EGGS BENEDICT
Sherlock star Cumberbatch kicks off on set
AFOUR-LETTER outburst by actor BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH at an on-set catering van left fellow actors and production staff shocked and horrified. On the second day of filming The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar at Pinewood Studios, the actor erupted shortly after taking the top off a boiled egg with a spoon.
“Benedict had asked for a soft boiled egg for breakfast from the caterers,” said one crew member who wished to remain anonymous. “However, when he took the top off, he found that it was hard, and that’s when he blew his top.”
According to onlookers, Cumberbatch threw the egg at the catering staff whilst screaming foulmouthed abuse. “He was yelling that he was sick of working with effing amateurs who couldn’t even boil an effing egg properly,” according to another crew member.
“And he didn’t say effing, he said fucking,” the crew member added.
cracked
The film’s director Wes Anderson came over in an attempt to calm the actor down, but the situation quickly escalated, with Cumberbatch demanding that all the catering crew be sacked immediately. When Anderson suggested they talk about it calmly, the Sherlock star punched him in the face.
“Wes went down like a sack of spuds,” said a camera operator. “There was blood coming out of his nose and everything. Cumberbatch was still going mad, screaming that if he had wanted an effing hard yolk, he would have effing asked for one.”
According to onlookers, Cumberbatch then kicked over several of the dining tables in the catering area, before pushing over one of the on-set lighting towers. He then picked up a piece of scaffolding and set about destroying three cameras, all the time screaming about his egg.
“He was going red in the face, screaming and asking how those effing morons thought he was going to dip his effing solidiers into an effing hard yolk,” said one of the film’s runners. “We’re used to ‘luvvie’ outbursts in this business, but nobody had witnessed anything like this before.”
Cumberbatch, who has portrayed such diverse characters as Dominic Cummings, Thomas Edison and Alan Turing on screen, then started destroying the trailers and production vehicles, slashing their tyres, pouring paint thinner on the bodywork and smashing windscreens.
“His outburst was insane. Absolutely demented,” said a dolly grip. “He was yelling about how effing simple it was to soft boil an effing egg, and how any effing stupid ‘C’ could do it. Then he pulled the pin out of a hand grenade and threw it into the production office trailer.”
airfix
Cumberbatch’s egg-based tantrum continued for almost an hour and caused over £5million worth of damage to studio and on-set equipment. It finally ended when an egg chef with 30 years’ experience was brought from a London hotel, and a soft boily was cooked for the over-wrought and emotional actor.
Despite the financial cost and loss of shooting time Cumberbatch’s meltdown had caused, and being punched in the face, director
Anderson was laid back about the incident. “Benedict is a perfectionist, whether it’s about his acting or the degree to which his boiled egg is cooked,” the Golden Globe award winner said.
“It’s that passion for everything that makes him such a good actor,” he added. “Who wants someone who meekly accepts whatever boiled egg they are given? What kind of bland performance would that guy give in front of the camera?”
Cumberbatch’s on-set tantrums last hit the headlines during location filming for 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, when he was tazered by Beverly Hills cops after becoming enraged by the wrapper of a Scotch egg.