«The magic of cinema is a fantastic muscle to exercise»

Acclaimed actor Benedict Cumberbatch (London, 45) has a myriad of brilliant characters that reflect the complexity of the human experience. Thanks to Doctor Strange Cumberbatch’s career reached the top of Hollywood. Giving life to the Supreme Sorcerer, he appeared for the first time in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, and since then we have seen him interpret the character within the Marvel universe up to six times. After his acclaimed role in ‘The Power of the Dog’, Cumberbatch is now making his seventh appearance in the film ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, by director Sam Raimi.

-Is Doctor Stephen Strange the role that has defined your career?

-Yes absolutely. He is one of the most important characters in my career. Doctor Strange has given me the reach and financial freedom to be able to support, nurture and fund smaller things – stories I wouldn’t otherwise be able to bring to the screen. So, I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity, for this complex, rewarding, and fun character to play. I love being Doctor Strange.

-Do you walk with the character into the future?

I’m on your trip. I like to interpret it, live the challenge of showing it from different perspectives. A film like this is a long-distance race, more of a marathon than a complete immersion for a short period of time, and that’s incredibly satisfying. The level of concentration required contrasts with the childish joy I feel in pretending to be a man who flies and is completely different from me.

-Doctor Strange makes you believe in magic?

-The magic of cinema is a fantastic muscle that must be exercised. It amuses me to create authenticity literally out of thin air. That’s the magic I believe in.

Do you see Doctor Strange as an optimistic superhero?

-He is very human, he has many flaws, but he is optimistic. Despite his arrogance, his humor, and some other weird stuff, he’s a bit clueless in this movie. He evolves from the need to control him, because of his obsession with perfection, to becoming someone better and stronger within a team. When he is alone he feels weak and being part of a group is very positive for him. Like Strange, we all need to find a community where we can show our optimism.

-The movie ‘Doctor Strange’ has been censored in Saudi Arabia for a scene where the two lesbian mothers of one of the characters appear.

-I am very happy that we are not censoring this film to please a regime. It is unfair that many fans are denied the film because of the inclusion of an LGBT character, but unfortunately, it was expected. Saudi Arabia is a tyranny and I find it extraordinarily negative that there are people in a country whose sexuality can lead to imprisonment, torture and even execution. To think that this was a problem of the past is a mistake and the censorship of a cultural event highlights the real danger for the people of that community in that country.

-You have said that this film is a personal examination of Doctor Strange, do the characters he stars make you reflect?

-It is a strange form of public therapy to show aspects of human nature that I may or may not share with the characters. I think there’s a very elegant element to getting the audience to believe that I’m the character. For me there is nothing more fascinating than the creation of an experience or a perspective of life that is not mine. With Doctor Strange I have felt that he was doing personal therapy through his reflections. The multiverse allows us to see the acceleration in the evolution of the character and how he becomes someone that he was not at the beginning of the film.

-Is this film a veiled critique of individualism?

-I guess so. Now we all have complex lives and have multiple digital personalities. We are moving into the metaverse and soon we will have many other digital selves in an unexplored universe where we will even work with our dreams. All of that is reflected in the film and culturally it is part of the predominant narrative at the moment. It is not something invented by our writers, the writers have not needed to scratch their heads, the metaverse is something that we already have in our society and, whichever way you look at it; From politics to society to religious beliefs, which used to motivate entire groups of people, there is a kind of exploration of individualism in every field. I believe that entertainment brings to the cinema the headlines that plague the world, and I like to think that my films share the spirit of what is happening in our society.

-You always recommend British or American authors, and I was wondering if you have ever read an author who writes in Spanish.

-Apart from the classics, like obviously Cervantes, I don’t remember any, would you recommend any?

-Roberto Bolaño, for example.

-I will read it, I am always interested in discovering new authors.