"I Came To This Because I Like JJ Not Because I Was A Dye-In-The-Wool Fan" Says Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch talks about his introduction to the rabid Star Trek fan base at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2013. The actor says it was the talent of director J.J. Abrams that drew him to the role but he's slowly becoming a Trekkie.

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By Mark Julian - 3/20/2013

Don't expect Benedict Cumberbatch to reveal the identity of John Harrison before the film premiere's on May 17th but the actor is being frank about his experience during filming. "[Stark Trek] was wonderful, really terrific, really good fun."

The actor goes on a bit more about the fact that it was his admiration for J.J. Abrams that initially drew him to the project but he's slowly becoming more and more immersed in Star Trek fan culture. "When I watched the first of J.J.'s reinvention of the franchise, I got a really strong, joyous kick out of watching all these characters come together for the first time. The fact that it was an origination job is something that made me think, 'Well, I most have made some sort of investment with the story and these characters in the past - I'm doing all these things that are fan boy fodder and I never, ever had that amazing, tribal and really wonderful thing of really knowing everything about something or being obsessed about watching something. {I've never had] the knowledge of every elvic rune in Lord of the Rings and I'm sort of getting to learn very fast about what all that is [on Star Trek], I'm playing catch up is what I'm trying to say. But at the same time, I thought [the first Star Trek] was such a good film full-stop that I knew that if I got the opportunity and when the job arose, I knew I'd love to work with JJ. I just think he's a fantastic director and that proved absolutely correct, he was charming, brilliant and imaginative and just endlessly energetic and creative and a wonderful human being to be around, really funny. I came to this because I like J.J. not because I was a dye-in-the-wool fan but I'm slowly becoming one. It's a great thing to be apart of, it really is.

Always nice to see an actor embracing the fandom, he's going to get his own army soon a la Tom Hiddleston if he keeps this up. Star Trek Into Darkness hits U.S. theaters on May 17th in IMAX and 3D.

Running Time: In post-production
Release Date: May 17 2013 (USA)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (probable)
Starring: Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Quinto John Cho, Peter Weller, Karl Urban and Chris Pine
Directed by: JJ Abrams
Written by: Alex Kurtzman (screenplay), Damon Lindelof (screenplay),Roberto Orci (screenplay), Gene Roddenberry (tv series "Star Trek")

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

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13 Comments

	ClaireLannister2016 - 3/20/2013, 10:53 AM Login to report abuse Well at least he's honest
	brazilianbatman - 3/20/2013, 11:04 AM Login to report abuse he said" I don't give a [frick] about star trek, I am only doing this movie because I think j.j. is a really good director and I want to be around the best"
	jbak368 - 3/20/2013, 11:05 AM Login to report abuse This'll probably be a really good sci-fi action movie. It'd be nice if it could also be a good Star Trek movie.
	JohnnyKrypton - 3/20/2013, 11:05 AM Login to report abuse "...[dyed] in the wool..."
	Nomis - 3/20/2013, 11:09 AM Login to report abuse @ FRIG - I don't think he's playing.
	fettastic - 3/20/2013, 12:01 PM Login to report abuse Every time I hear an actor talk like this I think "Where did you grow up, the [frick]in' MOON?" How could you not have been affected by Star Trek and Star Wars and all those great comic book characters? I mean, WE ALL liked the same shit so how come actors our age are like "Naw I never heard of that" or "I wasn't exposed to that?" I can understand not being a fan of something. I never got into GI Joe (either iteration) or Transformers...or My Little Pony. But that was a matter of personal taste. I certainly could understand fandom since I was an ERHMEHGERHD Star Wars fan, and Spider-Man was just like a [frick]ing God to me. I couldn't have imagined a saturday morning not plunked down in front of the TV watching all my favorite shows like Blue Falcon, Super Friends, Thundaar the Barbarian, Jabber Jaw, The Schmoo, etc. So what were these schmucks doing? practicing lifting their pinkies when they sipped [frick]ing tea?
	Spidey91 - 3/20/2013, 12:11 PM Login to report abuse in "Sherlock", Watson calls him Spock in one episode, and Spock quotes Sherlock Holmes in the 2009 Star Trek. coincidence? :P
	JumpinJehosaphat - 3/20/2013, 1:57 PM Login to report abuse @fettastic I'm of the understanding that Star Trek simply wasn't all that big in the U.K. Only comparatively recently has it caught on there, much like Doctor Who had a cult following in the States, but nothing major until more recently. Maybe a Brit can confirm or deny this claim I'm making?
	Chloefornication - 3/20/2013, 2:00 PM Login to report abuse @Spidey91 When are you going to wake up to what the government is doing?
	batfan175 - 3/20/2013, 2:32 PM Login to report abuse I don't care either about Star Wars or Star Trek so i can understand where he's coming from.
	superbigguy32 - 3/20/2013, 4:23 PM Login to report abuse @Fettastic, I was thinking the same thing a few days ago. Okay on one hand I'm happy that "REAL" actors and actress are doing more sci-fi/CBM. Because they probably won't do anything campy. But what makes me upset when the say nonsense like that. They don't know who Superman is or I never heard of Spiderman, yeah right!!! 99.9% of those actors would not talk SH!T like that about a Scorsese movie or Woody Allen project. They would get all kind of praises like, "oh I always wanted to work with so & so". It is such BS!!! When they where kids what kid of childhood did they have? No Scooby Doo, Power Rangers, or Superfriends? Did they just study Shakespeare when they where growing up?
	kemuael - 3/20/2013, 5:39 PM Login to report abuse after picard, didnt care much about the franchise...
	imadick - 3/20/2013, 9:29 PM Login to report abuse So he didn't grow up a fan. What the [frick] do you want him to do? Lie and pander? Then you'd be whining about his lying and pandering. He didn't say anything disrespectful like Hugo Weaving did for MCU. He simply said that he isn't familiar with the material. And why do you dumbasses even need the actors to be fans in the first place? You remind me of creepy Twilight fans like this one, who get upset because Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson aren't dating IN REALZ anymore.

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