Benedict Cumberbatch is calling out Hollywood for being a “grossly wasteful industry,” specifically when it comes to food waste.
The actor recently stopped by the Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast where he opened up about seeing wastefulness first-hand, such as the strict diet he had to follow to undergo a “body transformation” for his role as Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Cumberbatch admitted he loved the physical transformation aspect of his job, he also recalled having to eat five meals a day to meet his calorie intake goal, in addition to snacks like boiled eggs, crackers, almonds and cheese, which he called “horrific.”
“The exercise is great, and the end result is that you feel strong and you feel confident. You hold yourself better. You have a stamina through the exercise and the food that makes you last through the gig. But it is horrific,” he explained. “I don’t like it personally. I think it’s horrific, eating beyond your appetite.”
Cumberbatch added, “Going back to responsibility and resourcefulness and sustainability, it’s just like, what am I doing? I could feed a family with the amount I’m eating.”
However, The Phoenician Scheme actor noted that it’s not just food waste that makes the film and television business a “grossly wasteful industry.”
“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 create daylight and consistent light in a studio environment. It’s a lot of energy,” he said.
Cumberbatch acknowledged that actors regularly get criticized when they speak out on “climate and excessive use of things” in Hollywood, as the industry is still notably wasteful. But as an actor and producer, that hasn’t stopped him from trying to “push the green initiative” and sustainability on sets.
“Whether it’s just a gentlemanly discussion about, ‘Can we not have any single-use plastic? Really, I think we’re beyond,’” he said. “You don’t have to give the crew plastic bottles. If you’re in the middle of a desert and you can’t get glass bottles there, fair enough, but we’re in the 21st century.”