Benedict Cumberbatch Reveals Which Actress He Wants For ‘Hamlet’ Role
Next summer, Benedict Cumberbatch will be on stage again for a new play called simply Hamlet. He stars as the title character, however, there is no word on would play his Ophelia.
The British actor is currently promoting his new film The Imitation Game at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). While doing so, the actor talked to Yahoo Movies about his upcoming projects. Cumberbatch is a busy man, with not only one but three films to open before the end of 2014.
He will lend his voice to Penguins of Madagascar and will finally be fully appreciated as Smaug, the terrifying dragon in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which he plays via motion capture.
But no matter how many big films Benedict Cumberbatch has coming up, the one role he is most excited about is that of Hamlet, the Shakespeare character, which he will take on in a production that opens next summer in London’s Barbican Theater. Ben is not the only one who is looking forward to this production.
When tickets went on sale last month, they didn’t last very long and are now sold out, which greatly surprised the 38-year-old actor. According to the ticket website Viagogo, Cumberbatch’s play has become the most in-demand theater production of all time.
Actress Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) recently expressed interest in playing Ophelia in Hamlet, as this is one of her dream roles.
“I’ve never played Ophelia. I always thought I’d play Ophelia. And it’s probably not now in my future… it’s a strange thing for theater with actresses, because you kind of grow away from a role.”
Chastain is no stranger to theater roles. In 2012, she starred in a revival of The Heiress opposite another hot British leading man, Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, The Guest). So naturally the topic came up in the interview, and Benedict Cumberbatch seemed more than interested in her joining the production and asked the reporter to arrange things.
“She’s terrific! She can come and join our party if she wants. She hasn’t aged out of our production. I’m an older Hamlet, and we can all be contemporaries in the young world of that play.”
“You give her a call. Call her up and see if she’s that interested in playing Ophelia now. I don’t think it’s an age thing, Jess. It would be lovely for us!”
So now the ball is on Jessica Chastain’s court. Will she accept Benedict Cumberbatch’s invitation and join him as Ophelia in Hamlet next year?
[Iamge via Sydney Concrete Playground]
