Benedict Cumberbatch Admits Playing Non-Binary ‘Zoolander 2’ Character ‘Backfired A Little Bit’
etcanada.comIf he could do it all over, Benedict Cumberbatch would not have portrayed a non-binary model in “Zoolander 2”. During an interview for Variety‘s Actors on Actors series, Penelope Cruz reminded Cumberbatch that they’d worked together on the 2016 comedy sequel, when the “Dr.
Strange” star had a small role as “All,” the world’s most popular supermodel, who declares that “All is not defined by binary constructs.” During the conversation, Cruz told Cumberbatch that “it was funny what you did” in the movie.
However, he referenced the criticism aimed at his character from the LGBTQ community for mocking transgender models. READ MORE: Justin Theroux Speaks Out On ‘Zoolander 2′ Boycott: ‘It Hurts My Feelings’ “There was a lot of contention around that, understandably now,” Cumberbatch told Cruz. “In this era, it would never have fallen to anybody but a trans actor to play the role,” he continued. “But I remember at the time not thinking of it necessarily in that regard, and it being more about two dinosaurs, two heteronormative clichés not really understanding this new diverse world,” she said, describing dimwitted models Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson). READ MORE: Ben Stiller Reveals Jake Gyllenhaal Auditioned For Hansel In ‘Zoolander’ “But it kind of backfired a little bit,” Cumberbatch explained. “But it was lovely to meet you in that brief moment and to work with Ben and Owen and the craziness of that film, being such a huge fan of the first one.”
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