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| Snobbish about TV? It is your loss, Benedict Cumberbatch tells actors | Snobbish about TV? It is your loss, Benedict Cumberbatch tells actors |
| (4 months later) | |
| Lines are ‘beautifully blurred now between what big- and small-screen is’ says star ahead of Sunday night BBC1 drama | |
| Mark Brown Arts correspondent | |
| Tue 19 Sep 2017 00.29 BST | |
| Last modified on Tue 19 Dec 2017 20.52 GMT | |
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| There is now such a blur between film and TV that if any actor remains snobbish about the small-screen medium, “it is their loss”, Benedict Cumberbatch has said. | There is now such a blur between film and TV that if any actor remains snobbish about the small-screen medium, “it is their loss”, Benedict Cumberbatch has said. |
| Cumberbatch was speaking after the first screening of the new BBC1 drama The Child in Time, in which he stars. The one-off drama – an adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 1987 Whitbread award-winning novel – is due to air on Sunday 24 September. | Cumberbatch was speaking after the first screening of the new BBC1 drama The Child in Time, in which he stars. The one-off drama – an adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 1987 Whitbread award-winning novel – is due to air on Sunday 24 September. |
| Cumberbatch said actors could not afford to be snooty about what work they took on. | Cumberbatch said actors could not afford to be snooty about what work they took on. |
| “The lines are so fine, they are beautifully blurred now between what big- and small-screen is – unless you’re talking about something which is episodic,” he said. | “The lines are so fine, they are beautifully blurred now between what big- and small-screen is – unless you’re talking about something which is episodic,” he said. |
| “If you give it enough air and space, it [TV] can feel cinematic, but I think those terms are so beautifully intertwined now that you can’t always separate cinema and television. Fuck it, it’s acting. If it’s good material, it’s good material. | “If you give it enough air and space, it [TV] can feel cinematic, but I think those terms are so beautifully intertwined now that you can’t always separate cinema and television. Fuck it, it’s acting. If it’s good material, it’s good material. |
| “The opportunity to do good work is there whatever the medium – radio, television or film or stage.” | “The opportunity to do good work is there whatever the medium – radio, television or film or stage.” |
| Cumberbatch plays a children’s writer who goes through one of the most harrowing situations it is possible to imagine. He is in a supermarket paying for his shopping and when he turns around, his four-year-old daughter is gone. | Cumberbatch plays a children’s writer who goes through one of the most harrowing situations it is possible to imagine. He is in a supermarket paying for his shopping and when he turns around, his four-year-old daughter is gone. |
| All involved in the project admit it is quite a hard sell, because it sounds so grim. But there are laughs and, as the drama unfolds, it is not unremittingly depressing. | All involved in the project admit it is quite a hard sell, because it sounds so grim. But there are laughs and, as the drama unfolds, it is not unremittingly depressing. |
| Kelly Macdonald, who plays the wife of Cumberbatch’s character, said friends of hers recoiled when she told them what the drama was about – because it sounds so miserable. | Kelly Macdonald, who plays the wife of Cumberbatch’s character, said friends of hers recoiled when she told them what the drama was about – because it sounds so miserable. |
| “But it’s not,” she said. “It is such a film of love and life and hope and being human.” | “But it’s not,” she said. “It is such a film of love and life and hope and being human.” |
| Cumberbatch is one of the executive producers of the 90-minute drama. One of the most difficult scenes to film was the scene where Cumberbatch loses his daughter. | Cumberbatch is one of the executive producers of the 90-minute drama. One of the most difficult scenes to film was the scene where Cumberbatch loses his daughter. |
| It was tricky for practical reasons, director Julian Farino said, in that the store opened at 11am and they were meant to be out by then after starting filming at 6.30am. | It was tricky for practical reasons, director Julian Farino said, in that the store opened at 11am and they were meant to be out by then after starting filming at 6.30am. |
| The fact Cumberbatch is such a huge celebrity meant filming on a London street presented its own issues. “Running outside into a busy street and people going: ‘Can I have a selfie?’ That was hard and difficult and it is very weird,” said Cumberbatch. “You’ve just lost your child.” | The fact Cumberbatch is such a huge celebrity meant filming on a London street presented its own issues. “Running outside into a busy street and people going: ‘Can I have a selfie?’ That was hard and difficult and it is very weird,” said Cumberbatch. “You’ve just lost your child.” |
| • The Child in Time is on BBC1 on Sunday 24 September at 9pm. | • The Child in Time is on BBC1 on Sunday 24 September at 9pm. |
| Benedict Cumberbatch | |
| Television | |
| Kelly Macdonald | |
| Ian McEwan | |
| interviews | |
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