Benedict Cumberbatch on working with his seven-year-old co-stars

SdTvClips

Benedict Cumberbatch describes how he got through an emotional scene with an unruly child co-stars on 'The Thing With Feathers.'

Transcript

00:00Dylan Southern, who's the director and also the writer,

00:03he's the visionary behind this film adaptation of the book.

00:05And he, in the audition process, they were the only ones he really, really wanted.

00:10And when I went in to do a test with them, I came out and go,

00:14and I just, I was, I'm scared. I'm actually scared.

00:18It was so dangerous. They're not actors.

00:21They're untrained. They're two seven-year-old brothers. And they're brothers. They're twins.

00:24The purity of their vulnerability was the scary thing?

00:26No, just the fact that they are mental and out of control.

00:29Yeah, no.

00:32You know, they were fighting each other. They were throwing insults at me.

00:35They were tearing around the room.

00:37Oh, wow.

00:38Yeah, but they are extraordinary.

00:40They really are.

00:41Richard, who's the slightly older one, by seconds to Henry,

00:45is sort of preternaturally old soul.

00:49He looks older, even though they are seconds apart in birth.

00:52And there were two moments that I remember very chiefly,

00:54how we kind of got through it and can't quite believe we did it.

00:57One moment when I'm telling them, their mother's died,

01:00and Richard just found it unbelievably funny from...

01:03LAUGHTER

01:04He just came towards her.

01:06LAUGHTER

01:07And then, you know, eventually he got into it,

01:13and I said, I think, you know, because you're upset,

01:16you might want to just sort of allow me to just cuddle.

01:19I think we should have a huddle here.

01:20I think this is kind of a cuddle moment.

01:21He went, no.

01:22I don't like colours.

01:25I don't like colours.

01:26Well, can we just this once, just this once?

01:28He did it.

01:29And during the take, he whispered in the air like this,

01:32he was like,

01:33You owe me big time.

01:35LAUGHTER

01:36A weak man!

01:38APPLAUSE

01:39Thank you, Herr Raw membership.

01:39Thanks, indeed.

01:40Thanks, Andrea.

01:45Thank you, thank you.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended