Benedict Cumberbatch’s Unforgettable First Encounter with Radiohead
Benedict Cumberbatch opens up about his uneasy first meeting with Radiohead, revealing mutual nerves and unexpected awkwardness. Discover his admiration for the band and what’s next in his film career.
They say you should never meet your idols, but even those who’ve reached the upper echelons of fame aren’t immune to a bout of nerves when the tables are turned. Benedict Cumberbatch, known for his roles in Sherlock and as Marvel’s Doctor Strange, found himself in precisely that situation when he finally crossed paths with the members of Radiohead—a band he’s long held in high regard.
His most recent cinematic outing, The Thing with Feathers, hardly qualifies as light entertainment. The story follows a man left to raise two sons after his wife’s sudden death, only to be haunted by a crow symbolising grief. Not exactly a barrel of laughs, but Cumberbatch’s musical tastes, often described as rather sombre, are anything but one-note. He’s made no secret of his admiration for Radiohead, a group many consider the most influential since The Beatles, and he’s spoken at length about the tracks that resonate most with him.
Backstage Encounters and Shared Admiration
It turns out the feeling is mutual. Thom Yorke and his bandmates have expressed their appreciation for Cumberbatch’s work, and the actor even had the chance to interview Yorke in 2017, discussing both his then-forthcoming film The Current War and the band’s creative process. Yet, their initial meeting a couple of years prior was anything but smooth.
Recalling the moment to NME, Cumberbatch described how Radiohead’s producer, Nigel Godrich, and director Edgar Wright attended his performance in Hamlet. After the show, they came backstage for a chat. Cumberbatch, ever the fan, seized the opportunity:
“I’m a massive Radiohead fan, I don’t suppose any of the boys would want to come and see some Shakespeare?”
The invitation was accepted, and soon enough, Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke found themselves backstage after another performance.
Awkwardness Amongst Icons
Despite their collective success—Radiohead regularly filling arenas and Cumberbatch fresh off an Oscar nomination for The Imitation Game—the meeting was far from the confident exchange one might expect. The actor admitted,
“I was really nervous because it hadn’t been a great performance, so I was looking at the ground all embarrassed. But so were they – and Thom was muttering: ‘Yeah, we’re really big Sherlock fans…’ There was all this shifting around, all looking at our shoelaces. It was so weird!”
It’s a reminder that even those accustomed to the spotlight can find themselves at a loss for words when faced with their own heroes. The mutual awkwardness, rather than diminishing the moment, only made it more memorable for everyone involved.
On the Horizon: New Roles and Fresh Challenges
Looking ahead, Cumberbatch has a slate of projects that promise a change of pace. First up is Guy Ritchie’s Wife and Dog, a true story featuring Rosamund Pike and Anthony Hopkins, centred on a man’s battle against a powerful corporation after discovering the dangers of a widely used pesticide. Then comes Blood on Snow, directed by Oscar-winner Cary Joji Fukunaga, where Cumberbatch plays a hitman who falls for the very woman he’s been hired to kill—his client’s wife.
There’s also Morning, a film set in a world where a pill eliminates the need for sleep and an artificial sun keeps the world in perpetual daylight. Laura Dern, of Jurassic Park fame, joins the cast for this intriguing exploration of a society that never rests.