Benedict Cumberbatch has starred in multiple big-screen projects throughout his career and has done a remarkable job at almost every single one of them. Yet, out of all of the top-rated filmmakers he has worked with, Guillermo del Toro was never included in that list despite being one of the most tremendous directors to date. And it wasn’t like Cumberbatch just didn’t get the chance to work with him: he did get the chance, and yet, he pulled out of it.
This was when he was offered del Toro’s 2015 horror/romance, Crimson Peak. Since the reason behind Cumberbatch turning it down wasn’t widely known, multiple rumors escalated about it until the Doctor Strange star decided to address it himself and reveal the real reason for the same.
Why Did Benedict Cumberbatch Not Work With Guillermo del Toro?
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Back when Benedict Cumberbatch was offered the role of Sir Thomas Sharpe in Guillermo del Toro‘s Crimson Peak, the actor was also rumored to play Sith Lord in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.
Although that rumor turned out to be fake, no one knew back then and no one believed even when the actor and his Reps called the rumors false. Instead, when he opted out of del Toro’s 2015 horror/romance, fans assumed it would be because of Episode VII.
However, that was hardly the case, or so Cumberbatch stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, all the while revealing the real reason behind his actions:
“Absolutely not. No, no, no, no,” he said, refuting the rumors. “That had nothing to do with it at all. [It was] between me and Guillermo, to be honest. It was amicable, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
As for addressing the rumors about him appearing in Star Wars: Episode VII, the Star Trek Into Darkness actor said:
“I don’t know. Who knows, who knows? Nothing is known of that. I worked with J.J. [Abrams]. Obviously, he knows. Everyone who wants to be part of that film, they know about.”
In the end, all the rumors about him turned out to be just rumors as Benedict Cumberbatch was never seen in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, and his Crimson Peak role was taken over by Tom Hiddleston instead.
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Benedict Cumberbatch Also Talked About Playing Julian Assange
During the same interview, Benedict Cumberbatch also talked about one of his roles that he took on despite being aware of the risks associated with it: that of Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate.
He let out how he communicated with the titular person—whom he held a profound amount of respect for—via “e-mail through a friend, basically,” in real life, all the while stating:
“[Julian Assange] was pretty keen for me not to do the film, and the rest is sort of between us, really.”
However, Assange’s unusual request for him to not take on the project didn’t seem to get through to him, and Cumberbatch still took on the project, for reasons he best knows. Continuing, he shared his experience of playing Assange:
“When you’re playing someone who’s in the eye of the storm, you suddenly become incredibly conscious of that particular world, those particular concerns,” said Cumberbatch. “And the news kept crashing in about [WikiLeaks source Pfc. Bradley Manning]. There was this static in the air all the time.”
Despite being under the immense pressure of channeling Julian Assange during his last few days of rehearsal while the real Assange was pretty much begging him to drop out of the project, Benedict Cumberbatch still made sure to handle everything with remarkable grace and earned worldwide acclamation for the same.
