'I would wear wigs and women's clothes': Emmy-Award winner Benedict Cumberbatch speaks about his early days as an aspiring actor
He’s riding high on his recent Emmy win for Actor In A Miniseries Or Movie with his formidable portrayal as Sherlock.
So it’s hard to imagine Benedict Cumberbatch as a struggling actor.
However that was indeed the case for the 38-year-old, who admitted in an interview with Conon O’Brien he was a nervous teenager whose first foray into theatre was playing women in Shakespeare plays.
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He's come a long way! Benedict Cumberbatch told Conan O'Brien on his show he started out a nervous actor who played women
Steamy: Conan treated the audience to a deleted scene in Star Trek of Benedict in the shower
‘I wasn’t confident around girls when I was young. I went to an all-boys boarding school, and actually used to play women in the school plays,’ the Star Trek actor revealed.
Adding: ‘I would wear wigs and women’s clothes. My first role was Titania queen of the fairies. That was literally was what started me off at school. Then I played Rosalind [in Shakespeare’s As You Like It].’
‘I played rugby, so I was butch as well as in the evening putting on female clothes’ the good-humoured actor joked.
These days the London-born star has a legion of loyal fans and is often labelled a sex symbol but it’s something he’s still coming to terms with.
Humble beginnings: 'I used to play women in the school plays,' the actor explained
‘It’s very recent that polls have started deeming me sexy. My face hasn’t changed that much over the last ten years. It’s surreal,’ Benedict told.
Talking about his reoccurring role as Smaug in The Hobbit series, Benedict went to great lengths to prepare for it.
‘I studied reptiles for the role - needed to try and humanise the mythical fire-breathing serpent a bit… I went to London Zoo and looked at Komodo dragons and serpents.’
Inspired by his role as the dragon in The Hobbit, Benedict went on to teach Conan how to act like a dragon.
Cheeky: Conan added sexy sounding music to the shower scene
‘Lean on your elbows and hyper-extend your neck to the point where you’ll need physical therapy afterwards,’ Benedict explained as Conan gave his best dragon impersonation.
‘Wow, it’s like a young male ginger Meryl Streep,’ Benedict responded.
As for his role in Star Trek Into Darkness as Khan, Benedict admitted he worked out for a shower scene that eventually got cut.
Staying humble: 'It’s very recent that polls have started deeming me sexy. My face hasn’t changed that much over the last ten years. It’s surreal'
‘I trained for months to look bigger than I am. Ate a lot of chicken, worked out a lot,’ he said.
Ever the joker, Conan showed the deleted clip to the audience - while he added his own special touch with some sexy sounding music.
'I prefer the Smaug clip than being naked in the shower… you can see less of me,' Benedict said.
‘Out of context it looks like you’re confused by water,’ Conan joked.
UK viewers can watch Benedict Cumberbatch’s interview on Conan at 11pm tonight, on truTV (freeview channel 68) - the home of larger than life characters in real situations.
You nailed it! 'Wow, it’s like a young male ginger Meryl Streep,' Benedict said of Conan's dragon impersonation
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