Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst are both Marvel stars even though they didn’t get to work together in the MCU till now. However, there was a film where they got to share screen space- Power of the Dog. This 2021 Western psychological thriller with a budget of $39 million bagged 12 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards.
This included Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Actor, and Best Director. It won only one when Jane Campion took home the Best Director award. However, the film was enormously critically acclaimed and the cast must have been relieved, especially Benedict Cumberbatch, because he went full method for the role.
Benedict Cumberbatch Refused To Talk To Kirsten Dunst During Power Of The Dog
In Power of the Dog, Benedict Cumberbatch plays cowboy Phil Burbank who has a strained relationship (to say the least) with his brother, George’s wife, Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst). So to prepare for the role, Cumberbatch went full method and didn’t speak to Dunst. In an interview with NME, he said:
“I didn’t want to be really mean to Kirsten, but I needed to stay in character. So I didn’t speak to her on-set. She was the same. We were the negative to each other’s positive. [We were] repelled by each other.”
But this wasn’t the only piece of method acting he did. In an interview with Esquire, the Doctor Strange actor said that he didn’t wash himself during filming and also gave himself nicotine poisoning three times. He said:
“I wanted people in the room to know what I smelt like. It was hard, though. It wasn’t just in rehearsals. I was going out to eat and meet friends of Jane and stuff. I was a bit embarrassed by the cleaner, in the place I was living… Filterless rollies, just take after take after take. I gave myself nicotine poisoning three times. When you have to smoke a lot, it genuinely is horrible.”
Cumberbatch’s dedication was lauded by critics and fans but one has to wonder if the method acting with the Spider-Man star was actually mutual or just one-sided.
Kirsten Dunst Also Did Method Acting With Benedict Cumberbatch For Power Of The Dog
In an interview with Radio Times, Kirsten Dunst confirmed that the method acting was mutual between her and Benedict Cumberbatch on the sets of Power of the Dog. She admitted that both of them didn’t talk to each other. The actress said:
“I isolated myself from Benedict. We didn’t talk at all during the filming unless we were out to dinner on a weekend, all together, or playing with our kids. He’s so sweet. And he’s so British. Polite British, you know? I was like, ‘I can’t talk to you!’”
But fans want to know- Will Kisten Dunst and Benedict Cumberbatch ever cross paths in the MCU? After all, there’s speculation that Dunst might join Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man the next time he appears. Fans would love to see it happen, but whether the rumors come true or not remains to be seen.
Power of the Dog is streaming on Netflix.
Source: Radio Times and NME
