‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ star Benedict Cumberbatch ‘star-struck’ of Meryl Streep and says he auditioned by iPhone
While promoting his new film, Star Trek Into Darkness, Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch confessed to the Yorkshire Evening Press that he’s just beginning and gets a bit “star-struck” from time to time.
“We had one scene around the table with Meryl Streep and I just couldn’t act. I was in awe of her,” he admits.
Cumberbatch was referring to his upcoming film August: Osage County which he stars alongside Streep and Julie Roberts.
“I’m only at the beginning of the fame game,” he says. “So I still get star-struck all the time. Meryl is spellbinding to watch. She really is extraordinary.”
Ben Batch stars as John Harrison, a villain in JJ Abrams’ sci-fi sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, which sees him join a returning cast which includes Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Simon Pegg.
He auditioned on his iPhone, filming a clip and sending it over. “It had taken a day to compress this little file so once that had been done, I sat back and waited,” he says.
“Then I got a note back saying JJ’s on holiday, which is fine because he has to have a rest sometime. I just didn’t get the tape in before the Christmas holidays.”
Once the film-maker replied, Cumberbatch admitted it took a while for the news to sink in.
“I got an email and I didn’t pick up on the signals. The email said, ‘Do you want to come and play?’ and I thought, ‘What – squash or tennis or some kind of racquet-based activity?’ Then the penny slowly dropped,” he recalls.
Cumberbatch has only praise for Abrams, whom he describes as “ridiculously talented”.
“He’s fantastic. I love him to bits,” he says. “Anything he turns his hand to, he seems to conquer. And he’s ridiculously charming and smart too.”
It’s also an honor to play the bad guy and find that balance.
“I’m following in the hallowed footsteps of (Jeremy) Irons, (Alan) Rickman and Tom Hiddleston, my great friend in Avengers Assemble. There are a few of us who have done it before, it stretches back as old as time,” he says.
“I think it could have fallen into stereotype though. There’s a grey area. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter but I think you can empathise with his cause, maybe not his means of going about getting his ends. He has a moral core – he just has a method which is pretty brutal and abhorrent.”
Check out the full interview here
Star Trek Into Darkness starts in theaters May 18.
