J.J. Abrams
J.J. Abrams has described Benedict Cumberbatch as a genius.
The British actor has been cast as the villain in the Star Trek 2 movie by Abrams - an announcement that was made last week.
And Abrams admits that he was impressed by Cumberbatch's work, especially in Sherlock Holmes.
Speaking to Collider the filmmaker said: "We just were looking for someone with the most awesome name in history.
"That was the casting call. We asked for someone with the most awesome name in history, ever, and Benedict Cumberbatch showed up, so we were like, 'You're cast!'
"He's a genius. Honestly, he's just an incredible actor. If you've seen his work in Sherlock, he's just got incredible skills.
"I just loved his work and thought that he was perfect for what we needed," he added. "We were just very lucky."
Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise back in 2009 when he took the story of the crew of the Enterprise right back to the beginning.
Talk of a sequel has been on going since then but Abrams insisted that he would not be rushed into bringing a second film to the big screen.
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