Benedict Cumberbatch was thrilled to film 'Doctor Strange' in Nepal.
Benedict Cumberbatch
The 40-year-old actor originally visited South Asia while on his gap year and had a "fantastic" time returning to Kathmandu to shoot scenes for the Marvel blockbuster.
He said: "It was amazing to go back to Kathmandu, to a place that was familiar but very different.
"The earthquake happened seven months before we went and I was adamant we still had to forge ahead with filming there. It was fantastic."
Benedict also enjoyed the spiritual aspects to the story, when his titular alter ego seeks alternative ways to heal his hands after an accident leaves him unable to work.
He told Britain's HELLO! magazine: "The thing that resonated in 'Doctor Strange' was the power of the mind to shape reality.
"I think people in all cultures have always needed beliefs.
"Wherever we lie on the spiritual spectrum, we'll always wonder."
And Benedict - who became a household name thanks to his role as titular detective Sherlock Holmes in TV series 'Sherlock' - relished the chance to be an "American hero".
He said: "Sherlock Holmes is a bit of a superhero isn't he?
"This has an appeal because it's so different. It's a huge film, and that obviously has a draw, but it's also the idea of becoming an action hero - learning kung fu and stunt moves, transforming my body and voice and playing an American hero. That was a lot of fun."
The British actor recently admitted he dreams about his characters.
He said: "It's usually, like a lot of actors, nightmares after the event, rather than during. It's the way that brains work - it's incredible, isn't it? But you just get haunted by a moment, and suddenly you're back playing a character that you dropped months or years [ago], and then you're often onstage and often without a vital prop and sometimes without any clothes whatsoever and you can't remember your lines.
"You're looking at characters that are really familiar and the situation is half familiar, but suddenly you're in a real room and the dream takes real odd turns, I don't know. It's so funny in the way we get haunted by our work as actors, I know I'm not alone in that. The naked thing, or running out or just completely forgetting what you're saying is very fiercely real."
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