Benedict Cumberbatch 'doesn't feel threatened' by the American Sherlock show
Benedict Cumberbatch has a history of making controversial (to some people) statements and then taking them back. He's twice made comments about the UK show 'Downtown Abbey', but then taken them back and said he was misquoted. Well, it's happened once again, but this time he's said something about 'Elementary', the new CBS show starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as Sherlock Holmes and his partner Watson.
“I got hold of the pilot script just to check it out. I don’t know, we’ll see,” Cumberbatch says in the interview. “I think there’s room for us both to coexist. I don’t feel threatened by it and I wish him the best, which is as diplomatic as I can be.”
He continued: “It’s very odd. I did say [to Miller], ‘Well, I’d prefer you didn’t do it but you’ve got a kid to feed, a nice house in LA and a wife to keep in good clothes.’ I think Jonny was like, ‘Mate, I’ve got the f–king mountain to climb here, you’ve got nothing to fear.’ I wish him the best of luck, but I’m a bit cynical about why they’ve chosen to do it and why they cast him.”
Now, it seems that Cumberbatch had every right to say what he did. After all, he is in an already existing, popular show about Sherlock Holmes, and instead of airing this show in the US, CBS has decided to make their own version and air it. Granted, he shouldn't have been as snarky about being 'cynical' over why they've casted Jonny Lee Miller as the lead, considering that he supposedly considers Miller his friend, but it's unfair to ask him to be completely happy about the situation.
Now, it seems that Cumberbatch is once again regretting his words. After the interview, many outlets picked up on the story and wrote on it, considering a ‘fight’ between the leads of the two shows. The rumors had gotten so persistent that Cumberbatch has ended up issuing a statement to THR clarifying his words.
“I am both bemused and upset at this misquote. I never said that Johnny took the job for the paycheck nor did I ask him not to do it. What I said is I would have preferred not to be in the situation where we will again be compared because we are friends. I know for a fact his motivations were to do with the quality of the script and the challenges of this exceptional role. It is baffling because I have only been supportive of an incredibly talented actor who I am proud to call a friend taking a job I know he is going to enjoy immensely and be wonderful in…”
Do you think that’s the end of it? It does seem that Cumberbatch is not happy about the new show being on air, and is upset that his friend decided to take a role on the television show which will be challenging his in ratings, but is it fair to say anything about it?
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