Benedict Cumberbatch just dropped the plot of a real-life action thriller that sounds straight out of Hollywood… except it’s all terrifyingly true.
In an interview with Variety, the 48-year-old Doctor Strange star reflected on the time he was actually in the multiverse of madness—South Africa, circa 2004. Picture young Benedict, not yet a Marvel sorcerer, but a dashing actor in his late 20s, filming the BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth. Things were going smoothly until… surprise! A casual diving trip with friends turned into a Taken sequel nobody asked for.
While cruising back from their aquatic adventure, fate—or rather, a traitorous tire—decided to spice things up. Their car pulled a dramatic “I quit” move and broke down. Enter six robbers, stage left. Armed, dangerous, and definitely not fans of British TV dramas, these guys robbed Benedict and his pals before abducting them. Yes, abducted. As in “bound and tossed into a car like a bad reality show challenge.”
Hours later, after what we imagine was a lot of panicked British politeness—“Terribly sorry, could you not kill us, perhaps?”—the kidnappers decided to call it a day. They dumped the group, tied up and lined up execution-style. Because, clearly, these guys took their cues from every crime movie ever made. Luckily, Benedict and his friends survived the ordeal as their captors fled, leaving them shaken but alive.
Naturally, an experience like this leaves you with a new perspective on life—or possibly an unhealthy urge to skydive, which is exactly what Benedict did.
“It gave me a sense of time,” Benedict shared, cryptically. (Translation: Wow, life’s short, let’s do cool stuff.) He admitted the whole thing made him crave a “life less ordinary,” which sounds poetic until you realize it’s code for “risk everything all the time.” From jumping out of planes to other extreme sports, Benedict essentially became a real-life action star with a penchant for danger.
“The near-death stuff turbo-fueled all that,” he said, casually dropping the phrase “near-death stuff” like it’s no biggie. He even leaned into the I could die any second mindset for a while because, hey, why not? But fast-forward to now, and Benedict’s toned it down, thanks to family life. Apparently, being a husband and dad makes you reconsider flinging yourself into the void for fun. Who knew?
These days, Benedict is a little more chill, having accepted the inevitability of life’s finale. “I’ve looked over the edge,” he said, sounding like a wise philosopher who’s also incredibly good-looking. “It’s made me comfortable with what lies beneath it.”
Translation: He’s faced death, lived to tell the tale, and is now that guy at parties with the best story ever. Someone hand this man an award for surviving 2004 and making it sound so damn cool.
