Benedict Cumberbatch once opened up about the hours-long 'kidnapping' he suffered more than 20 years ago. The experience changed him and left him wanting to live 'a life less ordinary,' he admitted.
The Kidnapping Ordeal
While filming the BBC miniseries To The Ends Of The Earth in South Africa, Cumberbatch, who turned 50 on July 19, and his friends got a puncture during a trip out. Stranded by the side of the road, they were mugged and kidnapped by six armed men. The group was driven for hours before being ordered out of the car and made to sit together as the criminals escaped.
'There were intimations of a gun, but I didn't turn around to see it,' Cumberbatch confessed. Speaking to Variety, he revealed that while they escaped unharmed, the ordeal changed him profoundly.
Impact on Life and Career
'It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one. It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I'm still dealing with that impatience,' he revealed. The star has since become an adrenaline junkie, loving skydiving and extreme sports. 'The near-death stuff turbo-fuelled all that,' he explained, 'it made me go, "Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment."'
'I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks. But apart from my parents, I didn't have any real dependents at that point,' he added.
Parenthood Transformed His Perspective
The father of three, who shares his children with wife Sophie Hunter, said that becoming a parent has transformed his risky personality. 'I've looked over the edge,' he admitted, 'it's made me comfortable with what lies beneath it and I've accepted that that's the end of all our stories. The minute you have kids this sense of time sinks in far more profoundly.'
Since then, Cumberbatch has made a huge name in acting, landing major roles on both sides of the Atlantic. His role as Sherlock Holmes took him to international stardom. Recently, he made a surprise cameo in Madonna's video for 'Danceteria' from her album Confessions II.
