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Sometimes, some films demand a certain level of discipline from an actor. Consider Christian Bale for The Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012) for his bulky physique or Brad Pitt for his shredded body in Fight Club (1999).
Benedict Cumberbatch had to go through such a transformation for his role as the MCU's Doctor Stephen Strange. However, he didn't like an aspect of this process very much. He appeared in Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast, where he shared about this, and he sure didn't like the intake for it. He said,
"I don’t like it personally. I think it’s horrific, eating beyond your appetite. And again going back to responsibility and resourcefulness and sustainability, it’s just like, what am I doing? I could feed a family with the amount I’m eating."
We should be adding The Machinist (2004), the cornerstone in the list of every movie that requires strict discipline, but this is about gaining weight and not losing it.
Besides food intake, physical activity is as important as diet. Ralph Fiennes, for example, had to stick to a daily routine that included lots of workouts for his role as Odysseus in The Return (2024). That's the same for every role that demands a drastic weight change.
What does Benedict Cumberbatch think about losing weight?
His latest conversation on the Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast shed light on gaining weight but not on shedding it. He has talked about losing weight, too, and that wasn't a great experience for him either. During an interview about his role in The Courier (2020), where he had to lose about 21 lbs of weight, he told Cinemablend that,
"It’s horrible, but it’s basically a description for self digestion, you also have to strip away muscle. And that’s a very nasty thing to be doing. And you get very disoriented, you feel dehydrated, you feel hungry all the time. You feel emotionally and physically very vulnerable."
The difficult part was not the end of the filming of his 2020 movie, but returning to his former Doctor Strange self for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
Benedict Cumberbatch thinks of Hollywood as a "grossly wasteful industry"
In the latest podcast, Benedict Cumberbatch also called Hollywood a "grossly wasteful industry" when he was talking about the weight gain that demanded a body be fed five times a day.
However, that wasn't the only reason the actor thinks like that. He said,
"Think about set builds that aren’t recycled, think about transport, think about food, think about housing, but also light and energy. The amount of wattage you need to create daylight and consistent light in a studio environment. It’s a lot of energy."
It's a standard practice for art departments to develop sets and break them down by the end of filming. A 2022 study by an agency called Earth Angel said that the average TV show or movie generated 240 tons of waste.
Veteran director Karen Steward, who also helped found the Art Directors Guild's Green Committee, told National Public Radio (NPR) last year that they are working on more sustainable practices.
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Also Read: 10 best Benedict Cumberbatch performances, ranked
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