Benedict Cumberbatch Details 'Near-Death' Experience While Being Abducted in South Africa

Benedict Cumberbatch is looking back at a terrifying experience.

In a new interview with Variety, the 48-year-old Doctor Strange actor recalled filming a BBC television series back in the day in South Africa where he and his friends were abducted, bound, eventually abandoned in a “near-death” experience.

Keep reading to find out more…Back in 2004, Benedict was in his late 20s when he was shooting the miniseries To the Ends of the Earth in South Africa when he and some friends went on an diving excursion.

While driving home, their tire blew out and after the pulled over to the side of the road, they were robbed and abducted by six men. Benedict and his friends were forced into the car and driven around for hours before eventually their kidnappers let them out, tied them up, and made them sit execution-style. Eventually the men fled.

Benedict says that the horrifying experience changed him in fundamental ways.

“It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one,” Benedict explained. “It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience.” 

The moment also transformed him into an adrenaline junkie, and has since gone skydiving and tried other extreme sports as a way to unwind.

“The near-death stuff turbo-fueled all that,” Benedict said. “It made me go, ‘Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment.’ 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.”

Also in the new interview, Benedict shared some Avengers spoilers!