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Television
by Nigel M Smith
Fri May 04 16:44:59 EDT 2012
9 Comments
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'Sherlock' Star Benedict Cumberbatch On the Sleuth's Sexuality and How His Own Stock Has Increased

"Sherlock" PBS
The BBC's "Sherlock," the popular and critically acclaimed modern day take on the iconic British sleuth, returns for a second season this Sunday on PBS (9pm ET) in the US. The three new feature-length episodes -- which find Holmes butting heads with his female counterpart Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) and going up against criminal mastermind Jim Moriarty -- premiered to stellar numbers earlier this year in the UK, where its star, the dashing and extremely eloquent Benedict Cumberbatch (best known here for his supporting turns in "Atonement" and "War Horse"), has gone on to become a bona fide star since the first season caught fire with audiences.

It's little wonder "Sherlock" has gone over so well with fans of Arthur Conan Doyle's creation and newcomers alike. Without ever paying mention do any earlier incarnations of Holmes, the series (and Cumberbatch's Holmes for that matter) is both fresh and familiar. This isn't the action-star Holmes of the Guy Ritchie films; this Holmes (as envisioned by series co-creator Steven Moffat, who also worked his magic on revamping "Doctor Who") is closer to what Conan Doyle's initially envisioned -- Holmes as all work and no play. It's just this time around, Holmes has some nifty gadgets to help him out.

Cumberbatch, currently in the midst of shooting J.J. Abrams' sequel to his hit "Star Trek" reboot (he's playing the main baddie, Khan Noonien Sing), spoke with Indiewire about the latest season of "Sherlock," the character's non-existent sex drive, and what he has in common with Holmes.

Sherlock's not exactly a people person; I'm therefore a little intimated to speak to you…

No he's not [laughs]. He's pretty judgmental. That's one quality. He's got a God complex. I think he thinks he's not human, so therefore anyone that is is just a letdown to him.

How in your mind does this new take on Holmes differ from the other ones that've come before?

"It's all about the game. The game is on, the hunt is on. He's an animal on the scent."
I don't think he's that radically different from the Holmes of the books. Let's talk about his moods first of all -- the high and the low. He has this manic ability whereby the highs are when he has a case and when he's solving it. The lows or the anger (or any other color in between) have to do with the frustrations he has with other people's thinking or their inadequacies. Ineptitude stretches his patience.

I know a lot of people like that. I don't think it's because of me that they painted it that way. I think it's a very apparent in the book that his glee and his joy comes at the beginning of the case and when he's solved it. It's all about the game. The game is on, the hunt is on. He's an animal on the scent. Where things differ in the second series is that Steven and Mark [Gatiss, co-creator] started to write to my strengths and also to test me as well. I said, "For God's sake, don't let me do more of the same."

At the beginning they thought of me as a good fit, but they had already written the pilot episode by the time I was meeting them. I did a little reading for them in a living room where I was given tea and biscuits. I actually had a biscuit, which is very not Sherlock Holmes. I thought I might lose the job because of that!

So I think they catered to me more in the second series, especially with regard to relationships -- such as the relationship between Mrs. Hudson and Holmes. Steven saw how familiar we were. Mrs. Hudson is like my mom on set; I mean that in the best possible sense. My mom's a wonderful woman, and she mothers me when she doesn't need to. Mrs. Hudson is of the same generation. Steven saw that closeness and care and added that into the second series, as you'll see.

"Sherlock" PBS
Another relationship the second season devotes a lot of time to is that between you and Irene Adler. Is theirs a romantic one?

No, it's never going to be romance with him. They play with each other like predators. It's pretty sick; they're both damaged people. There's no sentiment. But what is painfully romantic -- like in all the best love stories -- is what's left unspoken. Is there a sexual element to it? Without a doubt there is. But as you'll see it's a game of chess, and it's a very cruel, cruel game of love, if it is love.

Given that she wasn't around in the first season, how did you wrap your head around Sherlock's non-existent sex drive?

Well, I see no reason at all why he shouldn't be sexual. Everyone recruited him to their perspective, their interpretation. I've had asexuals come up to me and thank me for representing asexuals. I don't know how that came about. I mean, the man's too busy to have sex. That's really what is it. Not every man has a sex drive that needs to be attended to. Like a lot of things in his life where he's purposely dehumanized himself, it's do to with not wanting the stuff that is time wasting, that's messy. That goes for certain relationships, as well as sexual intimacy.

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TAGS: Interviews, Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch, BBC, Television, TV Interviews

9 Comments

  • P'lar | Sun May 06 15:51:10 EDT 2012Reply

    Great interview, but I would have appreciated a warning about the Star Trek spoiler - there's a reason everyone is being very hush-hush about Mr. Cumberbatch's role, and now his take on a seminal character in the ST universe won't be a surprise. Shame on , Mr. Smith!

  • Ava | Sat May 05 20:02:25 EDT 2012Reply

    I remember him from The Last Enemy where Benedict Cumberbatch was a standout. I love Sherlock because it just WORKS. There are many ways this show could go wrong, yet it seems to get everything just Right.

  • Natalie | Sat May 05 15:31:31 EDT 2012Reply

    Very interesting and enjoyable interview. Benedict is awesome! He seems so nice, funny and intelligent. And of course, he is tremendously talented. I look forward to his future roles in TV and Film :)

  • Disappointed | Sat May 05 09:06:54 EDT 2012Reply

    I love Benedict and his brilliant work. Sherlock was a delight!!!

    I'm disappointed at the Star Trek character SPOILER as I've been avoiding articles that go into any detail on plot, etc. It was unfortunate to ambushed with information that did not need to be in this article. Please do better!

  • ANON | Sat May 05 07:57:23 EDT 2012Reply

    [Maniacal laugh]

    ha!
    Don't think I've ever read that in a transcript before. Though he does have a perfect evil laugh.
    He's going to make such an awesome villain...

  • Neo | Sat May 05 00:33:40 EDT 2012Reply

    Great interview. It's interesting to get the insight of Cumberbatch's interpretation of this modern-day Holmes, which I found might be the most striking one among so many Holmes incarnations.

  • China | Fri May 04 17:12:26 EDT 2012Reply

    I hope Marvel and Cumberbatch can work together. Doctor Strange would be a very good fit for him.

  • helen | Fri May 04 17:01:10 EDT 2012Reply

    Is there an audio recording of this interview we can listen to. His voice is so wonderful I;m sure lots would like to hear it.

  • guest | Fri May 04 16:59:04 EDT 2012Reply

    Brilliant actor and if the screaming fangirls at the PBS Q&A are to go by he's got a huge fanbase

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