Get Your Weekly Digest

Receive the best podcast summaries and insights delivered to your inbox every week.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.

SmartLess

"Benedict Cumberbatch"

with Benedict Cumberbatch

Published November 24, 2025
View Show Notes

About This Episode

Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes talk with Benedict Cumberbatch about fatherhood, his upbringing as the only child of two working actors, and how that shaped his path into acting. They cover his experiences at British boarding schools, a formative gap year teaching in a Tibetan community near Darjeeling, and his early TV and film work, before diving into his approach to roles, working with major directors and actors, and navigating fan expectations around iconic characters. Benedict also discusses learning to surf in his 40s, dealing with a serious shoulder injury, and his producing work on a new film adaptation of Max Porter's grief-focused novella "Grief is the Thing with Feathers," as well as his long-gestating adaptation of the novel "Rogue Male."

Topics Covered

Fatherhood Parenting and child development Boarding school Travel and tourism Religion and spirituality Acting craft Film adaptation Grief and loss Storytelling Surfing

Disclaimer: We provide independent summaries of podcasts and are not affiliated with or endorsed in any way by any podcast or creator. All podcast names and content are the property of their respective owners. The views and opinions expressed within the podcasts belong solely to the original hosts and guests and do not reflect the views or positions of Summapod.

Quick Takeaways

  • Benedict Cumberbatch, an only child of two actors, initially faced parental pressure to avoid acting but ultimately followed their path after briefly considering law.
  • He views his three closely spaced sons as a "tribe of cubs" and believes children arrive with strong innate traits that parents can only partly shape.
  • A gap year teaching English in a Tibetan community near Darjeeling profoundly expanded his worldview and spiritual perspective.
  • Cumberbatch still feels first-day-on-set nerves and emphasizes trusting directors while staying attentive to his own instincts about performance.
  • He describes working with icons like Gary Oldman on "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" as both intimidating and reassuring when he saw their vulnerability.
  • Benedict took up surfing in his 40s, fell in love with it, and then had to navigate a torn rotator cuff and frozen shoulder that required surgery after living with chronic pain.
  • As a producer and star of a film adaptation of Max Porter's "Grief is the Thing with Feathers," he is committed to portraying male grief through an imaginative, cinematic lens.
  • He has been developing a screen adaptation of the 1939 novel "Rogue Male," which he finds strikingly relevant to contemporary politics and plans to film when schedules allow.

Podcast Notes

Cold open and casual banter before guest introduction

Explaining the "cold open" and setting the tone

Hosts joke about what a cold open is while addressing producer Tracy[2:02]
• Sean insists on explaining a cold open even though Jason says she already knows, creating a mock-argument
All three hosts jokingly express being exhausted[2:09]

Mystery sound and assumption it's the surprise guest

A loud sound occurs and they joke that it might be their surprise guest dropping off the call[2:29]
They check in on where everyone is physically located[2:52]
• Will says he is at "Monk Island" for a quick overnight trip with his son
• He describes going into town, visiting a bookstore, and heating up a cold pool with his son

Swimming, parenting, and food tangents before guest reveal

Will's young son learning to swim

Will says his five-year-old can swim underwater but still sinks slowly overall[3:58]
Jason points out that swimming underwater without staying afloat doesn't really count as swimming[4:05]

Sean admits he's a weak swimmer

Sean says he "can't really swim" and runs out of breath in about 10 seconds in the pool[4:24]
• He claims he doesn't have the lung support for swimming, even though he exercises fine on land
Will and Jason interrogate whether Sean's problem is panic or bad technique[5:06]
• Sean describes paddling too fast and burning out quickly, and mimics a frantic, symmetrical arm stroke

Corn dogs, pigs in a blanket, and comfort food

Will proclaims his love of corn dogs dipped in yellow French's mustard[6:33]
• Jason compares corn dogs and stretch limousines as things that have "gone by the way" like bungee jumping
They reminisce about "Hot Dog on a Stick" with its multicolored hats[6:48]
They also praise pigs in a blanket and puff pastry-based snacks[7:14]

Running gag about Scotty and visual jokes

They joke about mistaking a bear under a comforter for Scotty on a couch[7:28]
• Jason calls it a "cubforter" and jokes Scotty will kick his ass for the joke
Will imagines squirting French's mustard on a sleeping Scotty like a corn dog[7:58]

Introduction of Benedict Cumberbatch

Jason's elaborate intro

Jason lists Benedict's attributes: talent, looks, smarts, awards, box office success, critical respect, range, comedy, and a British accent[8:12]
He introduces him as having a wife, three sons, and "one of the best names" in SAG and reveals him as Benedict Cumberbatch[8:32]

Discussion of Benedict's full name and first reactions

They note Benedict has two middle names: Timothy and Carlton, and that Timothy Carlton is also his father's name[8:48]
• Benedict jokes he uses his middle names on off days and that it's like squeezing the whole family into one small child's head
Benedict says he has a "rictus grin" from the flattering intro and felt privileged listening to the show's banter as the surprise guest[9:13]
A loud noise from his house is explained as likely the wind catching a door while he is at home with his wife and three kids[9:50]

Fatherhood, family planning, and nature vs nurture

Benedict's three sons and spacing

Benedict shares his sons' ages: 6, 8, and 10[10:01]
He confirms the roughly two-year spacing was mostly on purpose and praises his wife Sophie as a "trooper"[10:21]

Host reflections on spacing and number of kids

Will says he wanted three children but ended up with two because of a five-year gap and "aging out" of having a third[10:31]
Jason jokes about Will's story being a full sentence and then about "reloading" to have more children before quickly backtracking on the phrasing[10:44]

An only child panicking about a second child

Benedict, an only child, admits he panicked when their second child was on the way, wondering how to divide love and time between them[11:16]
• He sometimes worries when he's on a solo "date" with one child that he's cheating them of that one-on-one time after having more kids
He concludes that giving siblings is ultimately a gift that will outlast the parents, even if the kids sometimes try to "kill each other"[11:39]

Do parents love the second child as much as the first?

Will relates his anxiety when his second child Maple was born five years after his first, worrying if he could love the new baby as much as his older daughter Franny[12:18]
They agree many parents probably experience similar doubts, consciously or unconsciously[12:42]

Nature vs nurture in children

Will notes his three boys have vastly different personalities despite similar upbringings and asks Benedict about the balance of nature and nurture[13:49]
Will posits that maybe only 5-10% of a child's traits can be shifted by parenting and that "you get what you get"[12:49]
Benedict agrees that children arrive with something beyond understanding and that if you present the world as open, magical, and safe, you can see them become themselves[14:43]
• He describes children sometimes giving love to adults in need in a way that feels innate and unprompted, citing Max Porter's phrase about children giving something back not asked for
He frames this deep empathy and instinctive love as "nature"-something sent from somewhere else[15:51]

Kids as teachers and desire for many children

Benedict says children are here to teach adults and that he would "have 12 kids" if he could[16:09]
He reiterates that kids are "innately" (he corrects himself from "inertly") wonderful gifts[16:21]

Benedict's childhood, parents, and early career choices

Growing up as the only child of two actors

Benedict confirms he was an only child and that both parents, Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton, were working actors[16:27]
He says his parents actually pressured him away from acting, calling it a "stupid way to spend a life" because of its instability and chaotic family life[17:16]
• He recalls last-minute plan changes due to his dad needing to go to a commercial audition as part of that instability
They wanted him to have opportunities they hadn't, funding an education that could have led to a stable profession like law[17:41]

Being drawn to acting despite warnings

Benedict was entranced watching his parents perform, particularly seeing his mother switch from casual backstage talk to full performance the moment she stepped through a door onto stage[17:45]
• He vividly recalls the light, heat, and noise rushing at her on stage and wondering "what just happened to my mum?"
He jokes about his mother repeatedly doing farces where she walks in on her husband and male PA in compromising positions, and him begging her not to do another such play[18:53]
As an only child, he felt predisposed to a rich imaginary inner world, which dovetailed with acting[19:36]

Law vs acting and realizing the risk

Benedict flirted with studying law and met lawyers who warned him away, calling it oversubscribed and saying you're only as good as your last case[21:19]
He realized law would still be a risky, demanding path requiring enormous work, similar to the arts in its uncertainty but with more guaranteed baseline income[21:26]
He acknowledges he "threw it to the wind" by choosing acting but mainly wanted what his parents had: a respected acting career and a good time doing a job they loved[21:54]

How he thinks about his own kids pursuing acting

Asked what he'd say if his boys wanted to act, Benedict admits as a father he'd worry about the future world, their talent, and expectations vs reality[22:20]
He says he can't honestly turn them away from something he himself chose, even though he recognizes its instability[22:42]

Will's sons, AI, and future careers

Will notes one of his sons leans toward the arts while the other is considering fields less likely to be replaced by AI[22:52]
• He lists programming, graphic design, and legal work as examples of jobs kids now worry might be heavily impacted by AI
They briefly acknowledge AI's growing presence in their own industry as well[23:48]

Boarding school experiences and their impact

Benedict's time at boarding school

Benedict says he boarded from age eight and describes his first school (to age 13) as amazing, giving him a "band of brothers" as an only child[24:35]
His later, single-sex school overlooked London but felt socially narrow and distant from real life, prompting him to feel "done" with boarding by adolescence[24:17]
He wanted to be part of a broader community, seeing his desire to leave as a healthy "leaving the nest" impulse[25:11]

Will's boarding school memories and reluctance for his kids to board

Will went to an all-boys boarding school at 12, is still friends with some classmates, and notes boarding forced early independence[28:45]
• He recalls that by college he was ready to leave home while peers were just experiencing independence for the first time
Despite having boarded himself, Will says there is "no way" he'd send his own boys away unless they really wanted it[29:53]
Benedict agrees, saying both he and Sophie want their kids at home and to be available when needed[30:04]

Sean asks why parents send kids to boarding school

Sean, who gets homesick easily, asks what motivates parents to choose boarding school, saying it sounds like jail to him[30:56]
Will and Benedict answer that it's often for better education, facilities, structure, and an immersive environment, likening some schools to Hogwarts[31:08]
• Benedict notes his school was particularly old and that Martin Freeman once joked Benedict went to Hogwarts while he went to a normal school

Gap year teaching in a Tibetan community near Darjeeling

Choosing a gap year in a Tibetan community

Benedict describes a talk at his school about gap-year options and feeling a powerful pull toward a program near Tibetan culture, largely ignoring other options like Africa or mountain climbing[33:30]
He went at 19, calling "teach" a loose term as the Tibetan students giggled at him, and he learned far more from the experience than he could teach[34:41]
He cannot fully explain the pull to Tibetan culture, speculating jokingly about a previous life and noting he was visually fascinated and knew a bit about Buddhism[34:37]

Life in Sonada near Darjeeling

He stayed in a converted Nepali house in a hill town called Sonada near Darjeeling, with a monastery on top, monks' accommodation, dining area, and a small teaching area[35:57]
• He estimates the altitude at about 4,000 meters and recalls clouds rolling into his room like dry ice through the window
Conditions were very basic but romantic-cold, sometimes lonely, spiritually mind-blowing yet also mundane[37:18]
He recounts writing in tiny script on an airmail letter about using a gas heater and blocking vents to fix the cold, which terrified his father, who feared carbon monoxide poisoning[37:49]

Duration and impact of the experience

Benedict says he spent about five months teaching followed by some travel in India and Nepal, both of which he found extraordinary[35:57]
He emphasizes how formative it was for a 19-year-old coming from a cloistered private boarding-school background[34:56]

Early acting work and learning film vs theatre

First film work and TV job

Asked about his first film set, Benedict thinks it may have been the feature "To Kill a King," but he doesn't vividly remember his own on-camera work there[40:34]
His first screen job was actually on the British TV series "Heartbeat," which he recalls as nerve-wracking[42:07]
• On "Heartbeat" he felt very aware that a multi-camera "audience" was capturing everything, wanting to know whether he was doing too much or too little
He was still at drama school (Lambda) when he booked "Heartbeat" and needed permission to work, since students weren't technically supposed to work during training[43:19]

Family exposure to sets and on-set etiquette

Benedict believes his parents' careers and his visits to their sets helped him instinctively understand basic on-set behavior, like not looking into the camera[39:52]

Watching his own performances and collaborating with directors

Attitude toward playback and self-critique

Benedict says he is not his own obsessive fan and doesn't revisit old work to compare performances over time[44:18]
He uses playback selectively while shooting as a tool to check if what's inside is registering and to align with a director's vision[44:30]
• He might request another take after playback if he realizes his choices don't fit the character or scene as intended
On "The Power of the Dog" he never watched playback, feeling he either "was in it or it was shit," and wanting to maintain his character's arrogance and distance from the crew[45:01]

Trust and tension between actor instinct and director vision

Benedict says he's been lucky with high-caliber directors and builds trust so that his uncertainty about a take can be filtered through their honest feedback[46:06]
He values directors who give prompts that pivot his performance 180 degrees without rejecting his previous work, simply inviting a different choice[46:22]
He concedes that sometimes, in hindsight, he wishes he'd trusted his instincts more when he later sees a performance and feels another take or choice might have been better[49:48]

Taking big swings in roles and managing fear

Stephen Hawking and early high-stakes casting

Benedict recalls playing Stephen Hawking in a TV drama as a major "big swing" where he was elated to get the role then immediately terrified he couldn't do it[47:36]
• The project focused on Hawking's life slice when he walked with a stick and had impaired speech but was still married to Jane Hawking

Patrick Melrose and committing to extreme choices

He cites "Patrick Melrose" as a role where he made especially big, committed choices portraying various levels of intoxication while personally being sober[49:40]
He says he didn't think "this could be silly" at the time; he was simply committed and even half-jokes the experience made him curious about Quaaludes[50:11]

First-day-on-set nerves and shared vulnerability

Benedict admits he still feels like everyone, from the crew to the director, is silently judging whether he'll be kept for a second day on a shoot[50:51]
He reminds himself that other departments, like the focus puller and clapper loader, are also nervous on day one, and that everyone's just starting together[57:38]

Working with legendary actors on "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

First impressions of the cast

Benedict remembers Mark Strong as funny and witty, Colin Firth as absurdly wonderful, smart, talented, and handsome, and Gary Oldman as initially intimidating[55:15]

Meeting Gary Oldman and realizing his fear

He first met Gary Oldman unexpectedly in a corridor during a costume fitting and felt Gary was sizing him up as his prospective on-screen partner Peter Guillam[55:31]
Benedict was nervous, feeling he had to impress Gary, but later realized Gary himself was terrified about living up to Alec Guinness's iconic performance as Smiley[55:30]
Seeing Gary's vulnerability taught Benedict that even the greatest actors doubt themselves and that "we're all the same" in that respect[57:01]

Range of roles, fan expectations, and iconic characters

Hosts praise Benedict's body of work

Jason and Sean list projects like "Star Trek," "The Imitation Game," "Doctor Strange," "August Osage County," voicing Smaug in "The Hobbit," and "The Roses" as examples of his range[57:26]
They emphasize how he seamlessly moves between drama, comedy, massive box office hits, and intense niche films[1:02:35]

Responsibility to fans of existing franchises

Asked about stepping into roles with existing fanbases, Benedict says he feels a huge responsibility to them but then has to forget about that when acting[59:51]
He warns that trying to please every fan leads to safe, lifeless choices and prevents originality, daring, and complexity in familiar characters like Sherlock Holmes[1:00:42]

Surfing late in life and shoulder injury

Learning to surf in his 40s

Asked what he'd like to be half as good at as acting, Benedict immediately answers "surfing" (or speaking foreign languages) and explains he started surfing in his 40s[1:05:07]
He began surfing in New Zealand during a COVID lockdown pause while filming "The Power of the Dog," deciding to stay there with his family and parents[1:05:28]
• He learned at a break in Te Awanga in Hawke's Bay, describes himself as goofy-footed, and notes he may have learned on the wrong break directionally
He fell in love with the coastline views, connection to the ocean, and the mixed community in the lineup, from local police to drug dealers, united as long as you didn't take someone else's wave[1:06:33]
He says it's hard to explain to non-surfers the magic of nature "giving you a ride" from out in the ocean toward shore[1:08:31]

Rotator cuff tear and frozen shoulder

Benedict had a torn rotator cuff and, as discovered during surgery, a frozen shoulder; he attributes it to years of poor use and surfing in bad conditions, plus lifting things badly[1:09:18]
He lived with chronic pain for about a year and a half, repeatedly waking at night from rolling onto the shoulder, while being told by physios to give it time[1:09:26]
At 49 he finally had surgery and notes his shoulder is now "great," demonstrating his regained range of movement and remarking he'll be 50 this year[1:09:51]

Producing and starring in adaptation of "Grief is the Thing with Feathers"

Overview of the film and its origins

Jason refers to the film as "The Thing with Feathers" and says the trailer looks magical, sophisticated, and tasteful in its approach to loss and fantasy[1:10:02]
Benedict explains the film is based on Max Porter's novella "Grief is the Thing with Feathers," itself a misquote of Emily Dickinson's "Hope is the thing with feathers"[1:10:27]
He both stars in and produces the film through his company SunnyMarch, saying it took about 10 years to bring to fruition, with his team joining in the last year or so[1:11:36]

Plot and exploration of male grief

The story follows a man who suffers the sudden death of his wife and must raise their two children as a widower over the course of their first year as a new family unit[1:11:18]
Benedict emphasizes that the novella creates a space where male grief is examined in an extraordinarily imaginative way, treating grief as something to live with rather than overcome[1:12:52]
Grief manifests as a crow-simultaneously Mary Poppins-like nanny to the kids, tormentor, helper, and ally against despair, born out of the father's academic or illustrative work connected to Ted Hughes[1:12:47]
• He describes the crow as a "ferocious noise in the head" and an "amanuensis" that both torments and aids the family while they grieve

Dylan Southern's direction and cinematic influences

Benedict notes that Dylan Southern, primarily known for pop documentaries, adapted the book and directed the film as his first fictional narrative drama[1:12:06]
He calls Dylan a cineaste and cultural nerd whose film is rich with references to Kubrick, Spielberg, Hitchcock, and even some Jane Campion[1:14:06]
He characterizes the film as a "punchy" hour and 40 minutes that visualizes minds coming undone and the father's 40-something North London maleness, though the film is set in South London[1:12:41]

Long-gestating adaptation of the novel "Rogue Male"

Why "Rogue Male" excites Benedict

Jason calls "Rogue Male" one of his favorite books and a mind-blower, praising it as the original fugitive novel and an inspiration for Ian Fleming and James Bond[1:13:38]
Benedict agrees it's a "winner" and notes it was written in 1939, calling it hugely prescient for current times[1:13:39]
He says the story explores a man whose own side turns on him after he targets an enemy, and that its themes resonate strongly with contemporary politics[1:14:09]

Status of the project and scheduling challenges

Benedict confirms they will definitely make the adaptation and are trying to schedule it for next year, though he also has "huge commitments involving cloaks" hinting at more Marvel work[1:14:33]

Closing appreciation, Will's performance, and post-interview banter

Benedict compliments Will's recent work

Before leaving, Benedict tells Will he was phenomenal in a recent project directed by Bradley (connected with Searchlight) that he got a link to watch[1:16:07]
He praises Will's tender and real performance and is impressed by how Will stayed in it with the camera extremely close, noting the entire film was shot on a single 40mm lens[1:15:47]

Hosts reflect on Benedict and missed questions

After Benedict signs off, the hosts say the interview flew by and joke about how many credits they didn't even get to discuss[1:18:05]
Sean, a big science fiction and fantasy fan, expresses excitement about Benedict's roles as Khan in "Star Trek" and Smaug in "The Hobbit" films[1:18:05]
They describe Benedict as a massive team player, loving, and someone who fluidly moves between big franchises and intense small films[1:18:05]

Story about briefly encountering Benedict and suitcase etiquette

Sean thinks he once met Benedict on a plane and found him very funny, while Will recalls seeing Benedict at the Greenwich Hotel repacking a suitcase in the lobby and deciding to leave him alone[1:19:13]
Jason says he dislikes seeing inside someone else's suitcase, especially on the way back from a trip when dirty underwear is on top[1:18:40]

Will's luxury habit of hotel laundry

Will reveals his favorite luxury is using hotel laundry so he doesn't carry dirty clothes home, even if it's relatively expensive per item[1:19:07]
He describes the pleasure of unpacking mostly clean clothes at home, while Jason teases him about spending money instead of using his own machine[1:19:31]

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

Children arrive with strong innate personalities, and a parent's most impactful role is to provide safety, openness, and love so those traits can unfold rather than trying to engineer who they become.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What aspects of your child's (or a younger person's) personality seem clearly innate rather than shaped by you?
  • • How might you adjust your parenting or mentoring style to create more space for their natural traits instead of trying to mold them into your idea of who they should be?
  • • This week, what is one specific way you can signal to a child in your life that the world is a safe, curious place for them to explore as themselves?
2

Choosing an unstable, creative career requires accepting risk while building trust in your own instincts and in collaborators who can give honest, course-correcting feedback.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in your work or ambitions are you hesitating because the path feels too uncertain or unstable?
  • • How could deepening trust with one or two key collaborators make it easier for you to take bolder risks in your projects?
  • • What is one decision you could make this month that favors meaningful, creative risk over safe predictability?
3

Even highly accomplished people experience fear and self-doubt, and acknowledging that vulnerability actually builds connection and can reduce the pressure to appear infallible.

Reflection Questions:

  • • When was the last time you assumed someone confident or successful didn't struggle internally, only to later learn they did?
  • • How might being more candid about your own doubts with trusted colleagues change the dynamic on your team or in your family?
  • • What is one area where you could safely admit, "I'm nervous about this" to someone else this week, and see what support or honesty that invites in return?
4

Grief and other painful emotions are often companions to be lived with and integrated, not enemies to be defeated, and creative expression can provide powerful ways to personify and work with them.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What difficult emotion in your life right now might be easier to face if you imagined it as a character or presence rather than something to suppress?
  • • How could you use a creative medium you enjoy-writing, drawing, music, or something else-to give form to that feeling and explore your relationship with it?
  • • When you next experience a wave of grief or sadness, what small shift in mindset could help you treat it as something to sit with and learn from instead of something to push away?
5

It's never too late to become a beginner again-starting new skills later in life, like surfing, can rekindle curiosity, humility, and a fresh connection to your body and environment, even if it comes with setbacks.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What is a skill or activity you've quietly wanted to learn but dismissed as something you should have started years ago?
  • • How might embracing the discomfort of being a novice in that area actually benefit your confidence and resilience overall?
  • • What concrete first step could you take in the next two weeks to begin (or restart) one new physical or creative practice, even if you can only commit a small amount of time?

Episode Summary - Notes by Hayden

"Benedict Cumberbatch"
0:00 0:00