Benedict Cumberbatch talks making The Hobbit

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Sherlock star says LOTR prequel will be amazing

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Benedict Cumberbatch recently spoke to MTV about his work on upcoming Middle-earth epic The Hobbit .

Talking from Elton John's Oscar-viewing party (alright for some: we just watched the ceremony in our lounge with an industrial-sized vat of tea), he spoke about the technical process involved in playing a dragon, and his relationship with the cast and crew.

On his Hobbit experience, Sherlock star Cumberbatch said, "I was very lucky [ to work ] with Pete [ Jackson ]."

"As far as the experience, what an extraordinary one it was because at the time I was in my work, I was in isolation with him and this incredible tag team. And at the very cool place with that technology doing mo-cap for two characters, Smaug the dragon and another character, which will remain nameless, and it was an awful lot of fun."

"It's a sort of wonderful ongoing process," he added. "I spent a lot of time recording voice as well as doing movements. So, it was sort of freeing; it was fun. It was like playing a game.

"It's going to be an amazing film; it's going to be a real treat. I watched The Lord Of The Rings again before I started working, and the way those films grow in depth of craft on every level are extraordinary. Their mark is for that."



And on working with his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman (who plays Bilbo), Cumberbatch said: "It was great. I got to hang out with him, and I kept a straight face for a bit and then I started giggling because I know Martin, I don't know Bilbo.

"For Martin to be sitting there playing Bilbo is amazing. He's going to be amazing, he's going to be fantastic in this film."

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens on 14 December 2012. We're possibly even more excited about it than Cumberbatch is.

Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.