Benedict Cumberbatch on acting

Actor talks about his various roles in films out in 2013

Benedict Cumberbatch, star of The Fifth Estate and supporting actor in 12 Years a Slave, talks about finding challenging film roles.

Rising star Benedict Cumberbatch was a force at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Cumberbatch appeared in three films — The Fifth Estate, 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage Country — and the performances are as strong as they are diverse. His roles range from an empathetic slave owner to Julian Assange.

“As an actor approaching a role you have to find a level of empathy and understanding with your character, and I think to try and carve out anything that’s two-dimensional, to go into this realm of . . . you know, thumbs up, thumbs down — I just find that so limiting.”

Both The Fifth Estate and 12 Years a Slave open in theatres this week.

August: Osage County hits theatres in the new year.

Read more about Cumberbatch:

Benedict Cumberbatch on officiating a gay wedding

Controversy abounds over Julian Assange biopic, The Fifth Estate

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