Be

Lucky

I Tend To Have A Cup Of Tea, Try To Stop Worrying About What I Did Wrong, Cool Down And Will The Audience Back In As Soon As Possible.

Worry

Tea

Trying

The First Time We Did Cavalry Charge I Was So Breathless With Excitement I Nearly Fell Off The Horse. I Actually Saw Stars In Front Of My Eyes And Thought I Was Going To Faint. The Second Time I Had A Bit More Control But Was Still Giddy With Excitement. And The Third Time I Was An Emotional Wreck. I Had To Really Try Hard Not To Cry.

Horse

Stars

Eye

Being In Front Of An Audience Makes Me Feel Alive. Being With Friends Makes Me Feel Alive. I’ve Done Some Crazy Stuff In My Time And Yet I Can Feel Infinitely Alive Curled Up On A Sofa Reading A Book. So, What Makes Me Feel Alive? I Guess It’s Realizing I Am Part Of The World Around Me.

Crazy

Book

Reading

We Have A Lot More Unlikely Heroes Now. It’s Not Just The Guy With Guns—it’s The Guy With Brains.

Hero

Gun

Guy

I Am A Pr Disaster Because I Talk Too Much.

Too Much

Disaster

Only When Stephen Strange Has His Accident And Everything That He's Ever Had In His Life Falls Apart That He Becomes Pretty Monstrous. It's The Self-loathing Rage Of A Wounded Animal And He Doesn't Have A Coping Mechanism At All. It Ties In With The Discipline And The Magic Of This World.

Fall

Animal

Self

Having Your Adolescence At An All-male Boarding School Is Just Crap.

School

Males

Adolescence

[scott Derrickson] Is Terrific, Really Sharp On The Details, And He's Not Afraid To Go To Dark Places.

Dark

Details

Not Afraid

We All Want To Escape Our Circumstances, Don't We? Especially If You Are An Actor.

Actors

Want

Circumstances

Every Job Is Incredibly Different, And I Love It Because You're Picking Up Skill Sets And Experiences. It's The University Of Life.

Jobs

Skills

Different

I Don't Live Beyond My Means. I Enjoy Luxury And I Enjoy The Privilege Of It, When I Can Afford It, And I'm In The Situation Where It's Been Given To Me, But I'm Very Conscious Of What Is Wasteful.

Mean

Luxury

Privilege

I Don't Think I Could Form My Writing Into Scripts Or Novels. It's So Sporadic. My Writing's Pretty Poor. I Often Think, "who's This For?" Sometimes It's Impressions Of The Day Or My Life, Or It's Fiction. Sometimes It's About Things I Want To Remember, Or I Try To Write In Really Awful French.

Writing

Thinking

Trying

Doctor Strange Is An Origin Story So There's A Certain Room For Me Improving As Well As The Character Improving.

Character

Doctors

Stories

[doctor Strange] Gets Scraped Off The Floor And Then Thrown Right Down To Hell Again And Then Slowly Pulls Himself Back Up.

Doctors

Strange

Hell

When You Start Getting Jobs, And See Your Mates From Drama School, You Don't Really Want To Talk About It, Because You Have This Innate Sense Of Guilt That It's Not Fair That Others Aren't Doing Exactly What You're Doing. I Do Have That.

Jobs

Drama

School

I Wanted To Take The Audience On A Journey Where That Transition Was Funny And Awkward. It's The Same Cynicism That [strange] Has.

Journey

Awkward

Transition

[doctor Strange] Is Still Quite Cocky By The End Of The Film. No, I'd Say The Major Curve For Him Is That He Learns That It's Not All About Him, That There's A Greater Good. But What He Thinks He Was Doing As A Neurosurgeon, That Was Good Because It Benefitted People's Health Was Really Just A Furtherment Of His Attempts To Control Death And Control His Own Fate And Other People's, But That's Still Driven By The Ego.

Cocky

Fate

Thinking

I Love Doing Impersonations Of People.

People

I Always Get Self-conscious About What I Look Like In A Film, But Less So If I'm A Character Very Far Removed From Who I Am. Then I Just Worry About The Performance, And That's Equally An Odd Experience.

Character

Self

Who I Am

Maybe It's Because I Was An Only Child, But I've Always Wanted Kids.

Children

Kids

Only Child

I've Always Wanted To Play A Spy, Because It Is The Ultimate Acting Exercise. You Are Never What You Seem.

Exercise

Play

Spy

Thus, A Vision Of The Whole Gradually Grew For Me That Was Nourished By The Various Experiences And Realizations I Had Encountered Along My Theological Path. I Rejoiced To Be Able To Say Something Of My Own, Something New And Yet Completely Within The Faith Of The Church. The Feeling Of Aquiring A Theological Vision That Was Ever More Clearly My Own Was The Most Wonderful Experience Of Those Years.

Years

Feelings

Vision

Looking For Happiness Is A Sure Way To Sadness, I Think. You Have To Take Each Moment As It Comes.

Sadness

Thinking

Way

Lines Are Very Difficult To Learn.

Lines

Difficult

One Of The First Roles I Had On Stage Was With A Brilliant Director In A Brilliant Play With A Brilliant Cast, But I Just Couldn't Find My Way Into The Heart Of The Character. I Found Myself Straining A Lot. When It Started. I Felt Lost. That Was The Eugène Ionesco Play Rhinoceros. I Don't Think I Was Prepared For That. I Don't Think I Had The Full Tool Kit To Do It Justice. It's A Very Difficult Play, It's An Extraordinarily Difficult Part, And I Never Felt I Really Got It Right. Far From It. To A Degree, Hamlet Was The Same.

Heart

Character

Thinking

I'm Always Playing Characters With Intellects Profoundly Superior To Mine. That's Great Fun, Even Though It's As Much A Fantasy For Me As For The People Watching Me.

Fun

Character

People

There Are Other People Who Don't Mind Shouting From The Pulpit And Being Judged For It, And They Do A Hell Of A Lot Of Good - Real, On-the-ground, Life-changing Good. So I Think It Can Sometimes Be A Balancing Act.

Real

Thinking

People

When Auditioning, I Try To Imagine That I'm The Only Person That They [directors] Are Seeing That Day Because It Can Be Overwhelming, In The Same Sense That It Could Be Overwhelming If You Try To Fulfil Everyone's Expectations Rather Than The People Closest To You In The Creative Process, Be It Your Director, Or Fellow Actors And The Writers. So, That's Kind Of It - I Try To Trick Myself Into Believing That No One Has Ever Gone There Before.

Believe

People

Expectations

The Training Gave Me The Building Blocks To Get Through It. A Production Of That Scale, In A Theater That Big, You Are Going To Struggle To Keep Your Voice At First-run Perfectness. All That Work I Did - The Pull-ups And Pushups - Helped Keep My Body Fit. Hamlet, The Show, Is A Cardiovascular Workout Of About Three Hours, Never Mind The Mental, Soul-crushing Element Of It.

Workout

Block

Struggle

I'm Very Proud Of The Work I Do, But I Genuinely Can't Involve Myself With An Audience As Early As Somebody Who's Not Part Of The Film Can. So There's That Side Of Theater That Appeals To Me, Where You Give Something And The Response To What You've Created Is A Communion Between You And The Dark That Contains However Many People. It's Thrilling Not Having A Reflection Other Than Through The People You're Communicating With. But People Ask, "what Do You Prefer?" And I Don't Have A Preference. I Love Them Both. I Really Do.

Dark

Reflection

People

I'll Always Do 'sherlock' - It's Something I'm Not Going To Give Up On.

Giving Up

Giving

Our Daily Lives Are So Mundane, We Get Taken Over By What Is Immediately In Front Of Us And We Don't See Beyond That.

Taken

Daily Life

Mundane

I Think What I Loved In Cinema - And What I Mean By Cinema Is Not Just Films, But Proper, Classical Cinema - Are The Extraordinary Moments That Can Occur On Screen. At The Same Time, I Do Feel That Cinema And Theater Feed Each Other. I Feel Like You Can Do Close-up On Stage And You Can Do Something Very Bold And Highly Characterized - And, Dare I Say, Theatrical - On Camera. I Think The Cameras And The Viewpoints Shift Depending On The Intensity And Integrity Of Your Intention And Focus On That.

Integrity

Mean

Thinking

Someone Will Always Hate What I Say. There’s Always Going To Be Somebody Spitting Blood About My Wooden-faced, Toffee-named, Crappy Acting.

Hate

Blood

Acting

I Was The Boy That Turned A Girlfriend Into The Most Celebrated Lesbian On Television. I Got So Much Stick For That.

Girlfriend

Boys

Television

Even The Cerebral Characters I Play Seem To Have Physical Quirks. They're All "physically Inhabited," For Lack Off A Better Expression. For Instance, Sherlock Holmes Has Very Particular Physical Gestures Which Are Drawn Out In Such Detail.

Character

Expression

Play

I Feel Like I'm Away For Much Of My Own Life.

Feels

My Own

My Own Life

Mystique Is Rare Now, Isn't It? There Aren't That Many Enigmas In This Modern World.

World

Modern

Enigma

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.

Monday

Morning

Names

To Get A Horse To Hit A Mark Without A Rider, To Get It To Stand Up, To Get It To Rear, To Get It To Pick Up A Bucket And Bring It Over Is Amazing. It's Hard Work And Very Rewarding But Can Be Dangerous.

Horse

Hard Work

Buckets

I Love The Idea Of Playing Something Stupid Or Romantic. I'm Not The Smartest Man In The Room. I Listen, And I Learn, And I Observe, But I'm Always Playing Characters With Intellects Profoundly Superior To Mine. That's Great Fun, Even Though It's As Much A Fantasy For Me As For The People Watching Me.

Fun

Stupid

Character

We Should Have A Conversation When We Hang Up.

Should Have

Should

Conversation

I Genuinely Don't Know Julian Assange Well. To Authenticate An Opinion, I Really Would Have To Meet Him.

Opinion

Assange

Wells

I've Never Been Front And Centre As An Iconic American Character [like In Doctor Strange]. Day To Day, You Know You're Painting On A Very Big Canvas.

Character

Doctors

Strange

Enjoy The Journey Of Life And Not Just The Endgame.

Journey

Enjoy

Endgame

[doctor Strange] Is A Really Rich Character. It's An Easy Thing To Have A Good Old Meal Every Day. It's Great. Yeah, I'm Excited.

Character

Doctors

Meals

I Realised Quite Early On That, Although I Wasn't Trying To Make A Career Speciality Of It, I Was Playing Slightly Asexual, Sociopathic Intellectuals.

Careers

Trying

Realised

I Love Theatre, And You Learn Too Much As An Actor And Enjoy Too Much Of It Not To Want To Go Back A Lot.

Theatre

Actors

Want

Being On Set Is Quite Difficult, Because It's So Big And You've Got To Try And Relax, Which Isn't Easy When You Know You're In A Massive Film. I Was Terrified For Quite A Long Time.

Long

Trying

Relax

I'm Always Keen To Use My Body In My Work, So I'm Looking Forward To The Motion Capture For Smaug. Both Gollum And King Kong Were Primates, Whereas I'm Playing A Serpent, So It'll Be Interesting - I'll Have To Tie My Legs Together, Possibly, Or Else They'll Be Kind Of Splayed Out To The Side As A Reptile's Should Be.

Kings

Ties

Interesting

Metaphorically Speaking, It's Easy To Bump Into One Another On The Journey From A To B And Not Even Notice. People Should Take Time To Notice, Enjoy And Help Each Other.

Journey

People

Bumps

There Are Things That Are A Given, That You've Already Established, And Obviously, Visually, Certain Iconic Things That Can't Be Completely Removed, Like A Certain Hat Or A Certain Coat In My Case.

Coats

Hats

Given

Doctors And Nurses Do Crazy Hours And Keep An Ideal Afloat Through The Love And Care That They Have For Their Craft And Their Patients And The Institution Of The Nhs. We Should Be Very Proud Of It.

Crazy

Doctors

Nhs

I Want To Do It All. I Want To Climb Mountains, Go Through Jungles, Fight Wars In Space, Get The Girl, Shoot The Bad-guy Full Of Lead, Have All The Zippy One Liners, Bulge Muscles Out Of A Singlet, Drip Sweat And Blood On Screen, All Of That.

Girl

War

Fighting

Scott Derrickson Breathes Humour Into A Character With A Very Strong Identity In The '60s And '70s, That Psychedelia Era Of Eastern Mysticism Meeting The West.

Strong

Character

Identity

I Am Shortsighted. I Need Glasses For Watching Movies Or Concerts. It's Not A Hipster Affectation; I Do Have Poor Eyesight. This Is How Ridiculous My Life Is: I've Had The Test For Contact Lenses, But I Haven't Found A Half-day Where I Can Go To The Optician.

Hipster

Ridiculous

Poor

Being A Posh Actor In England You Cannot Escape The Class-typing From Whatever Side You Look At It.

Class

Looks

Actors

The Biggest Lesson Stephen Strange Learns In This Film Is It's Not All About Him.

Lessons

Strange

Film

I'd Love To Do A Noir. I Think Steve Mcqueen Is So Cool. But A Classic Film Is A Classic Film, And Perhaps The Fantasy Of Being Those Characters Should Be Left Alone. You're Treading On Very Thin Ice.

Character

Thinking

Ice

Kevin Feige Said To Me: "i Don't Think We've Ever Put An Actor Through Quite As Much As This, Physically And Mentally." I'll Wear That As A Badge Of Honour. It Was Endless.

Thinking

Actors

Kevin

The World Of 'sherlock Holmes' And The World That We Live In Now Is Big Enough To Take More Than One Interpretation.

World

Enough

Holmes

Mads [mikkelsen] And I Have A Really Epic Brawl - A Week Shoot, Lots Of Rehearsal - And He Was Just Delightful. He's A Dancer And A Gymnast So He Knows How To Plant The Moves. He Was Always Saying, "are You Okay?" When You've Got That Level Of Mutual Consideration You Form A Family Very Quickly.

Moving

Epic

Dancer

I Had A Very Sparse Comic Upbringing - Not Because I Was Being Whipped Into Reading Chekhov And Dickens, But I Read Asterix On Holidays When I Was A Kid, And Tin Tin Was Featured, I Remember, For A Few Years.

Reading

Holiday

Kids

Maybe It's Just Getting Older, But I Don't Want To Miss Things.

Missing

Getting Older

Want

I've Been Quite A Late Developer On The Clothes Front, But I've Suddenly Realised It Is One Of Life's Joys.

Clothes

Joy

Late

People Always Want To Knock You When You're Up.

People

Want

A Woman Who Knows That She Doesn't Have To Get All Decked Out To Look Good Is Sexy. A Woman Who Can Make You Feel Smart With Her Conversation Skills Is Also Sexy. I Believe The Sense Of Humor Is Important.

Sexy

Smart

Believe

I Really Discovered [dr.strange] Through Hearing About This Film And First Meeting Scott [derrickson] And Getting Into It And Just Opening Up And Saying, "okay, This Is, Like All Comics, Very Much Of Its Era," And My First Question Was, 'how Do You Make This Film? Why Do You Make This Film Now?' And The Answers Were So Enticing That I Was Like, "i'm In."

Opening Up

Drs

Answers

I Am Also Full Of Admiration For Chelsea Manning [formerly Pfc Bradley Manning]. Regardless Of Which Side Of The Argument You're On, He Stood Up For Something He Felt Wasn't Right. That Was An Extraordinarily Brave Thing To Do, And I Think He Was Unfairly Punished For It. It's A Really Big Deal What He Did, And He Did It For The Betterment Of All Us, Including The Soldiers On The Ground, As Well As The Civilians Caught Up In Those Conflicts.

Thinking

Brave

Soldier

I Still Find To Give An Interview To Be Difficult, As Any Person Who Deals With The Press Will Tell You. That's Why It's Nice, With This One, To Talk To A Friend. But Sometimes With A Coffee And A Friendly Smile, I Suddenly Start Talking Without Thinking About How It's Going To Be Read.

Nice

Coffee

Thinking

There's A Huge Raft Of Roles That Actors In Our Culture Perform, And You Can See Any One Of About Three Hamlets In A Year. It's Not Something To Be Completely Daunted By.

Years

Three

Culture

I Think The Characters Are Supposed To Be An Open Book, Blank Canvas.

Book

Character

Thinking

I'd Shift Disciplines, Whether It Was Musical Instruments Or Sports Or Whatever, And It's The Same With That.

Sports

Reading

Discipline

When I Was Young I Became Kind Of A Party Animal. I Had A Massive Crash. My Health Suffered. I Was Just Overdoing It. That Person Could Not Be Further From The One Who Emerged From That Earlier Experience. I Regressed Massively.

Party

Animal

Kind

It's Always Important To Have The Blessing.

Blessing

Important

I'm Aware Of [doctor Strange] Place Within The Comic Pantheon Of It All, The Marvelverse, But I Don't Email Saying, "when Are We Doing Next Film?" I'm Excited To See.

Doctors

Strange Places

I'm Not An Overnight Success. I've Been Doing It For 12 Years. It's Been Lovely And Varied So Far.

Years

Lovely

Overnight Success

My Mum And Dad Had Worked Incredibly Hard To Afford Me An Education.

Dad

Mum

Hard

It's The Same Thing, I Think, Whether It's Breathing Or Meditation Or Yoga. And Running Is A Great Way Of Doing It.

Running

Yoga

Thinking

If You Can't Jump On Board When The Ride's Going Past That's It, It Usually Goes By, So The Hugest Compliment They Paid Me Was To Come Back To Me. It Motivated Me To Try To Fulfill Their Faith.

Past

Trying

Boards

I Tell My Wife All My Secrets.

Wife

Secret

My Wife

It's Difficult Because Nothing's Preordained By Plan And You Can't Control It. That's One Of Those Joys And Thrills And Nerve-racking Realities Of Being An Actor. A Lot Has To Do With Luck, No Matter What Your Talent Or Contribution Can Be.

Reality

Joy

Luck

Conan Doyle Is Amazing In The Way He Has Watson Describe Sherlock’s Posture, Mood Swings, His Hand Gestures, And So Forth In The Novels.

Swings

Hands

Gestures

Writing In French Is One Of My Ambitions. I'd Like To Be Able To Dream One Day In French. Italian And French Are The Two Languages That I'd Like To Know.

Dream

Writing

Ambition

Sherlock Being The Most Prevalent, And They've Been Really Good Fun.

Fun

Good Fun

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.

Phones

People

Trying

Those Are More Universal Things Than Some Of The Characters I Play, Who Are Slightly Sociopathic. I Keep Reminding People I Can Do Ordinary.

Character

Play

People

I Never Really Got Obsessed About One Thing For Long. I Was A Bit Of A Butterfly And A Magpie.

Butterfly

Long

Obsessed

I'm Excited To See Where The Illuminati And Whatever Else Might Happen, How That Works, And Where It Ends Up.

Might

Excited

Ends

'sherlock' Fans Are, By And Large, An Intelligent Breed, So They've Gone Through My Back Catalogue And Got What I've Done, Why And How I've Done It. There Is Some Obsessive Behaviour, But I Worry For Them Rather Than Me.

Intelligent

Worry

Fans

As An Actor, You Are Aware Of How A Role Can Seep Into Your Real Life.

Real

Real Life

Roles

I Had To Kiss It [ Playing Hamlet] Goodbye Because Marvel Have To Plot Things For The Next Three, Four Years.

Goodbye

Kissing

Years

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

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