Considering how many times Benedict Cumberbatch has already cheated death (I think we’re up to a baker’s dozen), it’s weird that he keeps on tempting fate. Benedict signed on to do a “road test,” photoshoot and interview in the Arctic Circle for High Life Magazine. There are photos, there are new Batch quotes and there was a Jaguar that purred deliciously. I’m kind of thinking that Benedict just needs to audition for James Bond already.

*stares off into distance, fantasizing about Double-O-Batch*

Anyway, I’m not super-interested in the Jaguar stuff – I would imagine that this is cross-promotion, not unlike Jennifer Aniston’s many interviews on behalf of Aveeno. But Benedict goes all out for his contracts. I mean, he went to the Arctic Circle to drive a Jag on sheets of ice. HARDCORE. Of course, he also got to hang out with some Husky puppies, and the dogs immediately feel under the spell of The Batch (they are now literally Cumberbitches). You can read the full High Life piece here, and here are some highlights:

Description of The Batch: He’s dressed in a thick fur-collared jacket, black salopettes, chunky blue scarf, big snow boots, thick gloves and woolly hat. He’s tall (6ft), ramrod straight, just 37, slim (though trying to bulk up for his next part as a mercenary in Blood Mountain), has a blemish-free and stubble-free complexion, ice-blue eyes and swept-back auburn brown hair.

Working so much: ‘I’ve played so many characters so fast. I had a bank holiday weekend to transfer from Sherlock Holmes into Christopher Tietjens [in Parade’s End].’

His new sex symbol image: ‘[I’m] apparently a sex symbol — although it’s a bit of a mystery why as my face has not changed that much during the ten years I have been in this business’.

He almost damaged the money: He tells us he tripped recently while jogging on Hampstead Heath and, when he fell, he thought he was going to smash his face. His next thought was for Steven Moffat, the co-creator of Sherlock, who, ‘would not have been impressed’.

Playing with the huskies: Benedict loves dogs although he says he’s too busy to own one. Before he goes out on a sled, he’s on all fours in the snow with a dog tickling its tummy, his new best friend.

Appearing on Sesame Street: ‘One of the best fun things I’ve ever done’.

He tries to embrace ‘all the riches of life’ and likes daredevil sports: ‘I’m not a macho alpha male sort of guy but I do like living on the edge a bit. I like skydiving, snowboarding, kite surfing and I ride a motorbike in London.’

His famous roles: Benedict tells me he got the part of Sherlock after the producers saw him in Atonement playing Paul Marshall, ‘a chocolate millionaire paedophile rapist. He’s the darkest character I’ve ever played.’ The hardest character to play? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. ‘There is such moral ambiguity there. Also, he wouldn’t meet me although we had an email relationship to try to get his perspective.’ The character he’d most like to play? ‘David Bowie.’

[From High Life]

I would agree that Benedict is not a “macho alpha male sort of guy.” I’m glad he knows that about himself. But I’m growing weary of all of the daredevil stuff, the skydiving and Arctic test driving and being held at gunpoint (that happened when he was really young, but still). Why can’t he just stay in London (or his Venice Beach home?!) and drink a nice cup of tea?

Little things: I’m looking forward to him bulking up! He put on a lot of muscle weight when he did Star Trek and he looked amaze-balls. I’m also glad that everyone knows he has AUBURN hair at this point. Nowadays, everybody knows about the auburn dong muff. Is that good news or bad news?

Photos courtesy of High Life.