Benedict Cumberbatch Was Once Carjacked in South Africa

If an actor is playing a character as powerful as the Sorcerer Supreme on screen, you might see them as being unbeatable in real life, too. But that’s not the reality for Benedict Cumberbatch, who considers himself lucky having survived a carjacking incident.

As he recently told on the WTF Podcast hosted by Marc Maron, the tale began in South Africa in 2004, where Cumberbatch was filming a William Golding trilogy for BBC called To the Ends of the Earth. On their weekend off, he and two of his co-stars decided to take a scuba diving lesson.

The trip itself was smooth sailing, but the return not so much. Traveling at night, one of the car tires blew, causing them to stop in the middle of the road to get out and inspect it.

That’s when they were suddenly ambushed by a gang of armed men who threw them back into the car at gunpoint. The men drove them off the road, after which they ransacked the car for any valuables.

Benedict talks about the ordeal:

There were intimations of a gun but I didn’t turn around to see it because at the time I was out of the car. I was then put in the boot of the car and at one point my shoelaces were bound to my wrists.

Benedict Cumberbatch

The carjackers only left after they had collected all the money and bank cards that they could take from the actors, as well as their car. Cumberbatch also recalls that because the money could only be drawn out of ATMs, the perpetrators took two and half hours to set them free.

After they were let go, the actors walked down the opposite stretch of the road to get help and call their production company.

Cumberbatch regrets that it was his idea to set out back so late in the night. Along with this, he also dishes out a great piece of advice he wished he knew at the time—you can continue driving a car with three tires, even with one being busted.

There’s a reason why Cumberbatch (and many other famous figures) are reticent about their personal lives. While the hit on Cumberbatch was simply an opportunistic moment, the risk of targeted attempts still stands.

Perhaps this is why he says in the podcast that he’s dedicated to “a life less than ordinary.”

Now come on, Benedict, there’s a whole list of filmography that says otherwise. From playing the world’s most famous detective to a great, fearsome dragon, the actor is anything but ordinary.

Source: WTFPod