Image via Disney/Marvel
Benedict Cumberbatch is a busy man. The actor is fresh off starring in 2021’s highest-grossing film, he landed an Oscar nomination for The Power of the Dog and is now back as the lead in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, hitting theaters on Friday, May 6. Cumberbatch stars in the Marvel film as Doctor Stephen Strange, whose story fans watched in 2016’s Doctor Strange. Fans have gotten to see the character in various Marvel projects since then, but the standalone film allows them a closer, more personal look at Strange.
In the sequel, Strange shows remorse for all that he has lost, including his girl Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). He might be a beloved superhero but he still questions whether or not that makes him happy. In this film, fans will get to meet different versions of Strange that exist in the multiverse. The one from the multiverse we know meets America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) and he builds a strong bond with her as they unite forces to save the multiverse. Their developing relationship allows the actor and the character to show more compassion. He’s more protective and caring with the people on his team in this film, and it allows for more of an exploration of his humanity and emotional depth.
Complex caught up with Cumberbatch ahead of the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness release for a brief chat, and he shared what the challenges were playing the role this time around, the movie being banned in some countries, working with Xochitl Gomez, and the impact her character will have on the franchise and on fans for years to come.
It’s been so long since we saw the first Doctor Strange film, how have you changed as an actor and how has this story, and this character, changed you?
BC: I’ve aged about six years, I’ve done a little bit of work in between both films, which I think is a formal approach to very much everything I do. I released The Power Of The Dog. But I’ve been coming out every now and again, six times, I think in six years to play this character. So it doesn’t feel that far away from me. It didn’t feel unfamiliar. But what’s nice in this is we get to stretch him and evolve him in a way that only standalone films can actually do. And there’s certainly a lot of that for the audience to pick up on and enjoy. And I can’t wait to see what folks think of where we take it to this film, and what the potential is going forward.
We get to explore how Doctor Strange is in different universes in this movie. How did you tap into his different personalities?
BC: I do a job where I’m doing that all the time. I think even without acting as a career, it’s in our lives, it’s in our lives as humans, whether it’s the fantastic elements of our imagination in our dream escape or whether it’s just the roles we play in different aspects of our lives. So I mean, I relish it. It’s also a great way to stretch a character and involve him. He’s not just learning a lot as the Strange we know now, but he’s picking up and learning from all these other alterations that he has experienced over this film. So it was good for him, good for me, fun exercises as an actor, a difficult challenge, but a really relishable one. And I think it’s going to be great for the audience, too.
A big part of this film is Strange’s relationship with America. What was it like working with Xochitl and how do you feel about this character being introduced to this story?
BC: Oh, she’s great. She was just a kid when we started, she was 14, and now she’s 16. It’s an amazingly formative few years that she’s been doing this for. And she’s fantastic. She has taken on a very big, very important, very representative character and she’s kick ass in the film, but she’s also learning. But the dynamic is very interesting, learning and teaching. So I’m really excited to see where she goes after this. And it’s the first iteration of her character, she does a great job.
For sure, and one of my favorite parts was hearing the Spanish in the film. You spoke a little bit of Spanish in the movie too. What was it like to be able to include that in the films?
BC: I revel playing a version that does know a little bit of Spanish, I wish I knew more in real life. And that was fun for Xochitl helped with that. But it’s great what she represents, not just her Latino origin, the character, and hers, as well as a Mexican. But also what she represents as a character in terms of the LGBTQ+ community. So it’s an important character and sadly as we’re seeing with the way certain pockets of the world have denied fans seeing this film because of the inclusion of a gay character, it’s still necessary. This isn’t just tokenism. It’s in the comic, it’s not something we’ve added. I mean, she has two mothers in this. I’m sure her sexuality will be explored as she ages as a character, but right now that’s all we know about it.
And yet that seems to be offensive enough for regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, that we know through human rights watchers and the media, not only exclude and prejudice against members of that community but also imprison torture and in some cases, execute people for their sexuality. And I find it sad and inevitability and sort of I guess an expected surprise in a way that we’re still talking about this as an issue. That it should be such is sad, but it makes me proud. I guess that this is another step forward in inclusion and diversity in our culture of this character.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters on Friday, May 6.
