Benedict Cumberbatch Would Love to Break Into Directing
Benedict Cumberbatch has said that he would love to break into directing. Cumberbatch, known best for his roles as Marvel superhero Doctor Strange and Sherlock Holmes in BBC's Sherlock, recently began a grueling six-day working week to complete reshoots for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Cumberbatch has had a busy year of releases, with The Mauritanian, The Power of the Dog, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, What If...?, and the upcoming third installment of the Spider-Man franchise, Spider-Man: No Way Home, all having released during 2021.
Cumberbatch has involved himself in many different forms of media. While he is best known for his roles on TV and film, before taking on the role of Sherlock, Cumberbatch was heavily involved with theatre and even performed on the west end. As well as this, he also has a lot of experience with voice work, having performed on the radio and provided narration for documentaries for National Geographic, among others. Considering his eagerness to try so many forms of media, it comes as no surprise that Cumberbatch has expressed his desire to direct numerous times in the past.
In a recent podcast of WTF with Marc Maron, when asked whether he wanted to direct, Cumberbatch told Marc Maron "I'd love to, yeah." Following his comment, Maron asks him when he plans to do this, which he makes clear likely won't be for a few years yet; "Probably when the kids are older. It's so consuming, you know." While discussing other stars who have experience both in front of and behind the camera, such as Taika Waititi, who recently cameoed in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain alongside Cumberbatch, he delved deeper into the types of projects he'd like to direct. He stated that he'd like to start with something small, dismissing the possibility of properties such as Marvel becoming his directorial debut.
Although he plans to wait to begin directing, Cumberbatch has gained experience behind the scenes with his production company SunnyMarch, which he co-founded alongside friend Adam Ackland. As a result, Cumberbatch has been involved in the production of many successful films and series, including The Courier and the Emmy-Nominated Patrick Melrose, in which Cumberbatch stars in both. With hands-on experience all over the media industry, directing his first series or film feels like a natural step for Cumberbatch to make.
With his wealth of knowledge and understanding of what needs to be done as an actor and behind the scenes, it's safe to say Cumberbatch's eventual first directing job will probably be a success. Unfortunately, those eagerly awaiting Cumberbatch's directorial debut will likely be waiting a while before he sits in the director's chair. His role as Doctor Strange is likely to consume a lot of his time in the coming years as Marvel Studios gears up to make Stephen Strange a more prominent character in the MCU. With Cumberbatch's understandable reservations about taking on such a time-consuming job before his children have grown up some more, it will probably be several years before Benedict Cumberbatch will be adding director to his long list of accomplishments.
Source: WTF with Marc Maron