"Oh dear, reduzieren Sie mich nicht darauf"

Интервью Бенедикта Камбербэтча немецкому изданию




Перевод статьи с немецкого via londonphile

интервью

A luxurious hotel in Berlin. In front of the revolving doors are girls waiting for Orlando Bloom who plays Elven prince Legolas in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films. They apparently haven’t realized yet that Benedict Cumberbatch has become Hollywood’s most sought after Brit. His female fans not only adore him for his role as arrogant, intelligent Sherlock Holmes and call themselves Cumberbitches (*sigh*) The British “Times Magazine” calls him the best actor of his generation, in the US he is on his way to be an A-list-star. He is obviously becoming bankable: a name, for who viewers specifically buy a theatre ticket.
Sitting on a rokoko chair, clothed in a dark tailored suit is Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch. Bright white shirt, shiny leather shoes, a hint of Guerlain Vetiver in the air. His distinctive features are irritatingly impressive. He’s got a bit too much of everything: head, cheeks, forehead, eyebrows, lips. Combined with blue green eyes that are far apart to which a blog “The eyes of Benedict Cumberbatch” is dedicated. At first he doesn’t live up to his status of British gentleman. He taps on his smartphone, takes a sip of coke directly from the bottle, stays seated for introductions.

Mister Cumberbatch, why so sluggish?
In particular I’m fighting a hangover right now, in general I fight end-of-year-exhaustion. Last night just went on for too long. At the Hobbit premiere I met my colleague and friend Martin Freeman. He plays Bilbo in the Hobbit and my assistant Dr. Watson in Sherlock.
That’s the series that made you an instant star in the UK and the US three years ago, right?
You can say that again.




How would you explain that?
Because of the everlasting fascination with Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective? And that the creators modernized him and put him in the here and now.
There already was a waiting list for the stylish dark grey wool coat you wear as Sherlock after the first episode…
Well, Sherlock is not only smart, he also has style. Plus he wears British labels. This role has put me on the agenda of directors in Hollywood. Americans are crazy about TV show, about their own shows. I owe my role in Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” to Sherlock too. After that one shoot chased the next. I myself find it crazy how much I have worked over the last three years.
It might be an explanation for his workload if Cumberbatch learns his lines as fast as he speaks. The 37-year-old starred in Star Trek Into Darkness as villain Khan, he played Julian Assange with white hair and an Australian accent in “The Fifth Estate”, a plantation owner in “12 years a slave”, and he’ll be in “August Osage County” next to Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts at the beginning of next year. They are all very different roles and all played very precisely. Although Cumberbatch’s features are so distinct, he disappears behind his characters. In “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug”, which hit cinemas on Thursday, he sadly disappears completely because he’s present as an animated dragon. People who want to experience Cumberbatch’s deep amazing voice should watch the original version of the film.

Now you are doing press for a dragon. How hard is that for you?
Not at all. Because of several reasons. “The Hobbit” was the first book my dad read to me as a boy. It still evokes nostalgic emotions. It wasn’t clear which role I would play when I went to the casting. But I didn’t care because I wanted to be in it no matter what.
You would have been a perfect elve with your facial features, right?
First come, first serve. All the roles were taken already. So Peter Jackson asked me whether I wanted to voice the dragon Smaug. Simply voicing him wasn’t enough for me. That could’ve been done by an older actor with a deep voice. It was my idea to also play the dragon Smaug and do motion capture.
Smaug is a monster who lives in a mountain on a pile of gold. How do you play that?
Well, I didn’t travel to the set in New Zealand but to a studio in Los Angeles. There I was, surrounded by cameras, in a suit that was covered in reflectors playing a giant lizard.

Ah. And that’s fun?
Yes, in a very special way you are part of something very huge. All characters are metaphors for human characters. I had never tried motion capture and I thought Andy Serkis as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings was exceptional so I wanted to try that as well.
Your “claim to fame” stems from the depiction of real personalities like Stephen Hawking, Van Gogh, Julian Assange…
Yes, they are especially interesting because they are such complex characters but as an actor you are also exposed to direct comparison.

Your most distinctive feature are your cheekbones, right?
Oh dear, please don’t reduce me to that. That would be a bit too easy if it were only that, wouldn’t it? I only know that I have a big face that obviously has an effect on camera.
Your parents are both actors. It was a sure thing you’d be an actor too then, wasn’t it?
Not at first. My parent both love their job but they also know the pitfalls of the business. The constant insecurity of when the next job will come and to be dependent on the producers’ and directors’ benevolence. Acting is the opposite of stability they wanted to protect me from that.
I assume your parents were quite successful: You grew up in Chelsea and went to a private all-boys boarding school.
My parents worked very hard for my privileged education. They both had long and interesting careers in television and theatre. No more no less. My family isn’t posh, they are middle-class. For a while it looked like I would become a lawyer.

And then?
I continued to do theatre while I studied law. First it was only a hobby, not a career. In “Amadeus” I played the evil adversary Salieri. After the performance my dad told me that I had been better than he ever was. And that I would have an amazing career as an actor. I had his blessing. Looking back he is responsible for me not becoming a lawyer but going to drama school

The best thing your parents gave to you?
Unconditional love, I was spoiled rotten. But seriously: Especially because my parents are such role models for me I see acting as a profession and not a red carpet event. Apart from that the business really has changed. Back then you needed to work for your status as a star, today people are hyped up very quickly and just as quickly they are exchanged for someone else. I have immense respect for people like Kingsley, Mirren, Hopkins who can look back on decades of great work.
When Cumberbatch had just warmed up, he needs to leave for the airport: “Planes to catch, people to meet.” Success requires being on the move constantly. Out of his non-stop-talking-mouth comes a “thank you thank you thank you”. In saying goodbye he rises from his rokoko chair. It’s never too late to be a gentleman.

@темы: Benedict Cumberbatch, интервью