Cumberbatch appeared on the Ruthie's Table 4 podcast and discussed his diet whilst preparing for the last Doctor Strange film. He said to host Ruthie Rogers that you could have fed a family "with the amount of eating" he did.
The film star discusses his diet whilst filming,"You have someone who can prescribe you what you’re eating and they can cook for you. We had a fantastic chef on the last Doctor Strange film … but 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," the actor explains on the podcast.
Cumberbatch discusses the positives of the diet as it allowed him to exercise frequently which increased his stamnia, he expressed that he thought the end result was impressive. However, overall he thought that it was horrible, having to eat beyond your appetite, as he says "it is horrific. I don’t like it personally, I think it’s horrific, eating beyond your appetite … It’s just like, what am I doing? I could feed a family with the amount I’m eating."
He explains that slowly he has started to meet people within the industry that are onto these issues in film making and that it is a "grossly wasteful industry." He extended his criticism to other wasteful practices in the film industry as he goes on to say "So let me think about set builds that aren’t recycled. Think about transport, think about food, think about housing, but also light and energy. The amount of wattage you need to sort of create daylight and consistent light in a studio environment. It’s a lot of energy."
He expresses that he tries to be greener because of the reputation and impact the film industry has on the climate. "It is a systemic thing. But as a producer, I’m really hot on that. I try to push the green initiative, the green handshake into every agreement I can," Cumberbatch said.
Cumberbatch is also known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in the award winning BBC series, and he has won a Bafta tv award for the drama Patrick Melrose, which was based on a series of novels by Edward St Aubyn.
Ruthie's Table 4 podcast, invites a range of guests to take a seat at the River Cafe with the co-founder Ruth Rogers. This season of the podcast has already seen conversations with stars such as Elton John, Bono and Greta Gerwig.
