BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH: Im in Prague.
Im doing a night shoot, so I havent started my working day.
I think I start about 10:30 until 7:30 in the morning.
Im just gearing up to have fun.
Its the most wonderful array of human reactions.
What was your own reaction to seeing yourself like that?
Image via HBO
CUMBERBATCH: I was like, Well, good, were half-way there to looking like him.
Once I had done that and the contact lenses, I was happy.
People said, Weve cast you, we havent cast him.
Image via HBO
You dont have to look like him.
And I said, I think being me, I do have to.
I want to step into this persons skin.
Image via HBO
I want to feel and look like him.
I want to think like him and move like him, and this is part of it.
So, Im gonna do this.
Image via HBO
They were like, Are you sure?
And I said, Yeah, I really am sure.
I have to do it.
But, Im thrilled with the result.
Its like a thriller.
And I thought this guy is intriguing, smart, cantankerous and brave, but hes also human.
He doesnt want to get involved with this fight that he feels strongly about because of the people involved.
And the people involved, when he does get involved, give a shot to get him uninvolved.
I said, I really wanna do this.
Can we just venture to make the timing work?
And my agent was really on board with it because of how good the script was.
So, thats how I came to be involved.
And you had previously worked with the director, Toby Haynes, onSherlock.
CUMBERBATCH: I think Toby was attached.
I didnt produce this, so I didnt have a say in that.
Toby was already very much that guy.
It was a great fit for both of us.
That was another huge benefit to doing this.
What do you like about working and collaborating with him?
Is there just an easiness, when you know how somebody works?
CUMBERBATCH: Yeah, you have a shorthand.
He wears his heart on his sleeve.
Hes very transparent, as a human being.
Theres a friendship there, as well.
Its not just a working relationship of respect, but theres also friendship of support.
The shorthand is the biggest thing.
For whatever reason, there are differences, so you have to practice empathy.
That was definitely a draw for me.
So, that was great.
It polarized people so massively.
Its one of Dominics most interesting contradictions.
Hes a man who believes in the cause, but not the means of going about getting it.
To understand that better by playing him was a real eye-opener.
I guess thats one of the things that I like to practice, as an actor.
I get to go to places that I wouldnt do necessarily, in my life.
Thats one of the real joys of it, actually, and the thrill of it.
Its not always something that I seek out.
But with this, it was the whole thing.
It was the experience of doing something different from me.
CUMBERBATCH: You naturally lean in.
You become empathetic with your character and you understand him.
The thought of liking or disliking him, what are we talking about, Facebook?
Lifes a little bit more complicated.
I really enjoyed meeting Dominic.
Theres no reason for him to be.
Thats just his nature.
Its who he is.
You understand someones point of view far better, if you work from within their point of view.
Thats a good thing to practice as a human being, in general.
I want to try and understand something.
Hes such a fascinatingly complex person.
CUMBERBATCH: He is.
Its not about the issue or the ideology.
He feels sorry that weve ended up in this drama.
He won, but not with the outcome that any of us or he feels we really deserved.
So, hes complex, but who isnt?
And what about this situation with Brexit isnt complex?
He says, We didnt create this.
Its been there for years.
Were just using it with the vote, but its been there for years.
You played another real-life person who really divides peoples opinions, when you played Julian Assange inThe Fifth Estate.
How do you think that film has aged, in the five years since it was released in theaters?
CUMBERBATCH: I dont know.
I havent seen it since it was released.
Id have to see it again.
CUMBERBATCH: Yeah, its extraordinary.
We open our newspapers and the turnover of events is so fast.
Everything is in constant flux.
Theres a story and a headline thats worthy of a new James Graham script, every single day.
So, this is very much a time capsule.
They wouldnt have relevance.
Its bizarre to do this work, and then to see it tied into history that keeps unfolding.
Is that typically what you strive for?
CUMBERBATCH: Yeah, absolutely.
You hit it on the head.
Its been an embarrassment of riches, when you get that amount of choice and variety.
Its been a very lovely year for me.
Brexitpremieres on HBO on Saturday, January 19th.
