With director Dominic Cooke’s The Courier opening in select theaters tomorrow, I recently spoke to Benedict Cumberbatch about making the spy thriller. The film is based on the true story of British businessman Greville Wynne (Cumberbatch), who helped the CIA penetrate the Soviet nuclear program during the Cold War. Wynne and his Russian source, Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), formed an unlikely partnership that helped to diffuse the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s. The Courier also stars Rachel Brosnahan as a CIA agent and Jessie Buckley as Cumberbatch’s wife (Sheila Wynne).
During the interview, Cumberbatch talked about how the film doesn’t rely on action or big car chases to sell the drama, why he wanted to play the role, how anyone can do remarkable things and affect real change in the world, and more. In addition, he talked about the future of Sherlock, Spider-Man: No Way Home, what it’s been like working with like working with Sam Raimi on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and if he’s interested in playing Grand Admiral Thrawn on The Mandalorian or the spinoff series.
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