Benedict Cumberbatch opens up about a terrifying experience when he was kidnapped and held hostage in South Africa
Benedict Cumberbatch recently reflected on a terrifying ordeal he endured two decades ago while working abroad.
In an interview with *Variety* ahead of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of his film *The Thing with Feathers*, the 48-year-old actor recounted being abducted and held hostage in South Africa in 2004 while filming the BBC miniseries *To the Ends of the Earth*.
“It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one,” Cumberbatch shared. “It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience.”
The incident occurred after Cumberbatch and his friends went diving and experienced a tire blowout on their drive back.
While stranded, they were abducted by six men, robbed, and forced to drive their captors around for hours before being left tied up in the middle of nowhere.
Reflecting on the «near-death» experience, Cumberbatch admitted it fueled a passion for high-risk activities like skydiving.
“It made me realize, ‘Oh, right, I could die at any moment,’” he explained.
“I started throwing myself out of planes and taking all sorts of risks. But back then, I didn’t have real dependents apart from my parents. Now, that’s changed, and it grounds you in a different way.”
Now married to Sophie Hunter and a father of three sons—Kit, 9, Hal, 7, and Finn, 6—Cumberbatch shared how fatherhood has reshaped his perspective on life.
“The moment you have kids, your sense of time shifts profoundly,” he said. “My youngest turns 6 tomorrow, and I think, ‘I’ll be in my 60s when he’s 21.’ It’s wild how fast time moves.”
Discussing his upcoming film, based on Max Porter’s novel *Grief Is the Thing with Feathers*, Cumberbatch described his role as a young father struggling with reality after the sudden death of his wife.
The story explores themes of loss and the lingering presence of grief. For Cumberbatch, who has openly reflected on mortality, the role resonates deeply.
“I’ve looked over the edge,” he said. “It’s made me more at peace with what lies beyond, and I’ve accepted that’s where all our stories end.”