The Platonic Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston Ship: HiddleBatch
HiddleSwift is the past. HiddleBatch is the new ship for the platonic and amazing friendship between two equally amazing British godsends, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston. We cannot simply get enough of these two amazing men, who are, surprise surprise, good friends in real life.
Sherlock Holmes/Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch and Loki actor Tom Hiddleston first met on the set of award-winning American war drama film War Horse,People reports. After the project, the two instantly hit it off like two peas in a pod. In fact, they’re so much in sync that in a recent interview of Tom Hiddleston for Interview conducted by none other than Benedict Cumberbatch himself, the two men even finish each other’s sentences! How adorable! The interview takes the form of a conversation between Hiddleston and Cumberbatch via phone during Hiddleston’s filming down in Australia.
They start off the interview like how all fine British gentlemen do.
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH: Like all interviewers, I should first of all thank you, Tom, for taking this time.
TOM HIDDLESTON: [laughs] Thank you, Benedict. We should just thank each other for our time. For the rest of our lives.
CUMBERBATCH: And then, in typical British fashion, we should just apologize for everything as well.
HIDDLESTON: I’m sorry for disturbing you.
CUMBERBATCH: I’m more sorry than you.
HIDDLESTON: [laughs] How do you feel about…
CUMBERBATCH: My role as a journalist?
HIDDLESTON: I feel conflicted. [laughs]
While the interview between the two friends was meant to talk about Hiddleston’s current filming, the two can’t help but segue off topic.
HIDDLESTON: How do you feel? You’re someone who, for many, many years, has concurrently done television and film. We were riding horses the day after the first episode of Sherlock aired on the BBC—you were falling off horses, training for War Horse [2011]. I remember when Sherlock became the extraordinary phenomenon that it has become. And since then, you’ve done three seasons?
CUMBERBATCH: We’ve done four seasons. And one Christmas special…
HIDDLESTON: And 12 Years a Slave [2013] and The Imitation Game[2014] and a million other things that I’m not thinking about. It just doesn’t stop.
CUMBERBATCH: I am, thankfully, now stopping and have time to talk to you, my friend, which is really nice, even though our words are being recorded and printed. We should have a conversation when we hang up.
At one point, the conversation also drifts into the subject of Hiddleston’s controversial relationship. But that boat sailed off really quick as Cumberbatch steered the conversation away to protect the privacy of his friend. So considerate!
CUMBERBATCH:…And there’s another weight of us being in the public eye, which is this presumption that, because your work and your promotion work is very public, your private life should be, too. And, without getting into a huge debate, I just want to say that I’m not going to ask questions about my friend’s personal life just because there are unsolicited photographs of him and a certain someone, in a relationship or together. I’m not going to get into that. So that door is closed, dear reader.
HIDDLESTON: [chuckles] Thank you.
CUMBERBATCH: You’re welcome. I know you’d do the same for me.
And what’s even more beautiful about the two, is that when they talk deep, they do talk deep. From the topic of running, the conversation escalates quickly to the deepest fears of the two actors, and they straightforwardly and honestly share their thoughts.
CUMBERBATCH: Do you have a fear of anything that could get in the way of [making the most of your life]? I mean, it’s like asking somebody who’s seemingly invincible what they fear most. Don’t feel burdened to answer. Tell me to f*** off if you want. You can, because I’m your friend.
HIDDLESTON: Thanks, friend.
CUMBERBATCH: Should I tell you mine while you think of your answer?
HIDDLESTON: Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.
CUMBERBATCH: Passing time. And that is purely from becoming a father, wanting to have a little bit more of it every day, having something outside of me that’s more important than me to focus on. That was a rude awakening, the minute he was born. And every time I hold him, to look at something that new and look at this 40-year-old me in the mirror going, “Wow, I really want to be around to see your children.”
HIDDLESTON: Mine is similar. Mine is regret.
After working with each other on Spielberg’s War Horse, Cumberbatch and Hiddleston spent a summer with the director and that’s when they really got to bond. In fact, Hiddleston told ET Canada that Benedict is one of his best friends and that they live very close to each other in London. He adds that it’s especially nice to have someone like Benedict, with whom he can talk about the same things he’s experiencing. In fact, we did learn from Telegraph that there were times Cumberbatch spent the night at Hiddleston’s home in London.
And they’re on that level where Cumberbatch has a pet name for Hiddleston: Hiddlebum.
While we wait for Cumberbatch and Hiddleston to reunite in a future film (possibly Thor: Ragnarok?), in the meantime, watch Benedict Cumberbatch impersonate Tom Hiddleston, among other celebrities, as he sat for an interview for The Imitation Game.
[Featured Image by David M. Benett/Getty Images for GREY GOOSE]