Benedict Cumberbatch and Penelope Cruz bond over their favorite directors, love for cinema and more
by Jaskiran Kaur | Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:20:23 GMT
Image Source: People.com, Wallpapersafari

Penelope Cruz and Benedict Cumberbatch recently came together on Variety's Actors on Actors show. They talked about their films, Parallel Mothers, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Power of The Dog, their respective directors, and the joys of watching films in cinema halls. 

The two actors started their talk with Penelope Cruz letting Cumberbatch know that they had previously met when they shot Zoolander 2 in Rome. Though Cumberbatch did not remember the specific moment, he shared what it was like to play a non-binary character, while himself not being one. 

The character portrayal by Cumberbatch has led to a lot of raised eyebrows and the actor acknowledged the mistake. Talking about his nonbinary fashion model named All, he shared, "I think in this era, my role would never be performed by anybody other than a trans actor. But I remember at the time not thinking of it necessarily in that regard, and it being more about two dinosaurs, two heteronormative clichés not understanding this new diverse world."

"But it backfired a little bit," he admitted before adding, "But it was lovely to meet you in that brief moment and to work with Ben and Owen." Ben Stiller played Derek Zoolander in the film and Owen Wilson played Hansel. 

Penelope Cruz revealed that she was glad to have the conversation with Cumberbatch. The Doctor Strange actor then went on to ask Cruz about her role in Parallel Mothers. The actor stated that the film has Cruz at her finest and it is her seventh work with the phenomenal Pedro Almodovar. As he appreciated the actress on her acting and the wide range of 'emotion' that she expresses in her works. 

Cruz then detailed the rehearsal time she had with each of the movies, especially 'Volver' and 'Parallel Mothers' to get so good at what she does. The actor also revealed that Cruz had rehearsed for three months before she shot Volver. "In “Parallel Mothers,” it was even a longer period," she detailed. "We rehearsed four and a half months. I love having directors that want to give you that time. I enjoy every single moment of the process with him — of trying everything, making mistakes, not being afraid of doing it all wrong."

As Cruz shared her experience about shooting films, Cumberbatch revealed the secret behind his own hit performance in The Power of The Dog. The director, Jane Campion, later even shared that she was not sure what the actor was up to in the movie, but allowed him plenty of time to get accustomed to his character in the film.

"I had a similar experience with Jane. It wasn’t just rehearsing. It was just letting the character marinate, talking about him, trying to discover him and his past," he revealed. He said that incorporating the skill of the character into himself was really important for him, and he worked on everything "from the accent to the roping to banjo playing and whittling." 

"But really the most important thing was just excavating him and his psyche. The only time I’ve really experienced that before, certainly not in a film, was in the theater," he said.  

Cumberbatch also revealed that he has had some theater experience and Cruz added that she would love to do theater once her kids were older. The actor admitted that "it is hard" to do theatre when the children are young. 

Penelope Cruz also took a moment to appreciate the works of Jane and Perdo and called them alike in many aspects. The actress detailed that both the directors are very conscious of their works and shoots, and everything that comes in the span of the camera. 

"They are two of the directors that are also visually stronger and very particular. Nothing is there in a capricious way," she said. "I can see in every shot from Jane, it’s like Pedro: Everything is calculated. Everything is there for a reason. Nothing is there just because she feels, “Oh, that’s pretty.” And Pedro is the same. Even the selection of the colors."

"Jane is a master of that as well. Every choice of her frame is sometimes subconscious, sometimes poetic," added Cumberbatch, himself appreciating the directors and calling them a 'master colorist.'

Cumberbatch also shared what it was like to play Phil and how the character upset so many people. The actor shared that many people told him that they could not watch his film as his Phil portrayal was just so mean. The actor revealed that it took some time to get into the shoes of Phil and undr=erstand why he is the way that he is. 

"I always dive into a role trying to understand why somebody does something. The minute you try and build a bridge between behavior and the cause of it, you start to empathize through an understanding, through reasoning, which doesn’t condone that behavior necessarily, but it at least explains how it occurred," he shared. "For me, he’s a very tragic figure. He’s suppressing his sexuality."

"The trick of the film is that by the end, you should feel for Phil," he added. "You should, in some ways, mourn his loss as much as the inevitable conclusion to his behavior."

Benedict Cumberbatch then followed in what it was like to act in Spider-Man: No Way Home. "To have those three films culminate at that moment was extraordinary to be a part of. And to let my character make some hefty mistakes out of love — really, out of generosity towards someone he realizes he really cares for," he shared. "From a stand-alone success of a movie, of a franchise, it’s phenomenal. I genuinely sat there entertained, thrilled, really moved. I laughed a lot."

The actor also added that he loved to be in a room full of people who loved watching the film in the cinema, to which Cruz added her own adoration. "Nothing compares with watching movies in theaters, not being at home with a hundred interruptions," she said.

Here is to hoping that the cinemas stand safe in this pandemic-sick world. 

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