Benedict Cumberbatch says he was happy to show the opposite of “alpha male machismo” with his portrayal of a grieving widower in Dylan Southern’s The Thing With Feathers.
While speaking at the Berlinale press conference for the UK feature, which Cumberbatch’s SunnyMarch label produces, the actor said the film did not specifically set out to reflect masculinity in today’s society but that that is a natural consequence of filmmaking.
“As an artist, I think you’re dead in the water if you tried to go out and proselytize or be didactic,” Cumberbatch said. “I think if you’re in the world that you’re portraying, you naturally absorb certain things in the zeitgeist.”
In The Thing With Feathers, Cumberbatch’s character Dad deals with the loss of his wife while also looking after his two young sons. It first premiered at Sundance and now screens at Berlinale as a Special Gala.
“A lens on male grief and the strength of being weak, of being vulnerable, of being open and able to learn from tragedy rather than trying to oppose it with more force and more force and more force is obviously quite a prevalent and strong thing,” he added
“But we certainly didn’t go out to make that film and make that statement. I think that is just a natural thing to celebrate in the work we’ve done.
“Uncertainty and emotional vulnerability are not top of the agenda of the alpha male machismo that is being pushed as the strong man image of what masculinity is or should be,” Cumberbatch continued.
“I’m very happy to be part of storytelling that goes in the opposite direction of that.”
The actor also spoke about his production company SunnyMarch and its focus on spotlighting new voices.
“I like producing because I can create an atmosphere for honest work, difficult work and for challenging work,” Cumberbatch explained. “And also give a platform to new artists and people who are arriving with a fresh or new mode of speaking to their ruth, and hear what they have to say and give us culturally.
“It’s a nice thing to be able to lend the focus of me to, and to keep the culture fresh.”
The Thing With Feathers is also produced by Andrea Cornwell via Lobo Films, with the BFI and Film4 co-financing.
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