Kirsten Dunst And Benedict Cumberbatch Refused To Speak To Each Other On Set Of New Film
Benedict Cumberbatch says he and and Kirsten Dunst refused to speak to each other on the set of their new film The Power of the Dog.
Jane Campion’s upcoming drama is an adaptation of the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage.
The film sees Cumberbatch playing Phil Burbank, a 1920s cowboy who runs a ranch with his brother George, played by Jesse Plemons.
Dunst plays George’s wife Rose, and Cumberbatch’s character takes an immediate dislike to her.
Speaking to NME, Cumberbatch explained how this tension contributed to a frosty off-screen dynamic.
‘I didn’t want to be really mean to Kirsten, but I needed to stay in character,’ he said. ‘So I didn’t speak to her on-set. She was the same. We were the negative to each other’s positive. [We were] repelled by each other.’
Dunst also spoke about the mutual hostility between the pair, and explained how she’d accidentally tried being friendly to her co-star, telling iNews:
But sometimes I’d mess up and I’d see Ben and be like, ‘Hi.’ And then he’d be doing that ‘Hi’ that you swallow, and I’d make a point of not looking at him.
6 months agoStaying in character wasn’t the pair’s only preparation for the film, as Dunst learned piano for the film.
However, she said that most of her work was centred on Phil (Cumberbatch) tormenting Rose (Dunst) and the character’s reaction to the hostile home.
Dunst continued:
But most of my prep was about finding Rose’s deep psychological pain and her source of insecurity to allow this man to infiltrate her brain. I feel like Rose is almost in The Shining. She’s in a house of horrors.
Cumberbatch was just as committed to his performance, and stayed in character during the film shoot; the actor even refused to answer if anyone called him by his real name, and went as far as give himself nicotine poisoning for smoking such a large number of unfiltered cigarettes. He also apparently refused to wash during the film.
The Power of the Dog is currently in cinemas and will be released on Netflix on December 1.
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Topics: Film and TV, Benedict Cumberbatch, Netflix, Now
Credits
The Independent and 3 othersThe Independent
Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst refused to speak to each other on set of The Power of the Dog
The Independent
Benedict Cumberbatch gave himself nicotine poisoning three times while filming The Power of the Dog
NME
Benedict Cumberbatch: “Techno was my bag at uni – I went clubbing a lot”
iNews
Kirsten Dunst on The Power of the Dog: ‘When I play a role, I feel like I’m doing therapy’
