The one movie Benedict Cumberbatch has seen the most: “It filled me with glee”
Life must be pretty good if you’re Benedict Cumberbatch.
He seems to be capable of just about anything, from multi-million dollar franchises to independent dramas to ground-breaking theatrical performances, and he has been rewarded handsomely for his talents, with fame, fortune, and more awards than you could shake another award at. Since he became famous, people even learned to spell his name correctly, the greatest honour of all.
As well as solving impossible crimes and battling Thanos, Cumberbatch has also lent his talents to the world of comedy. An early film role came in the controversial Four Lions, a story about four bumbling terrorists, where he plays a negotiator brought in during the thrilling climax. He starred opposite Olivia Colman in a remake of The War of the Roses (simply titled The Roses), lent his voice to various animated kids comedies, and played the non-binary model All in Zoolander 2. Although, given the feedback it received, he probably wishes he hadn’t bothered with that last one
When Club Ciné asked him thus, which film best summed up his own personal sense of humour, he namedropped a stone-cold classic. “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” he said. It’s unclear if he genuinely used the film’s official title or if that was added in post, but if it is the former, then he’s an even bigger fan than we thought.
One question later, he was asked about the movie he’d seen the most times, and his answer remained the same, repeating, “Anchorman“, this time opting for the much shorter colloquial name for the film, and adding, “Really, because it makes me laugh. I just watched it the other night, and it filled me with glee”.
Released in 2004, Anchorman is one of many collaborations between director Adam McKay and frontman Will Ferrell. It finds the latter playing Ron Burgundy, a locally famous news anchor whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a woman in the newsroom, in the form of Christina Applegate, and although you probably don’t need me to tell you, but the film is easily one of the most beloved comedies of the 21st century, if not of all time, jam-packed with iconic scenes, moments, and lines.
If you ever hear anyone quipping that something “escalated quickly” or that “60% of the time, it works every time”, you have this movie to thank.
The laugh riot was met with a long-awaited sequel nine years later, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which, alongside the original core cast, introduced a few new faces and notably features a ton of cameos. In a reprisal of the famous ‘news fight’ scene from the first film, a series of increasingly ridiculous news teams arrive to battle with Ron and his chums, with each group led by a celebrity: Will Smith captaining the team from ESPN, Jim Carrey and Marion Cotillard as the dual-language Canadian news presenters, and Liam Neeson representing the History Channel (it’s news, but of the past).
Cumberbatch would have been a perfect choice to play a presenter from the BBC, but alas, Sacha Baron Cohen beat him to the punch; better luck next time, Benny.
