BREAKING NEWSBenedict Cumberbatch Reveals He Was Robbed and Kidnapped While Filming TV Show in South Africa: 'I Could Die at Any Moment'
Benedict Cumberbatch was kidnapped in South Africa.
Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch recently opened up about how he and some friends were robbed and abducted when he was filming The Ends of the Earth in South Africa in 2004.
Cumberbatch claimed he and his acquaintances were forced into a vehicle and driven around for hours by six complete strangers.
Benedict Cumberbatch was driven around for hours.
During a diving excursion with friends, their tire blew out, forcing them to stop on the roadside.
The actor described several men grabbing him and others from the car, leading them to be driven around aimlessly.
Eventually, they were forced to sit with their hands tied, resembling an execution-style situation, as the culprits fled the scene.
Benedict Cumberbatch was dropped off unharmed.
The actor, who was in his 20s at the time, shared how the traumatizing event had a profound impact on him.
"It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one," Cumberbatch expressed. "It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience."
"The near-death stuff turbo-fueled all that. It made me go, 'Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment,'" he continued. "I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks. But apart from my parents, I didn’t have any real dependents at that point. Now that’s changed, and that sobers you. I’ve looked over the edge; it’s made me comfortable with what lies beneath it. And I’ve accepted that that’s the end of all our stories."
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Benedict Cumberbatch is a father to three sons.
The Sherlock actor reflected on the kidnapping after the birth of his three sons and his 2015 marriage to Sophie Hunter.
"The minute you have kids, this sense of time sinks in far more profoundly," Cumberbatch noted. "My youngest is turning 6 tomorrow, and I’m like, ‘I will be in my 60s when he’s 21,’ you know? It’s crazy. It’s gone so fast. So there’s a huge shift in priorities, and it makes you value what you do with your life in a very different way."
"It does weigh on me. When you become a parent, your thoughts turn more towards mortality," he added.
Benedict Cumberbatch has several films coming down the pipeline.
Cumberbatch also told Variety how becoming a parent has inspired him to take more risky bets in his acting career.
"There’s nothing wrong with saying, ‘I really want to try to craft something together.’ It’s all about perception," the Marvel actor said. "It’s about becoming comfortable saying, ‘I’m an artist rather than, you know, a bit of meat for hire.’ After all, time is running out."
The 48-year-old actor has several upcoming projects, including the heavily anticipated superhero flick Avengers: Doomsday.
