Benedict Cumberbatch (47) became a star in 2010 with the TV series ‘Sherlock’. The Brit then moved to the big screen and became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Strange. In terms of series production, the mime became rare after the end of ‘Sherlock’ in 2017. An exception was the miniseries ‘Patrick Melrose’ (2018), in which Cumberbatch played the title role.
Now Benedict Cumberbatch returns to the roots of his series. Starts on May 30th Netflix “Erik.” The six-part series marks his first leading role in a series in six years.
“Eric”: That’s what Benedict Cumberbatch’s new series is about
“Eric” is set in New York in the early 1980s. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the puppeteer Vincent, who works for the (fictional) children’s show ‘Good Day Sunshine’, which is reminiscent of ‘Sesame Street’. One day his nine-year-old son Edgar disappears on his way to school.
The disappearance of his son alienates the already withdrawn Vincent from his wife Cassie even more than usual. The successful puppeteer completely drifts away due to his feelings of guilt and becomes addicted to drugs. After his son goes missing, Vincent develops an obsession: he makes a doll based on his son’s drawings. He creates a two-meter tall, shaggy monster named Eric.
Vincent tries to get Eric on his show. When Edgar sees his imaginary friend on television, he will come back, the desperate father hopes. It’s not just his wife who thinks Vincent is crazy.
Benedict Cumberbatch and the Monster
Benedict Cumberbatch also slipped into Eric’s costume, which weighed 20 kilograms, on set in New York. But for the most part, he interacted with the monster. Because in Vincent’s imagination, Eric comes to life and accompanies him. The doll tells unpleasant truths about Vincent’s character.
Benedict Cumberbatch sees Eric as Vincent’s “shadow self”, just like him to the “BBC” explained. He embodies repressed sides of the character. According to Cumberbatch, Vincent had a “bad start in life, emotionally speaking.” His unresolved childhood trauma affects his relationship with his wife and children and his working life.
From his socially incompetent Sherlock to the equally eccentric mathematician Alan Turing in “The Imitation Game” to the strange painter Louis Wain (“The Electrical Life of Louis Wain”), Benedict Cumberbatch likes to play characters who find themselves in a “gray area.” as he calls it. “Each of us has good and bad sides. That makes us human. And that may be extreme, but behind the pain Vincent causes lies a lot of pain,” he told the newspaper.BBC“.
Alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffmann (42, “Winning Time”) plays Vincent’s wife Cassie in “Eric”. McKinley Belcher III (40) plays officer Michael Ledroit, who is looking for the missing Edgar.
The screenplay for “Eric” comes true Ab Morgan (55). The Brit previously co-wrote the scripts for critically acclaimed films such as ‘The Iron Lady’. Meryl Streep (74) or “Shame” with Michael Fassbender (47).
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