Sherlock and Watson are back with a bang

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict you are now called the quotthinking woman39s crumpetquot and then there is this widespread group called the Cumberbitches How comfortable are you with both the images though different that they are Do you feel flattered to be taken as a 39sex symbol39 It39s flattering to get that kind of response and those compliments but it39s certainly something I never anticipated Irsquom grateful for the opportunities I39ve had and that people seem to have enjoyed what I39ve done but all this talk of being a sex symbol or a star is very alien to mequot Cumberbitches is flattering though I worry about what it says for feminism it39s quite a pejorative term I think it sets feminism back so many notches You are Cumberpeople Right Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch in a still from Sherlock Series 3 The show will be aired on AXN at 10 pm on January 3 2014 You obviously owe your mainstream success to the Sherlock series Did you ever anticipate that Tell us about the time when you took on the role and the process through which you brought the character to life I am not an overnight success My career hasn39t seen instant fame but has involved a variety which is something I have been longing for since my childhood days when I happily switched between muddy rugby fields and the drama studio Sherlock is the mostplayed literary fictional character Itrsquos in the Guinness Book of World Records for it I follow in the footsteps of about 230odd people in many different languages at different ages and different times For any actor to play an iconic character therersquos a huge pressure thatrsquos associated with delivering something that everyone knows cultural So it was quite nervewracking but there is an element of a blank canvas because of this brilliant reinvention and reinvigoration of him being a 21st century hero I always go back to the books because they are an endless goldmine of reference and character observation Watson for all of Sherlockrsquos critique of him and their relationship is a very keen observer from a normal personrsquos point of view and of what this extraordinary person is whether it his physical movements mercurial character or mood swings all these aspects are very well detailedu00a0 Beyond that I start to try and memorize things to try and be a little more alert to things whether itrsquos short or long term memory I look at my diet a little more specifically which is very helpful for clarity of mind and a sense of being in his skin having his energy Also it ties in with his relationship with food because he does fast in the books He sees food as an obstacle because it slows down the metabolism it reduces the ability to have a keen hungry eye Therersquos exercise as well I try to meditate if I can The rest of it is just collaboration whether it be with the directors with Martin or the rest of the cast and crew just getting back into the swing of being in this family Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan yourself Any characteristic similarities that you find with the literary detective Oh yes I am As for similarities yoursquod best ask the people who know me like my mother or my girlfriends of old The probably are a few similarities My mum says I can be very impatient when Irsquom playing Sherlock Hersquos a very intense character and I donrsquot want to carry that around me One thing I have noticed is that my memory does sharpen when I play Sherlock because of the amount of text I have to learn Also I find myself looking at peoplersquos shoes and body language and trying to deduce things from them I do that because I have a professional interest But Irsquom afraid Irsquom rubbish at it Tell us about Sherlock39s speech tempo You call it 39at the speed of thought39 Was it of your own devisement Coincidentally so is Robert Downey Jr39s reprising of the role mdash a character whose speech is also uttered in a single breath What do you make of that I believe that the Sherlockrsquos speed of thought and quirky mannerisms have made him much loved by audiences And no itrsquos not my own devisement but it s really hard to be slightly ahead It39s hell but it39s very satisfying to get right As for Robert Downey Jr I am a huge fan I love what Downey Jr does with it I think hersquos reinvented it for a younger generation in the cinema and created a fantastic sort of actionthriller franchise out of the original stories in a way very true to the original even as theyrsquore updating it gtgt Tell us about Season 3 You are being confronted by a new villain Charles Augustus Magnussen you will be Watson39s best man and this will be a series where you will truly not be in your element Howu00a0 I think itrsquos no secret that hersquos going to be dealing with saying hello again to John Watson and also seeing his best friend getting married Those are the two big adjustments mdash him coming back from a stint of going solo and becoming a team again and meeting this new person in Watsonrsquos life gtgt There39s talk of the Sherlock film happening Tell us more Wersquore still off ground with the idea of a film The Reichenbach Fall has always had a speculative successor in India And there was your gap year to teach in a Tibetan monastery Tell us about your and Sherlock39s relationship with the subcontinent What allusions does Many Happy Returns have to India I really enjoyed my time in the in the subcontinent I taught English to Tibetan monks And the experience helped me become a cool calm and collected person I learnt a lot from being immersed in Buddhismu00a0 Many Happy Returns is a series of seemingly unconnected crimes stretching from Tibet to India to Germany series of seemingly unconnected crimes stretching from Tibet to India to Germany On a lighter note what39s with the dance off between you and Tom Hiddleston It was all in good fun Martin Freeman Sherlock has been long dead what is Dr Watson39s take on this How did you come to get attached to a 39cold39 character like Sherlock in the first place Sherlock Holmes is the forerunner of what we now think of as the modern detective story He set the blueprint People are still fascinated by crime and how to solve it Added to that at the core of this is a fantastic relationship between two people and their conflicts and their tensions and their differences But ultimately they always come together to fight the bad guys Obviously there is redemption because Sherlock is not dead as we know He joins John for series 3 at a very different time of his life and he has had to move on As far as he is concerned his friend is gone but then of course he finds out he isnrsquot gone and the adventures continue John will have lost friends before so hersquos used to death but that was such an intense friendship mdash I donrsquot think hersquos had a friend like Sherlock before thatrsquos for sure Its two years after the end of the last series and hersquos moved on Hersquos fallen in love Hersquos done his grieving and is probably a bit sadder but is also very fulfilled because hersquos met the woman he wants to marry How much are you like your character Dr Watson considering he is always behind Sherlock and as Stephen Moffat says quotSherlock takes the piss out of Watson every timequot What made you take on the role in the first place What about the everyman tag Growing up in England Sherlock Holmes is part of your DNA ndash even though I wouldn39t classify myself as a fan I could probably answer a few questions Irsquod always loved Sherlock Holmes My first contact with Watson and Holmes mdash sorry Holmes and Watson I forget that hersquos the main character ndash was the films of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce When I first saw the script I connected with Watson immediately I thought ldquoThis is my jobrdquo I love playing John mdash I probably wouldn39t love it as much if it wasn39t so well written so well interpreted and if I wasn39t playing with such a good Sherlock Holmes I think this ticks all the boxes itrsquos brilliantly written Benedict is a brilliant Sherlock itrsquos beautifully directed and I love the whole visual aesthetic I like the fact that itrsquos updated and it doesn39t feel as though yoursquore putting on a historical coat I based Watson on a few people I39ve met in the past stoical people who are less flippant than I am This Watson is also funny and vulnerable hersquos not macho But ultimately there are similarities because something in every character has to come from you Your ability to play the 39everyman39 is quite reputed Why does that not hold well with you To be honest if people thought my performance in The Office was the same as my performance in The Hobbit it would tell me everything I needed to know about what they know about acting It39s not the same performance and it39s not the same performance in Sherlock and it39s not going to be the same performance in Fargo so the risk is denying that and sounding defensive or acknowledging that yes there is a true line Is there a true line in Robert De Niro39s work Yeah there is Is there a single actor either of us could name where there isn39t an overriding characteristic no there isn39t Obviously I39m not saying I39m as good as De Niro I think everyone has usable traits and they are used in that area You were an aspiring squash player but ended up as an actor How did that happen My inspiration to become an actor came when I had joined a youth theatre at age of 15 Though my prior ambition was to be a professional squash player I fell out of love with the sport The turning point for me was when I was 17 and played in The Rose of Eyam a true story on village Usually people like audience appreciation performing but I always like rehearsals that is how I found interest in it I do not prefer any type of genre though I know fantasy scifi and comic book movies are very big My only criterion is originality and whether the role will be something I havenrsquot done before I try to treat characters with respect and avoid selfsatirical and snarky performances May be that is why I supposed to have a reputation for playing lsquoextraordinary everymenrsquo You are an incredibly private and a family person A rarity these days Why do you rank these qualities so Irsquom a big believer that life changes as much as you want it to If you invite in all the madness it will If you donrsquot if you kind of let the world quietly know No thanks I still want to get on the train and live my own life then somehow it doesn39t have to To quote Moffat quotyou are incredibly serious about actingquot how has this character contributed to you as an actor and which are your memorable moments in the series till now I was sent the script and by about the end of the fourth page I just thought 39This is genuinely brilliant39 It was probably the best script I39d read for ages it39s fantastically well written regardless of when it39s set In this version Sherlock and Dr John Watson are both evenly weighed John is not just a sidekick he has a really good role to play Every actor wants to play someone three dimensional and this is as close as you get Memorable moments I have to say the ones that we have just filmed have been brilliant Before that probably Reichenbach was my favourite one to do because when we read it I was really really excited and I thought the finished product was amazing It was one of the best things that Irsquove ever done and am likely to do for a while But then I found that about the episodes we have just done Itrsquos particularly important you end on a fantastic third one and the third episode in the third series is stellar Everyonersquos work on it is great and itrsquos a Steven Moffat the director special which is always good but they are all so good I was very very excited when I read this one ndash itrsquos one of the best scripts Irsquove ever read