Benedict Cumberbatch isn't happy he upset people with non-binary role: 'I wouldn't do that again’

‘It’s a difficult one to talk about,’ the actor said

Benedict Cumberbatch has said he wouldn’t play a non-binary character again after his controversial performance in Zoolander 2.

The actor appeared in the 2016 comedy sequel as a character named All, a non-binary fashion model. LGBT+ activists led a boycott of the film, with a petition amassing up to 25,000 signatures.

The petition criticised the decision to play the character “as an over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals”.

It continued: “By hiring a cis actor to play a non-binary individual in a clearly negative way, the film endorses harmful and dangerous perceptions of the queer community at large.”

Speaking to Variety for the publication’s “Know Their Lives” video series, Cumberbatch expressed regret over his divisive role in Zoolander 2, which made only $28m (£23m) at the domestic box office.

“I’ve had to apologise 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,” Cumberbatch added of the Zoolander team.

Benedict Cumberbatch has said he would not play a non-binary character again after ‘Zoolander 2’ fallout (Getty Images for The Red Sea Int)

“But it got complicated and it got misunderstood and I upset people. I respect that, so I probably wouldn’t do that again now.”

Back in 2022, Cumberbatch claimed there has been a societal shift since he took on the role in Zoolander 2 in 2016. “I think in this era, my role would never be performed by anybody other than a trans actor,” he said.

“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,” the actor added. “But it backfired a little bit.”

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It comes shortly after the Sherlock actor discussed the intense reaction to his physical appearance when he first rose to fame.

Cumberbatch in ‘Sherlock’ (BBC)

“I’m not Brad, I’m not Leonardo, I’m not a typical movie star,” he said. “People were scrambling for ‘Why is he at all attractive to us?’ But for me to guess and try to understand that is so f***ing weirdly navel-gazing.”

He added: “I’m not sitting around thinking, ‘Why am I sexy?’ I worry about myself in the mirror as I age, like every other f***** does.”

Cumberbatch also took umbrage with “celebrity” as a term. “It’s so derogatory, and just lumps anyone famous together,” he said.

“Am I a ‘celebrated’ person? Well, for what? For selling cheese? For being on a reality show? For doing something outrageous? For being an actor?”