Yahoo Movies Benedict Cumberbatch regrets controversy over Zoolander 2 role
Benedict Cumberbatch has shared his regret over the controversy that surrounded his role in Zoolander 2.
In the 2016 comedy sequel that lampoons the fashion industry, the Sherlock and Doctor Strange actor played a non-binary model named All. There was a backlash against his casting, which one headline-making petition called "the modern equivalent of blackface".
In a new video for Variety, Cumberbatch opened up about the role.
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"I've had to apologize for that quite a lot. It's a difficult one to talk about," he said. "I love that group of people and it was the chance to sort of be part of something that the first time around was iconic and I was a huge fan of.
"But it got complicated and it got misunderstood and I upset people. I respect that, so I probably wouldn't do that again now."
It's not the first time Cumberbatch had addressed the reception to All. In 2022, he spoke about the character during Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series, stating: "I think in this era, my role would never be performed by anybody other than a trans actor.
"But I remember at the time not thinking of it necessarily in that regard, and it being more about two dinosaurs, two heteronormative clichés not understanding this new diverse world. But it backfired a little bit."
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Zoolander 2 released to poor reviews and low commercial performance, making $57 million at the worldwide box office on a $50 million budget.
Looking at the film's lukewarm success, Derek Zoolander star Ben Stiller said it might have been a good thing for him.
"If Zoolander 2 had been a huge hit, and then people were saying 'Zoolander 3!' 'Do this movie! That movie!'," he told Esquire in 2022.
"I might have gotten distracted by other bright shiny objects, but instead it opened a path where I could just do what I'd honestly wanted to do for years and years, which was: just direct something!"
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