Benedict Cumberbatch has urged young people to treat bullies "with love".
The ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ actor has been interviewed by 14-year-old YouTube star Sophia Grace, who asked him what advice he would give his teenage self on variety of subjects, starting with childhood tormentors.
Benedict said: "This is a really, really difficult subject. As hard as it may seem, you have to meet it with love. You have to try and empathise with behaviour and not hate yourself but understand why people often want to damage other people, it’s because they’re damaged themselves."
The 41-year-old father-of-two added: "If you could just turn that mirror around a little bit on them than that could quell it slightly. To stand on your own two feet, to stand unaffected by bullies, they don’t really know the real you, they want to get at something to feel better about themselves. The strongest advice is to not take it personally because it’s not really about you."
The ‘Sherlock’ star also offered tips on coping with her fear of flying.
He joked with Sophia: "You can’t drink alcohol that’s the problem!"
Benedict added: "Logic doesn’t help much with fear because fear is an emotion that transcends logic. It’s an emotional response.
"I think you have to meet it head on otherwise it will fester and get bigger. One of the things you can do when you get older is to learn how to fly apparently because it’s the feeling of being out of control.
"I think about the logic and how unlikely it is, you’re more likely to die crossing the road statistically speaking."
And Benedict admitted he likes experiencing turbulence when he’s in his seat on a plane.
Benedict is father to sons Christopher, two, and Hal, one, with his wife of three years Sophie Hunter.
Benedict Cumberbatch: Love your bullies
