katikat | Wonderful interview!

This is a wonderful interview with Benedict Cumberbatch: link. He seems like a genuinely warm human being, the way he talks about his friends and family...

One emotional turning point in Cumberbatch's journey to acting came when he played the role of Antonio Salieri in a university production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus.

"My father ... turned to me," Cumberbatch recalls, "and he said, 'You're better than I ever was or could be. You should do this for a profession — I think you'd have a good time.' And that's a huge thing for a man to say to his son, and — not necessarily true, I might add, he's a wonderful actor himself — but it was so encouraging and supportive."

Cumberbatch says it was "a moment of extraordinary humility and pride" — and that from then on, the knowledge of his parents' confidence gave him the nerve to pursue acting professionally.

"It was always important to have their blessing," Cumberbatch says, "and one of the reasons I get up in the morning is to make them proud."

Aww! Could he be any sweeter?! \o/