Benedict Cumberbatch Talks Star Trek Pressure

By Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell on Jan 03, 2013 with Comments 0

Benedict Cumberbatch is the mysterious villain in JJ Abrams Star Trek sequel. While we’ve been told his name is John Harrison, many fans aren’t buying it and are holding out hope he’s someone like Khan or Gary Mitchell. Regardless of who he is playing, there is a lot of hype about the role and what direction Star Trek Into Darkness will take. The Sherlock star spoke with Empire about the film and the pressure that comes with the villain role.

When the first image of Cumberbatch hit the web, many fans pointed out the image felt like The Avengers, Dark Knight Rises, or Skyfall where the big bad gets captured but it’s all a part of the plan. Cumberbatch was asked if he understood how people could compare the films:

Yep, all three of those films, and I’m quite worried about it – though they are great films, with great villains – but so what if they do? Not all of those bad guys had Enterprise costumes on, and that’s what matters. But it’s very exciting, that scene, that was a great sequence to film.

The actor also talked about trying to please fans and what pressures may come with it. He compared the role to his work with Steven Moffat on Sherlock:

If you have an over preoccupation with perception and trying to please people’s expectations, then you can go mad. We’ve got J.J. Abrams, and he’s already beautifully cracked that nut in the first film, and I think it pleased a lot of the varying camps: people who were coming to the franchise for the first time, the J.J. Abrams fans and the Star Trek fans, so that was a big comfort to me.

It’s always a compact between me and the writers and the directors – the people who are hiring me to do the job – and if I’m making them happy, I can trust that it’ll make fans happy as well… You know, ‘Sherlockies’ – as they’re probably known now, after Trekkies – have a long history. Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone are huge icons, playing a character that’s been taken on by different people over 70 times – you know, it’s the most played fictional character of all time – so having done two series of that and being reasonably confident we’re doing all right with it, and I’m doing all right with him, I’m not… overly confident about this, but I’m just saying it’s something you don’t let preoccupy yourself.

Alice Eve also spoke with Empire about her role and the audition process. You can read her comments from Empire by way of Collider by clicking here. It’s refreshing to see Cumberbatch take the comparison question head on and spin it to Star Trek’s benefit. What do you think about the comparisons? Do you think he hit the nail on the head with the bit about trying to please the fans?

Follow @comicbtherapy

Source : Empire via Collider

Bio
Latest Posts

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell

Senior Writer & Assistant Managing Editor at ComicBookTherapy

I'm a comic book and movie nerd who loves to share news I find interesting and hope you do as well. I'm a big Doctor Who fan and sci-fi in general. My favorite comic characters you ask? Well Thor, Wolverine, and Daredevil.