Benedict Cumberbatch Praises 'The Power Of The Dog' Director For 12 Oscar Noms
By Kristin Myers on February 8, 2022 at 7:14 PM EST
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch may be receiving an Academy Award next month!
Cumberbatch was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar when the 94th Academy Award nominations were announced this morning. He was nominated for his role in the film “The Power of the Dog,” which picked up a staggering 12 nominations.
Cumberbatch sat down with Deadline late on Tuesday to talk about the “nauseated grin” he couldn’t shake.
Benedict Cumberbatch Praises Director Jane Campion For His ‘The Power Of The Dog’ Performance
Cumberbatch described the feeling of seeing his film receive so many nominations as “such a weird, heightened thing.”
“The Power of the Dog,” directed by Jane Campion, is based on Thomas Savage’s novel of the same name. Cumberbatch plays a rancher named Phil who begins to develop feelings for Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). His complicated feelings don’t get any easier when his mother, played by Kirsten Dunst, marries Phil’s brother, George (Jesse Plemons).
Cumberbatch praised Campion and her ability to compel the actors to bring the characters in her script to life.
“She saw me in the way that she saw the character, in the way that she sees everybody,” he explained. “She’s such a profound white witch, that woman. She’s extraordinarily gifted. She has a spiritual intuition. It’s obviously a lot of craft and hard work and deep thought, but it’s centered on a little bit of magic, really.”
Historically, Cumberbatch hasn’t been a fan of watching his own work, calling it an “uncomfortable, weird experience.” However, Campion tried to help him push through that to make the most of his performance.
“What I’m trying to say about the 12 nominations is to sit in your own audience is an uncomfortable, weird experience,” he explained. “I got over that a little bit because of Jane realizing the very best of what I’d tried to give her and seeing everything else going on around me.”
“The score, [DP] Ari [Wegner]’s camera work, the set, which I was blown away by, it was so richly detailed, it was masterful, and in that all these incredible performances,” he continued. “From Kodi, from Kirsten and Jesse. And to see all four of us getting nominated is a blessing… This degree of recognition at the end of it all is just remarkable and humbling.”
What's Next For Benedict Cumberbatch?
Cumberbatch is excited for his “amazing” next project: Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”
“The man is everything you expected him to be and heard about him being still,” he said. “It’s just a complete lived experience.”
He said that working with Wes Anderson was actually a bit similar to working with Jane Campion, although they both have their own unique style and approach.
“Not that dissimilar to Jane actually,” he went on. “Very different style and approach to filmmaking, but everything, the curatorship of every detail and surrendering yourself to that, to a master, is just a joy.”
“There’s a lot of lines and it’s the same kind of brain gym as doing Sherlock’s deductions,” he explained, referring to his role as Sherlock Holmes in BBC’s “Sherlock” series. The series had four seasons, which ran intermittently from 2010 to 2017.
“But I love that tapping-head-and-rubbing-tummy stuff,” Cumberbatch continued. “It’s a great stretch and the set and costume designs are just incredible and the era, the milieu, it’s just unlike anything I’ve done in recent years.”
Before he gets into his new role, Cumberbatch is returning to reprise his role as Doctor Strange in the Marvel sequel: “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” Elizabeth Olsen will also return to reprise her role as Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlett Witch.
Although he said that the film was “tough for everyone” due to COVID-19 complications and productions delays, he said that the film was “also incredibly enjoyable and no less enjoyable than the first one, so I hope the results are as good.”
The film deals with the repercussions of the spell that Doctor Strange cast to help Peter Parker in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Cumberbatch recently defended his character, saying, “To have those three films culminate in that moment was extraordinary to be a part of. And to let my character make some hefty mistakes out of love — really, out of generosity towards someone he realizes he really cares for.”
Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” directed by Sam Raimi, has a scheduled theatrical release date of May 6, 2022.
