Benedict Cumberbatch’s recent comments about having to eat “five meals a day” when playing Marvel superhero Doctor Strange left some people seriously confused, but don’t worry, it’s not as random as it might sound.
On Tuesday, Variety tweeted: “Benedict Cumberbatch Ate Five Meals a Day to Play Doctor Strange, Says Hollywood Is ‘Grossly Wasteful’: ‘It’s Horrific Eating Beyond Your Appetite… I Could Feed a Family With the Amount’ I Ate,” and Marvel fans were quick to respond in the quote-tweets.
During an appearance on the Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast, the actor was asked if he ever has a special diet during filming, to which he replied: “It depends what job. If I am doing a high volume of exercise, I’m pumped for something like the Marvel films as Doctor Strange, which, you know, you have all that garb on — you need that strength to hold your posture, to have core strength, to be strong in the harnesses, all the fight scenes and the flying.”
“It’s this amazing facility to go: ‘Right, he needs to be on this many calories a day. He needs to have five meals. He needs to have a couple of boiled eggs between those five meals or some kind of high protein snack, cheese and crackers, or almond butter and crackers. Crackers, lots of crackers,’” Benedict explained. “And for me, the exercise is great, and the end result is that you feel strong, and you feel confident. You hold yourself better. You have a stamina through the exercise and the food that makes you last through the gig.”
“It’s horrific,” he continued. “Personally, I think it’s horrific eating beyond your appetite. Going back to responsibility, and resourcefulness, and sustainability, it’s just like: ‘What are we? What am I doing? I could feed a family with the amount I’m eating!’”
Meanwhile, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Benedict struggled with his Marvel diet, considering he revealed later in the podcast that the “comfort food” he reaches for the most is… Kale.
Each to their own, Benedict! What do you make of the star’s podcast comments? Let me know down below!