Benedict Cumberbatch has "pretty stiff hips."
The 40-year-old actor portrays Dr. Stephen Strange in the forthcoming fantasy sci-fi film ‘Doctor Strange’ but has admitted he never expected to land the energetic superhero role because he really struggles to move and jump around freely.
He explained: "I am not an action star and I have pretty stiff hips."
However, despite his lack of lower body movement, bosses had their hearts set on Cumberbatch to play the lead role and even stalled the release date to suit him.
Speaking to the Radio Times magazine, he said: "The whole process has been very flattering because they’ve done something they would never do, which is stall the release so that I was available. ‘Hamlet’ was already in place and I didn’t want to give up the play. The ‘Sherlock’ people were going, ‘When are we going to film the fourth series?’ So there was a bit of bartering there but thank God it worked out and every side’s been patient. I was filming in Kathmandu two days after I finished ‘Hamlet’."
Although he has plenty of experience under this belt when it comes to acting, the handsome star really struggled to making the unreal real for the audience.
He explained: "Doctor Strange lives in our world at the beginning, but he gets stretched over this bizarre light beyond our understanding, beyond imagining.
"How do you do that for an audience? […]
"When I grew up, Asterix was the comics character I read a lot, as was Tintin. It wasn’t that I wasn’t into superheros, they just never crossed my path. The first Tim Burton ‘Batman’ film was a good year in my life: we were all into it at school, had posters on the walls, listened to the Prince soundtrack and did imitations of Jack Nicholson.
"’Shakespeare’ is heavily reliant on words, painting the image and the thought process. In ‘Doctor Strange’ there’s not so much pontificating on the meaning of life or the absurdity of it all. But there’s a fair old share of tragedy and comeuppance."
Benedict Cumberbatch has stiff hips
