Benedict Cumberbatch Talks About His Trek Villain, Promises He's Not Khan Under An Alias

[Brendon Connelly]

In a new interview with Access Hollywood, Benedict Cumberbatch hasreferred to his Star Trek character by name for the first time and itmatches the official info:

I play a character called John and not that other name. It'sinteresting. Speculation is speculation and that's all fun.

What other name? He'd been accused of being Khan, under an alias.

I play John Harrison who's a terrorist and an extraordinary characterin his own right. He's somebody who is not your two-dimensional cookiecutter villain. He's got an extraordinary purpose, and I hope that atone point or other in the film you might even sympathize with thereasons he's doing what he's doing -- not necessarily the means and the destruction he causes. But it was a great ride, not just becausehe's the bad guy and the antagonist but also because he has a purposeand it's hard not to see his point of view at certain points.

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, as they say.

There is much more to this than meets the eye, don't you think?

[Tom Strong]

I thought Star Trek was awful, but Bennedict Cumberbatch is enough for me to watch the next one.

[HellBlazerRaiser]

Benedict Cumberbatch? Is that even a real name?

[RussBurlingame]

Benedict Cumberbatch? Is that even a real name?

Nope. It's a placeholder they're using until they're ready to tell you who really stars in "Sherlock."

[HellBlazerRaiser]

I'm not a fan of Sherlock Holmes, so I haven't watched (and will never watch) "Sherlock."

[ShadowVoyd]

Benedict Cumberbatch? Is that even a real name?

Benedict Cumberbatch is really Billy Dorsey, the son of Jerry Dorsey, aka Engelbert Humperdinck. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

I'm not a fan of Sherlock Holmes, so I haven't watched (and will never watch) "Sherlock."

Oh dear. I can't emphasize enough how "your loss" is apropos here. It's absolutely Sherlock Holmes for the non-Sherlock Holmes fan (possibly even more so than Guy Ritchie's almost Abrams Trek-like take on Holmes with RDJ). You really should at least check the first one out and then make a decision from there. Cumberbatch is kind of electrifying to watch and pretty much kills it. While I'll leave it at the doorstep of "to each their own", it really would be time well spent.

[Comedian]

If he's really not Khan, then Peter Weller is. I'm guessing, though, that they are going to pull a Henri Ducard play and Cumberbatch will turn out to be Khan while Weller is the figurehead that poses as him...

[HellBlazerRaiser]

Benedict Cumberbatch is really Billy Dorsey, the son of Jerry Dorsey, aka Engelbert Humperdinck. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

Benedict Cumberbatch....

What about Zingelbert Bembledack? Or Yingybert Dambleban?
Zangelbert Bingledack?
Wengelbert Humptyback?
Slut Bunwallah?
Kringelbert Fishtybuns?
Steviebuns Buttritrundle?
Klingybun Fistelvase?
Dindelbert Zindeldack?
Vingerbert Wingeldanck?

[ShadowVoyd]

Benedict Cumberbatch....

What about Zingelbert Bembledack? Or Yingybert Dambleban?
Zangelbert Bingledack?
Wengelbert Humptyback?
Slut Bunwallah?
Kringelbert Fishtybuns?
Steviebuns Buttritrundle?
Klingybun Fistelvase?
Dindelbert Zindeldack?
Vingerbert Wingeldanck?

It was actually a toss-up between Tringelbert Wangledack and Benedict Cumberbatch. As the latter never actually made it on to the final list, it was obviously free under fair use laws. And I'd take a Cumberbatch over a Wangledack any day.

[HellBlazerRaiser]

I think "Slut Bunwallah" would have been the best choice.