Benedict Cumberbatch's latest role is the toughest of his career.
Benedict Cumberbatch
The 41-year-old actor stars in 'The Child In Time', the first ever TV adaptation of an Ian McEwan novel, and Benedict has admitted his latest on-screen role is a marked deviation from anything he's previously done.
He shared: "It's a part that is a million miles away from all the stuff I've done - especially the more famous one on telly - and that's an appeal for me.
"I'll always be shaking things up a little bit as far as expectations are concerned - not doing the usual or the unusually usual - and the extreme nature of the situation [in 'The Child In Time'] is very unusual."
The show centres on the story of a four-year-old girl going missing in a supermarket.
And Benedict - who has two young sons, Christopher and Hal, with his wife Sophie Hunter - admitted the storyline is "horrifically relatable".
But he said, according to the BBC: "I don't think you have to be a parent to understand. There are fantastic actors out there I've seen give extraordinary performances of parents in crisis, or just parents in fictional roles.
"It wasn't like 'oh great, I can get my teeth into something whereby I'll be emotionally raw because I'm a new dad for the second time.' It just happened that way."
Meanwhile, Benedict also revealed he is his own worst critic.
The actor explained he is more severe on himself than any internet troll could ever be.
He said: "Trust me, the internet's full of hate but it's nothing compared to the self-critic in your head for brutality. I've said it all before they have."
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