Benedict Cumberbatch has defended his decision to play a gay character in his new film, despite not identifying as one in real life.
In new movie The Power of the Dog, the 45-year-old plays Phil Burbank, a “sadistic rancher” who gets into a relationship with Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee).
The actor has since revealed that this “wasn’t done without thought” and frequent conversations took place about the topic.
Speaking at the Telluride Film Festival, Cumberbatch said: “I feel very sensitive about representation, diversity, and inclusion.
“One of the appeals of the job was the idea that in this world, with this specific character, there was a lot that was private, hidden from view.”
Although his character is never directly described as gay in the movie, Cumberbatch previously played a gay man in The Imitation Game when he acted as Alan Turing.
He added: “It wasn’t done without thought. I also feel slightly like, is this a thing where our dance card has to be public? Do we have to explain all our private moments in our sexual history? I don’t think so.”
The Doctor Strange star went on to state that director Jane Champion “chose us as actors to play those roles. That’s her question to answer.”
Smit-McPhee also commented on the issue, explaining that he relates a lot to his character even though he is a straight man.
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