Why Benedict Cumberbatch Ate So Much To Play Doctor Strange

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5 days ago

Benedict Cumberbatch's recent comments about having to eat 'five meals a day' when playing Marvel superhero Doctor Strange left some people seriously confused, but don't worry, it's not as random as it might sound.
On Tuesday, Variety tweeted: 'Benedict Cumberbatch Ate Five Meals a Day to Play Doctor Strange, Says Hollywood Is 'Grossly Wasteful': 'It's Horrific Eating Beyond Your Appetite… I Could Feed a Family With the Amount' I Ate,' and Marvel fans were quick to respond in the quote-tweets.
'he's playing a wizard, why does he need to eat that much lol,' one viral reply asked, somebody else echoed: 'He plays a surgeon with magical powers that is extremely clothed all the time. Why did he need to be buff lol?' 'Why did he need to eat five meals a day to play a guy that stands around waving his hands?' one more questioned, while another tweeted: 'he did not need to be doing all that to be playing fucking doctor strange 😭😭😭''he wore baggy robes and a cape the entire time 😭😭😭😭' one more wrote, as somebody else basically summed up the discourse by writing: 'We didn't notice.' However, in Benedict's full interview, he actually explains that he didn't eat that much food for aesthetic reasons — it was purely for practicality.
During an appearance on the Ruthie's Table 4 podcast, the actor was asked if he ever has a special diet during filming, to which he replied: 'It depends what job. If I am doing a high volume of exercise, I'm pumped for something like the Marvel films as Doctor Strange, which, you know, you have all that garb on — you need that strength to hold your posture, to have core strength, to be strong in the harnesses, all the fight scenes and the flying.'
'It's great fun, I love it. I love body transformations in my job,' Benedict went on. 'If you don't have the budget, you have to do it very carefully, but on Marvel, it's a big sand pit, so they've got resources.' The star then explained how easy bulking up was made for him, sharing: 'You have someone who can prescribe you what you're eating, and they can cook for you. We had a fantastic chef on the last Doctor Strange film.'
'It's this amazing facility to go: 'Right, he needs to be on this many calories a day. He needs to have five meals. He needs to have a couple of boiled eggs between those five meals or some kind of high protein snack, cheese and crackers, or almond butter and crackers. Crackers, lots of crackers,'' Benedict explained. 'And for me, the exercise is great, and the end result is that you feel strong, and you feel confident. You hold yourself better. You have a stamina through the exercise and the food that makes you last through the gig.'
But while Benedict's reason for beefing up to play Doctor Strange might suddenly make total sense, that doesn't mean he found the experience pleasant.
'It's horrific,' he continued. 'Personally, I think it's horrific eating beyond your appetite. Going back to responsibility, and resourcefulness, and sustainability, it's just like: 'What are we? What am I doing? I could feed a family with the amount I'm eating!''
'It's a grossly wasteful industry,' Benedict added. 'Think about set builds that aren't recycled, think about transport, think about food, think about housing, but also light and energy. The amount of wattage you need to sort of create daylight and consistent light in a studio environment. It's a lot of energy.'The star went on to acknowledge that some may find it hypocritical for him to speak about protecting the environment considering his job, but went on to reveal that when he is involved on a producer level, he is 'really hot' on finding ways for a production to be more sustainable and green.
Meanwhile, it's perhaps unsurprising that Benedict struggled with his Marvel diet, considering he revealed later in the podcast that the 'comfort food' he reaches for the most is… Kale.
'Kale sort of shocked in a pan with a bit of olive oil,' he said. 'And then lemon juice and some chili flakes, and then a tiny bit of water just to steam it so the flavor is locked in by the quick heat. Then cook through a little bit more, thoroughly but not soggily. I crave that vegetable. I really do.'
Each to their own, Benedict! What do you make of the star's podcast comments? Let me know down below!