Benedict Cumberbatch wants more kids: ‘I might go for a (Cumber)batch of boys!’

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Benedict Cumberbatch appears on this week’s episode of The Graham Norton Show! I can’t believe how little advanced publicity there was for Bendy’s appearance? I mean… he always does really well on Graham Norton. Cumberbitches come far and wide to see him. Maybe that’s why there wasn’t a ton of advanced knowledge about his appearance though – he didn’t want it to get too crazy. Anyway, the show has already been taped, and it will air in the UK tonight, and in America… I don’t know, probably next weekend. This is Benedict’s first appearance since he married Sophie Hunter and they welcomed baby Batch, so of course Bendy had some stuff to say about that.

Benedict Cumberbatch is loving being a dad to 5-month-old son Christopher Carlton.

“I’ve become a father and a husband, and in the right order — just,” the Sherlock star joked to host Graham Norton on his BBC show. “I might go for a (Cumber) batch of boys!”

Cumberbatch, 39, and wife Sophie Hunter welcomed their son in June, following the couple’s February wedding in their native England.

“It’s everything. I have a new life form that needs his father’s help in the world and his mother needs a little help once in a while,” the actor continued. “It’s what being a parent is about so it’s not an excuse to get away from what I am doing — it’s what I ought to be doing. After three and half hours of Hamlet, I think that’s okay.”

While his Shakespeare play closed in October, Cumberbatch will surely be balancing fatherhood and his acting career as the fourth season of Sherlock begins production in the spring. Cumberbatch joins Victor Frankenstein costars Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy all on one sofa for The Graham Norton Show, airing Friday.

[From People]

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Sophie and Bendy did try to have another Cumberbaby. Neither of them are getting any younger, and that’s what posh couples do in England: they do the heir and the spare. I know Benedict was just joking around, but he sounds particularly alien-like when he describes his human (?) baby as “a new life form.” Is Benedict giving us a hint that the Cumberbaby is half-human and half alien-lizard?

Meanwhile, I’m assuming that Benedict was on the Graham Norton Show to do some advanced promotion for the Sherlock Christmas special. Earlier this week, a new teaser trailer was released (I’ve included it below), as well as some new images (which you can see here). When asked about the Sherlock special – which is set in Victorian England, true to the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories – Benedict said, “I thought they’d finally lost the plot, jumped the shark … then they expanded the idea and pitched it to me properly and I think it’s fantastic. Absolutely brilliant.”

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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126 Responses to “Benedict Cumberbatch wants more kids: ‘I might go for a (Cumber)batch of boys!’”

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  1. Zapp Brannigan says:

    “I’ve become a father and a husband, and in the right order — just,” And it was a photo finish, Jackass.

    • Tina says:

      To be fair, that People quote isn’t accurate. I watched the show, and it was Graham Norton who said, “and in the right order,” and BC chimed in with “just.”

  2. eribra says:

    I love her dress!

  3. MexicanMonkey says:

    “In the right order” who says things like that?
    Knowing that’s the way he think is more proof of the whole shotgun narrative. Maybe that’s why all their first appearances together seemed so strained. But I think they’ve gotten more comfortable around each other so here’s hoping they’ve found something other than the baby to build their relationship on.

    • Nayru says:

      I totally agree with this assessment. I always thought they were really off. It does seem they have gotten more comfortable and natural with each other. I still think it’s more convenience and settling than love.

      • Andrea says:

        The thing no one really talks about but I see it A LOT in my 30’s is a lot of people DO settle in their 30’s; celebrities are not immune to this. I have several friends who settled for men they don’t love in order to have children, had oops children and made a go of it, etc. It happens all the time. Some would deny it if you asked them if they settled and some people would come right out and admit that they had one priority (marriage or children) over love. It is a sad reality for a lot of people. I refuse to settle, which is why I am almost 35 and unmarried.

      • EN says:

        The truth is – the big requited courteous LOVE the way it is shown in the books and movies will not happen for most people.

        They have to decide if they want marry someone who they are compatible with and have attraction to or keep waiting for the “true love” and likely remain forever single and never have a family.

        To me the obsession with romantic love is quite harmful. Cinderella is a fairy tale for a reason. Women waste their better years chasing that fairy tale love instead of living.

      • Andrea says:

        I do agree that the fairytale is definitely a dangerous thing to chase. But I like to be in love with someone, not simply tolerant of them or “they will do” That to me is equally as sad. The last guy I was with really wanted me to be with him forever, but he felt more like a brother/roommate than a partner. I don’t want to marry a brother/family type figure. I want a lover who is an equal partner. I don’t want to sacrifice my sex life for someone whom I have things in common with (which is what I did for a long time). I don’t think that’s asking too much.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Convenience and settling and “when someone is ready to settle down, they’ll find someone” and marrying to start a family is a major, major, major reason why the majority of marriages end in divorce. And sorry, those people are doing the children they bring into the world no favors.

      • EN says:

        > marrying to start a family is a major, major, major reason why the majority of marriages end in divorce

        Marriages end in divorce ( from what I saw) because people have different expectations and are not compatible in daily lives. They marry on attraction but are not willing to put in the work.

        An example of marriage of convenience is many Indian marriages, they rarely end in divorce because their expectations from the marriage are different.

        And i am not promoting this type of marriage. All I am saying – don’t expect just the attraction to carry you through. There has to be compatibility and a dose of reality in expectations from marriage, not just mutual attraction. In marriage both parties need to communicate and compromise or the attraction will not last.
        But most of us are compatible with many people, there isn’t just one “true love” for whom we have to wait for.

      • Andrea says:

        My mother has admitted recently she married my father for money and stability not love. She would love to leave him now but feels it is too late for they are 66 and 73 respectively. Growing up like that, makes me never want to settle.

      • Andrea says:

        @EN I have seen a lot of people marry during the rose colored glasses phase and not know the “true person” they are marrying flaws and all. Sometimes those flaws or skeletons are HUGE (closet drunks, verbally abusive) etc and sadly sometimes kids get involved in the mix. People who don’t live together prior to marriage are also at risk too IMO. Get to know someone a few years before taking the leap, yes there are always exceptions, but exceptions are not the rule/norm.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        “There has to be compatibility and a dose of reality in expectations from marriage, not just mutual attraction. In marriage both parties need to communicate and compromise or the attraction will not last.”

        Yes, there does have to be compatibility and reality in expectations and that is usually missing from the “settling down because we both want children and we want the same things in life meaning a house and children but we have absolutely nothing else in common but we’re overlooking that because we’ve decided to comply with this completely arbitrary time to settle down clock because we want children” marriages. Which is why they end in messy divorces.

      • EN says:

        > we have absolutely nothing else in common but we’re overlooking that because we’ve decided to comply with this completely arbitrary time to settle down clock because we want children” marriages

        I guess I don’t know any couples like this. Yes, that sounds bad. How would they even meet if they have nothing in common?

        But that is not the case with Cumberbatches, They have quite a bit in common and seem to be a good match.

      • Andrea says:

        @EN Not to be crude but the only thing some people have in common is sex. My friend at 35 just had a baby with someone she has virtually nothing in common with because her ex of 8 years didn’t want children (he was older) so she started to sleep around and the first guy who wanted a kid with her, she got pregnant within 2 months of dating because she felt her clock a ticking. She is thrilled she has a baby now, but the guy is definitely not lasting. Some people want a baby so badly, it doesn’t matter who it is with (my other friend had 2 babies with a major alcoholic; her comment is at least they have a dad in the picture…um yeah.)

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @EN, friends, family, and dating sites are only too happy to introduce couples whose only common trait is that they have each decided that it is time to “settle down and start a family.”

        As an unmarried woman when I have been between relationships, I have been subjected to more incredibly bad attempts to set me up with “the perfect match” than I can count because for many people it would seem that the only things needed to be suited to one another are: heterosexuality and being single at the same time and reaching the age where others have decided that it is time you “settled down.”

      • Boston Green Eyes says:

        @Andrea how sad. But what your friend hasn’t grasped is how extremely difficult it is to extricate one’s self from a no longer needed spouse. My friend is going through a divorce that is just sheer hell – and they don’t even have kids. Divorce must be in the 9th Circle of Hell.

      • Andrea says:

        @Boston Green At least my friend made him sign a prenup and they aren’t even married yet. The kicker is my friend who just had the baby has plenty of money of her own, just didn’t want to go at it alone I guess. I worry he may still be able to go after her money due to lifestyle, but I guess we shall see. I just can’t imagine having a baby with someone I have almost nothing in common with besides the sex bit.

      • Pondering thoughts says:

        There is a description:
        When your partner arrives you should have the same look on your face as if you were sitting in a restaurant and the food arrives.

        If you merely go for compability then it might happen that your spouse or you meet your “true love” and then divorce.
        If you merely go for attraction then it might happen that your expectations are so different that it will not last.

    • Cee says:

      Considering Tietjens is his hero, this isnt surprising – very short “relationship”, surprise pregnancy, let’s wait 3 months, engagement, rushed wedding, baby.
      I hope they’re happy because a lot of things could go wrong in this setting, but hopefully not for them.

      And I always cringe when someone blatantly says they prefer one gender over the other in regards of their children. But that’s my problem.

      • Andrea says:

        Tietjens ultimately found someone else—and ignored duty. So doesn’t that make you wonder if he will too??

      • kaiko says:

        Not just your problem, I absolutely HATE it when people say that! So trite and inconsequential. How about just wanting a healthy baby and leaving it at that? Will you love your child more or less because of his/her gender? No? Then shut up and stop tempting fate before it bitch slaps you down.

      • hermia says:

        He did not say that though. If you watch Graham Norton, he said “You could go for a batch…” and BC replied “a batch of cumbers, yes”. That was it, How the journalist came up with a batch of boys is anyone’s guess.

      • Pondering thoughts says:

        Cumby sometimes talks too much and his mouth is running faster than his thinking. I am sure he doesn’t really prefer baby boys over baby girls.

        I do wonder how his wife thinks about this. I think she doesn’t want to become a housewife and mother only. She seems to keep working. Then usually there won’t be many many children. ???

    • Anna says:

      Has anyone discussed yet how they look exactly the same? Like they are the male and female version of each other. No wonder they were attracted to each other and ended up reproducing: they found their twin. It happens all the time, for better or for worse, most usually the latter. Look at Liam and Miley: twins. Eddie and LeAnn: twins. Tom and Giselle and the list goes on. Many times these unions do not work because people were just (energetically) attracted to their twin spirits and they bore each other. There is something to the saying that opposites attract… Anyway, probably little scientific evidence to anything I’ve said her lol! but it strikes me as somewhat strange…

      • EN says:

        Yes, people say it all the time)). I actually had a meltdown over it once because I am the only one who is not seeing it.)).

        Anyway, apparently this is a well known phenomenon that people are inclined to like others who look like them, this is why there are so many such pairings. Somebody even said it is a compliment in their culture to say to newlyweds that they look alike, it is a good sign for marriage.

      • Andrea says:

        My ex is not only dating a much younger woman but his twin and I found it a bit creepy/weird. Never had an ex do that before.

      • Lensblury says:

        Yes, totally agree, and glad so many people notice it. I think it’s an intriguing thing to happen. I’ll have to read more about it, but right now I’m thinking it might just have a calming effect on oneself – “no surprises from my partner”.

  4. Lilacflowers says:

    “and his mother needs a little help once in a while,”

    How nice of him to show up occasionally.

    • Felice. says:

      isn’t that grand?

    • Spittair says:

      I think he was suggesting that Sophie is a capable mother by saying that. But he always manages to express himself in a strange or convoluted way. “New life form”?

      :/

      • Green Girl says:

        My thoughts exactly for both points.

      • ell says:

        lmao the way he speaks is hilarious, and not in a way that makes him funny, but in a way that makes him look totally unaware how human beings speak to each other.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      It just really irks me when a father being involved with any aspect of child-rearing is referred to as “helping the mother.” Tending to an infant is every bit the responsibility of the father as it is the mother’s. If he is doing something for the baby, he isn’t helping her, he is parenting his own child. Helping her would be going to the store to pick up tampons or something else directly related to her as the person she is, not just in her aspect of mother to his new life form.

  5. Minxx says:

    He talks about his son and wife in such a warm way: “a new life form”, “his mother”. I understant, he’s trying to be cool and funny but I sense some ambivalency about his new situation.

    • Bettyrose says:

      Is it possible something is lost in translation from weird person to normal human ears? I had the sense he was a decent guy, but these quotes sound like they came from a peer of Fred Flintstone.

    • Beth No. 2 says:

      Does he usually talk about his family and friends in such awkward terms? Can we attribute it to the Space Lizard attempting to mimic human language? You’re doing alright Bendy; just add more warmth next time and remember to always zip up the human suit.

    • NUTBALLS says:

      His comment about the order of things tells me just how self-conscious he is about his shotgun engagement. Otherwise he wouldn’t have mentioned it at all. Most actors don’t call attention to a pregnancy before marriage. When it does happen, they just talk about how happy they are as a couple. Weird.

      He still uses distant language when talking about Sophie and Christopher. “Life form”? Who says that?? It sounds less intimate to refer to Sophie as “Christopher’s mother” rather than “my wife”. The former is used when the person is distancing themselves from the other adult, in my experience.

      They do seem more comfortable with each other now, but this kind of talk leaves me with the impression that it’s more a marriage of convenience rather than love.

  6. kai says:

    I’ll wait for the video, but he sounds weird/stupid/smug…

    • hermia says:

      Wait for it, because you are gonna hear nothing of the above. And I mean, nothing, Where they got that from is a mystery worthy of Sherlock.

  7. Adrien says:

    David Icke’s prophecy is about to be fulfilled. Repent now, humans.

  8. Bettyrose says:

    I said something snide about Cumby’s bizarre appearance the other day and the bf *insisted* I start watching Sherlock before I maligned Cumby again. A few hours alone with Netflix and now I’m a full blown Cumberbitch. That trench coat, those eyes…I swoon. Please tell me these quotes aren’t as Neanderthal as they sound out of context.

    • Who ARE these people? says:

      This got me wondering, so I asked Prof. Google, who said that Neanderthals might not have had as much gender-specific division of labor as thought — http://www.inquisitr.com/1863607/researchers-suggest-neanderthal-women-hunted-alongside-neanderthal-men/

      Cumberbatch — sometimes it sounds as if he’s trying to maintain privacy and does it in the most god-awfully awkward way. It’s like there’s a Victorian Gentleman transmogrifying filter for the sound on the way out. I’d like to think if we removed the filter, it would come out this way: “Sophie and I both take care of our baby, but I can’t nurse, of course. And should I cut back on work a bit, it’s because I have new priorities, like anyone with children.”

      • Bettyrose says:

        Who are – I laughed so loud at your post that I had to explain must to other people in the house. 🙂

      • Who ARE these people? says:

        Aw shucks, Bettyrose. Sometimes I chuckle at your posts and others here too, and have to explain it as well. This is such a great online community – solidarity!

      • EN says:

        Yes, he does seem to have a Victorian filter when it comes to talking about family and private life.
        Such things are learned in the family.
        It must be how his parents are.

  9. mkyarwood says:

    EW. This reinforces my suspicion that Good Sir Benedick has married an ‘appropriate’ wife for procreation and for parading at parties. Just like every other stuffed shirt, swaggering peacock to come out of the aristocracy. Batch of boys, indeed. And yes, that name calling is from Aladdin.

  10. Naya says:

    Perhaps my cultural background makes me hyper sensitive but men who express preference for sons piss me the f* off. Go sit on hot coal, lizard king.

    • lisa2 says:

      Is it different than a man that would prefer having daughters? Some people would just rather have one than the other.

      • bread says:

        No, it’s not different because preferring to have daughters is also a stupid, terrible thing to say. Your child is going to be an individual and putting expectations on boys or girls because of their sex/gender before they’re even born is an awful thing to do.

      • Naya says:

        I’ve heard men not give a particular preference but I have never heard a man prefer daughters. I hear it does sometimes happen in the West but I also gather its not nearly as frequent as the son fixation. In much of the world, including where I was raised, birthing “excess” daughters is a mothers nightmare for both herself and that baby. I’m sure you can google the stories. But even in societies that are less tolerant of that resentment on the girl child, isnt it bad enough that you are born into a world that still finds ways to subordinate you to a dude? Screw being born to a guy whos made it clear that your very birth comes with disappointment.

        Can I also point out that even in Hollywood movies, the mother (its always mum not dad!) who had a preference for a daughter is played as a villain. Whether in a comedy or a horror film, its made clear she has traumatised the male character and “emasculated” him. Why should it then be ok for men to do this to their daughters?

      • Who ARE these people? says:

        People adopting from China have dealt with this because they’ve been 95% likely to have a girl (and some people prefer it that way thinking *girls are easier* HA HA HA wait till adolescence). Fathers sometimes are questioned if they’re disappointed that they didn’t get a boy. Mothers don’t get that question.

        And these girls in particular have to deal with the facts of abandonment only because they were girls (not to mention learning about female infanticide).

        Mothers are more like, “I’m happy as long as it’s healthy.” A lot of it may be sexism BUT there may also be a little piece of normal human narcissism — “Are you disappointed that you didn’t get a Little You?” A lot of women are happy to have a girl after having a few boys, and men vice-versa. It’s like, “Company!”

        Just speculating of course…

      • Andrea says:

        My father always liked have me (his only child) and I cannot imagine him with a boy since he doesn’t seem to like too many masculine things (classic cars but that’s about it).

      • Cee says:

        I always cringe when people say they prefer one over the other. But when someone in the public eye says it? Way to state you prefer sons over daughters. Better to keep quiet and go with the “the only thing I wish is for them to be healthy”, like most people say.

      • Minxx says:

        My husband wanted a daughter and had a name picked out even before I got pregnant.. 🙂 We had a daughter first and then a son and I have to say I wanted a son to have “my” child since she was always such a daddy’s girl.

      • Lambda says:

        Naya, my dad claims he always wanted girls, and he got two of them, and when asked he can’t explain why. He just says he’d always see himself as a father of daughters. On the other hand, his favorite pastimes with my sister and I when growing up: fishing, roofing, football and old Westerns.
        I’m suspicious of culturally shaped preferences for offspring, but in my dad’s case it was natural.

      • vauvert says:

        I understand that for some people, due to cultural/historical issues, expressing a preference comes across in a negative fashion. But my parents, having had a girl first,r daly wanted the second to be a girl (both of them, not just my mom). I think they actually expressed disappointment at the hospital over my brother being a boy. Just their thing.
        On the other hand, my husband was indifferent but I really, really wanted a son. It doesn’t make me a bad person, and if I had a daughter I am certain I would have adored her as much as I adore my boy. But I did have a preference. No big deal.

      • j says:

        yes, it was a serious declaration of preference for sons on a talk show and not a jokey “b” word play since he’s a boy and he just had a boy

        i just….man I am done with people today

  11. Linn says:

    I’m so over Cumberbatch, but I’ll be watching the show for Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy. The two of them always give great and very charmng interviews and I can’t wait to see them together with Graham.

    Benedict sounds so stupid in the quotes above. New Life form? Seriously? And all that bullsh*t about getting marrierd and having the baby in the right order and wanting a batch of BOYS? What is this? The fifties? Urghh

    • hermia says:

      I agree that the bit with DR and James McAvoy was funnier and a lot more entertaining. Also due to the fact that JD was possibly stoned.

      • Anne tommy says:

        I thought McAvoy came over as a bit of a dick, Bendy was much funnier, and I’m not a huge fan. Johnny was dryly witty. Radcliffe just seemed nice.

    • icerose says:

      I thought Benny came over as a bit of a buffoon -the whole otter thing is so repetitive ,fannish and recycled now and really needs a break. Depp was disappointing as well-almost monosyllabic.
      McAvoy And Radcliffe were far more interesting and funny.
      I do wish Norton would change his tact as well-his show has lost it’s edge and borders on fan worship and I no longer watch it unless it has someone I especially want to watch like Helen Mirren ,Peter Capaldi or Kenneth Brannagh.

  12. lindy79 says:

    Well yeah hes pretty much confirmed that they rushed marriage because she was pregnant not because he was so in love (he can lie and say the engagement came first until the day he dies but no one is buying it) and because he considers that “the right order”. Explains a lot, nothing wrong with it but it explains a helluva lot about why they looked like virtual strangers and he looked anything but a thrilled man who’d found the love of his life.
    Good luck to them, they seem to have settled together and they do look more comfortable with each other at events.

    • Who ARE these people? says:

      Is this going to be the English version of Ben “marriage to you is hard work” Affleck?

      Cumberbatch, through his promotion of causes and charities, seems like someone who values “doing the right thing.” Maybe this marriage is one more case of his “doing the right thing.” Hope it’s happy for all of them.

    • Minxx says:

      I don’t care one way or the other about this couple but I agree that him talking specifically about “the right order” means he’s a) self-conscious about it and b) that her pregnancy played a big part in his decision to get married. I think he’s content with his life but doesn’t strike me as someone who’s in love.

    • Gwen says:

      @lindy79….they only needed a good Year for that…….

  13. Sid says:

    Of course he’d want all boys. A narcissist like him will want kids who look like him. Plus he’s got the upper class british sensibility of having boys carry on his name. When will his time be over and attention will go to people who really deserve it.

    • Felice. says:

      Yeah that was my first thought. I think he’s too much of a coward to have a daughter because he doesn’t want to change how he views women.

      • Lambda says:

        Do you think they’d pick and choose embryos?

      • Felice. says:

        I would not put it past him.

      • Lambda says:

        That’s ridiculous. I get it, you were a fan that used to entertain certain projections about him, but cool it, he was never an ice prince nor is he worth demonizing now. You see, the person never changed so much, but your perceptions did.

      • Felice. says:

        I always knew there was a side of him that wasn’t public (all celebs have that) and I guess I’m just worried that that side is being shown right now.

      • Lambda says:

        And… you lost me. What side? Dark side? Full throttle fantasy and speculation side? And if so, why be a fan and be dramatically worried?

        There’s real people (in this case a mediocre clueless toff) and there’s imaginary boyfriends.

      • Gwen says:

        @Lambda 😀

        To the others….i think he’s not that different than before….maybe the whole thing with the sofa has open your eyes a little bit, but i thought before he is sometimes peculiar and off, but entertaining and sometimes funny…still…But what do i know 😉

        He is no Boyfriend-material in my Books, i prefer in real life really intelligent Men…..:)

      • Lisa says:

        As it would go, he said batch of cumbers, not batch of boys, rendering most of this whinging over a nonexistent quote.

        But I agree with Lambda to some degree. Real people have good and bad points, all present company and myself included. No one can live on a pedestal.

  14. Andrea says:

    I liked him until he got her pregnant and they had this shotgun fiasco. He doesn’t sound like an educated, respectable man anymore…he sounds painfully awkward. Huge turn off. My crushes are now with Fassy and Hiddles. 🙂

    • Betti says:

      He sounds like someone who’s head is far up his own ass. He’s always been a pretentious snob but it got worse the more successful he got. He tries way too hard to come across as an intellectual, he just comes off as a twit with an over inflated sense of himself. He is a talented actor.

      Personally I would prefer if he just acted and NEVER spoke to the press again! Like my god – Mark Rylance – does, he doesn’t speak to the press very often and is the intellectual actor Bendy desperately thinks he is. My god that man can chew the scenery with Shakespeare (its as if it was written for him) and he was sublime in the recent Wolf Hall serial Auntie Beeb did.

      • EN says:

        @Betti, it would be better but it is not feasible if he wants lead parts in the movies.
        He has to promote them.
        The only one who can get away with doing minimum promotion is Joaquin.
        And you still know he deeply cares about his characters, his movies and his work.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        My parents took me to see Rylance’s Hamlet when I was a kid. That will always be my standard for Hamlet and I’ve seen lots of Hamlet productions since. Whishaw’s was the closest and even that was a distant close. Cumberbatch’s was not even in the same league.

        And Rylance’s performance in The Bridge of Spies was one of the best performances I have seen this year.

      • Betti says:

        ^ You are lucky I would love to see his Hamlet – it was in 89? The RSC doesn’t look like its ever going to release a DVD of it if they recorded it.

        I saw Ben Wishaw and yes he was v v good. Didn’t see Bendy’s as was put off by the crazies, queues and his refugee speeches at the end of many of the performances. Plus the reviews i read were mixed on both production and his performance.

        Ooh – David Tennant is going to play Richard II at the Barbican next year. Wonders if there are tickets left?

      • neutral says:

        @ Lilacflowers, I’m hoping to see bridge of Spies in a couple of weeks. Did you enjoy it?

      • SusanneToo says:

        @neutral. The movie is very good and Mr. Rylance is superb. Such a quiet, nuanced performance-he really made you feel for this Russian spy. I sait it on an earlier thread-he’s my nominee for Best Supporting Actor Oscar:

      • NUTBALLS says:

        Rylance was the best thing in Bridge of Spies. He’s funny too.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @Betti, didn’t Tallent already do Richard II at the Barbican last year?
        @Neutral, Bridge of Spies is very good and brought to my attention an incident about which I knew very little, other than our plane went down in the USSR.
        @SusanneToo, he’s one of my nominees (Idris is another) and so far, I think the frontrunner in that category.

    • Andrea says:

      Hiddleston comes off as intelligent and not pompous when promoting his movies. It isn’t hard. I just think Cumberbatch is really fake posh/phony intelligent now and that is SUCH a disappointment because he really is a good actor. I guess sometimes we can’t have it all.

      • EN says:

        > Hiddleston comes off as intelligent and not pompous when promoting his movies.

        Lol, you had to bring it up here. You know there is going to be a fight)).

        Hiddleston comes off as trying to hard, I get second hand embarassement for him. I am trying to think about who is good a t promotion and doesn’t commit faux pas.
        So far I am not coming up with anyone.

        All of them are forced to drag out some personal details which are too much, all of them get heat for it.

      • Andrea says:

        I don’t know that many personal details about Hiddleston. Have I missed something? I’ve heard these try to hard rumors, but I don’t see it like I do now with Cumberbatch.

      • Betti says:

        ^ James McAvoy

      • EN says:

        I agree that McAvoy tries to avoid promotion and hustling, but he was in that same show with Benny promoting his own movie.
        The difference is that he is not a click bait so we are not getting articles with his quotes. I am sure people could find something that could be interpreted in a negative way, if they wanted to. But we don’t even know what he said.

      • TotallyBiased says:

        Well, we all know how enthusiastic Mr. H can be. And during 2013, when he had such a heavy promotional tour for Thor TDW, many posters here felt he went over the top on occasion. Matter of opinion and context, to me–he was promoting a comic book movie. This recent round of promoting CP plus High Rise and I Saw the Light on the festival circuit has been quite different, IMO, but lots of folks are still viewing his actions and words via that previously developed lens of perception.

      • Andrea says:

        Ah I wasn’t posting on here much in 2013, so I guess I missed all that and feel the try hard comments are a bit snarky. I still think he isn’t thirsty like some others we’ve written about on here including Cumberbatch.

      • TotallyBiased says:

        Andrea–oh, I totally agree the try-hard comments are excessively snarky. I still feel he promotes appropriately depending on the movie and context, in general.
        And I am TOTALLY convinced Ben the Batch wins cringeworthy of the Western world after the otter over the top-ness of the Graham Norton show. OMG! (Plus I fear the semi-moustache was disturbing me.)
        Also–what gives? Who wouldn’t announce Johnny Depp is on the sofa? He’s still a bigger star than James and Daniel, right?

      • KT says:

        Wasn’t everyone just arguing recently that GN lends itself to that type of behavior, as in it’s appropriate for the setting?

        Quite frankly, I thought it was a clever (but scripted, so who knows whom should be credited) way to increase the bidding the value of that stuffed monstrosity.

  15. EN says:

    I see Bendy is getting heat for being a traditionalist.
    Maybe I am behind the times but I appreciate a man who wants a traditional family and kids, there are not enough of them.I see too many women who want to marry and have kids in a stable environment and there aren’t enough men who want to settle down and have a family. They just want to have “fun” and no responsibility.

    As for the rest of the comments, it is lighthearted banter on a night show. The comments were meant to be kept light. If he launched into a serious discussion about parenting and sharing household chores that would’ve been too much.
    The boys reference could be something as harmless as thinking of boys because his first child is a boy or maybe boys run in the family.
    A pass from me for unless I see a pattern of disrespecting his wife or saying that he wants only sons later on.

    • MexicanMonkey says:

      Hasn’t he always talked about wanting a family and children? I don’t think he was ever attacked for it, I think for a lot of his fans that was part of the appeal, and for me, it’s not being traditional that I’m side-eyeing, but the way he speaks about the whole thing makes it seem like he’s very self conscious about how he’s perceived, which speaks of his own judgements, I think.

      • EN says:

        I don’t even know what was it about when he got engaged and married. The way his wife was attacked when they got engaged/ married was something unreal. And he was attacked by extension.

        Yes, he always said he wanted family. But when he got it a lot of people got angry,
        Isn’t that a well known tactic in show business – for a star to appear to be looking to marry but not actually marrying, because then he becomes unavailable. For this reason many stars actually hide very relationships/ marriages. I read articles about that , it is especially the thing in China and Korea. Something similar happened with Cumberbatch, even though he was sincere, he wasn’t playing his fans.

        And he always was obsessed with image and status, why did it only become an issue with his fans when he got married? That is what was strange to me. Like it was OK when he was single but suddenly not OK when he got engaged,

        I could tell he was very ambitious and it didn’t bother me. Not before he got married and not after.

      • Betti says:

        ^EN – people weren’t angry that he got his family. what pissed a lot of fans off was the way it was shilled for his Oscar campaign and the poor execution of the ‘greatest love story ever told’ narrative that he and his PR spun. Not to mention they snide remarks about his fans and the ‘sponsored by..’ paps shots/walks they made. For someone who made a big deal about his privacy – when the chips were on the table he proved he was just like every other desperate starlet and sold his privacy for a shot at the gold statue.

        I would have more respect for him if he just owned his ambition for HW leading man and Oscar glory.

      • EN says:

        > I would have more respect for him if he just owned his ambition for HW leading man and Oscar glory.

        Well, we have an example of that in Alicia Vilkander and people here can’t stand her here because of that.

        And I didn’t really see the ‘greatest love story ever told’ narrative at all. He was asked about his wife, he he said she was amazing and he loved her. How is that the greatest love story? That just what any husband is expected to say of his wife.

        I think I would put Clooney in the camp of selling his narrative too much, out of recent examples. And even in his case I gave him a pass.
        I am not going to complain about men telling us they love their wives. We need more of that, not less.

      • Betti says:

        I don’t mind Vikander thou have never seen anything she’s been in so I can’t comment on her talent but she can come across as up herself – not all the time.

        Re: the ‘greatest love story narrative’. He referred to her as ‘the woman i love the woman i proposed to’ on a few occasions, amongst other very flowery terms which is where the narrative nickname came from. He talked about her like they were in a Victorian romance novel or a Edwardian play – we know he doesn’t always talk like that. As i said upthread he tries to hard to sound like an intellectual but i don’t think he quite grasps that it makes him sound like a pretentious twit.

      • Andrea says:

        Like I mentioned before, his quips have turned me off completely. i feel other actors do a much better job than he in sounding/being intellectual.

  16. Minxx says:

    I’m all for traditional men who appreciate home and family but he sounds like he’s say “look people, I got her pregnant and did the right thing, so leave me alone”.

  17. lunchcoma says:

    I find it kind of odd that he even needs to bring up “the right order.” It’s not as if it’s odd to have a pregnancy before a wedding, and it’s especially not unusual among celebrities. If he stopped bringing it up, people would stop paying attention to it.

  18. anon121 says:

    I agree with many of these comments. I think the entire world figured out this was a rushed wedding due to pregnancy. I also think the engagement wasn’t announced until it was clear that the pregnancy was viable. Otherwise how do you explain LFF? Or the fact that they just didn’t look comfortable in the beginning. But think about this-2 people find out they’re going to have a baby. They decide to go for it as they are friends with shared interests and values. They enter a grueling award season with everyone in the press, internet, etc speculating on their look, move, etc. Keep in mind that Sophie was pretty private until then. Also, you have Benedict who I’m sure was embarrassed, being the traditionalist that he is, to go through a very public premarital pregnancy.
    I’ve always maintained that these 2 went through a baptism by fire and seem to have come out on the other side closer. I’m sure they love each other. Whether or not it will lasts remains to be seen. Benedict strikes me as being high maintenance, and I bet it’s gotten worse since his workload and star has risen. Regarding the “new life” and his mother narrative, he strikes me as someone spends more time immersed in his roles and craft than real life. Add to this legions of sycophants, toadies, and fans, and you have a potential diva in the making, which may be incompatible to being able to act normally. On top of this, it sometimes seems that he can’t communicate on our level. I may not be articulating properly, but at the end of the day he’s really a different kind of guy, and not always in a flattering way.

    • platospopcorn says:

      Nailed it.

    • j says:

      he himself was a premartial pregnancy

      graham norton is who said “in the right order” not cumberbatch

      • Bibi81 says:

        It is true that he himself was a premarital pregnancy, but the marriage of his parents was not shotgun. They had been living together for a couple of years at that time when she got pregnant.

  19. hermia says:

    Thing is he never said any of that. GN said “in that order” and he only added “just”. As for the rest (“I may go for that, a batch of cumbers”), he also sort of assented to what Norton said. Shoddy journalism seems to be reaching new levels, in the case of Cumberbatch.

    • Miss Melissa says:

      If the order didn’t matter to him, though, he could have responded differently. Example:

      Norton: “in the right order”
      Cumberbatch: “If there is such a thing”
      “Is there such a thing?”
      “If that matters”
      etc.

      • NUTBALLS says:

        That was my point above, Miss Melissa. Regardless of who actually said “in the right order”, he felt the necessity to comment on it. Methinks Norton was aware that this was something he was self-conscious about and as usual, Bendy played right into Norton’s hand.

      • hermia says:

        I didn’t see it like that. Norton said “husband and father in that order” (not in the right order, mind, which would imply there is a wrong one), and he replied “just”, which was a comment on…. the truth of events! They were both laughing at that point anyway.
        Also, BC was the one who reminded GN that he had also become a husband not only a father. Which, to me, means he really cares about being married and what’s wrong with that? I’m not a great fan of paperwork, but some people are and he’s one of them evidently. 🙂

      • hermia says:

        Actually, he said in the right order, I just re-watched it now. Yep, maybe you are right, but they were laughing though…..

      • EN says:

        I think arguing about it on a night show would’ve been wrong. He let it slide and didn’t make an issue of it.
        And the fact that he said “Just” actually seems to indicate that BC doesn’t take the order seriously.
        It was the right lighthearted answer given the circumastances.

  20. OTHER RENEE says:

    I get the feeling that this reserved behavior around one’s spouse or gf is common upper crust English behavior. I’d be way more surprised if they were always all over each other. It just isn’t DONE, don’t you know… especially not before one has had one’s tea!

    • hermia says:

      We are not in Downton Abbey’s times. 🙂 🙂 It’s not to do with class I think, but with temperament. After all he was really affectionate around OP when they were together. Probably his wife doesn’t like to be overly effusive on camera, and it’s her right to behave as she sees fit.

    • SusanneToo says:

      I’m just fine with public couples not pawing each other.

  21. YupYepYam says:

    Here’s the actual transcript for those who care to based their judgement not on some flimsy quote;
    Graham: We should congratulate you Benedict Cumberbatch. The last time you were here, since then, you’ve become a daddy!

    Benedict: I have. Thank you very much.

    Graham: And?

    Benedict: And a husband as well.

    Graham: Of course, you got married.

    Benedict: Yes, I did both things!

    Graham: And in the right order. Well done!

    Benedict: (laughs) Just! Yes.

    Graham: And was it a Cumberboy or a Cumbergirl?

    Benedict: It is a Cumberboy

    Johnny: A Cumberbatch boy.

    Graham: Yes. He’s probably aiming for a batch. You’ll go for a batch!

    Benedict: I might go for a Batch of Cumbers. Yeah.

    Johnny: I’ll just have a batch right now.

    • EN says:

      So, the things he was criticized for yesterday he didn’t even say, or they were taken out of context. The whole line of conversation is driven by Norton and BC is just along for the ride.

      Oh, the price of fame -being judged guilty of things you didn’t even do. ))