Benedict Cumberbatch: I’m ‘Very Happy to Be Part of Storytelling’ That Goes Against the ‘Strong Man Image of What Masculinity Is’

variety.com:

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Benedict Cumberbatch spoke about his relationship to masculinity in his films at the Berlin press conference for “The Thing With Feathers,” in which he stars as a father of two sons grieving the devastating death of his wife.

The actor, who also produced the film through his company SunnyMarch, attended the press conference alongside director Dylan Southern and Richard and Henry Boxall (picture above), who played his sons in the movie. “The Thing With Feathers,” based on Max Porter’s book, had its world premiere at Sundance and will have its European debut at Berlin on Tuesday night.

During the presser, Cumberbatch said he finds it rewarding to allow himself to be vulnerable on screen, and views it as a strength of “being open and able to learn from tragedy.” “Uncertainty and emotional vulnerability are not top of the agenda of the alpha male or the strong man image of what masculinity is, so I’m very happy to be part of storytelling that goes in the opposite direction of that,” he said.

Discussing his motivation for taking on this emotionally taxing role, Cumberbatch said he felt it was “part of my job not to shy away from the true spectrum of what it is to be human.” “So whether it’s losing a child or whether it’s child abuse, whether it’s addiction, whether it’s hatred… I think part of my job, when I lean into difficult characters, is to explore what is their humanity — if there is any left — or what was it before they would be dehumanized,” he said.