Benedict Cumberbatch Gave Himself Nicotine Poisoning Three Times For ‘The Power Of The Dog’

Once in a while, an actor gets a role of a lifetime that could define their career going forward, but such roles often ask for great sacrifice. Benedict Cumberbatch had to make such a sacrifice for “The Power Of The Dog” as he ended up giving himself nicotine poisoning thrice from playing the lead character.

While speaking to Esquire Magazine, the “Doctor Strange” star revealed that his role as Phil Burbank required the consumption of copious amounts of rolled-up cigarettes.

“Filterless rollies, just take after take after take … When you have to smoke a lot, it genuinely is horrible,” Cumberbatch said. He also said he had to learn how to roll them with one hand, as specified in the original novel.

In the adaptation of Thomas Savage’s Western novel, Cumberbatch plays Phil Burbank, a swaggering ranch owner who torments the wife of his younger brother George, the novel is set in early 20th-century Montana.

According to the novel, Burbank is "a great reader, a taxidermist, skilled at braiding rawhide and horsehair, a solver of chess problems, a smith and metalworker, a collector of arrowheads, a banjo player, a fine writer, a builder of hay-stacking beaver-slide derricks, a vivid conversationalist.”

During the interview, the “Avengers: Infinity War” star also explained the lengths he went to prepare himself for the role. He equipped himself with all the skills of his character. The actor said he learned ironmongery, woodworking, which also included carving a set of miniature wooden furniture and making a horseshoe which he later gifted to the film's director Jane Campion.

To give his character more authenticity, Cumberbatch said he didn’t wash himself. “I wanted that layer of stink on me. I wanted people in the room to know what I smelled like. It was hard, though. It wasn’t just in rehearsals. I was going out to eat and meet friends of Jane and stuff. I was a bit embarrassed by the cleaner, in the place I was living,” the actor said.

Taking things a notch higher, Cumberbatch said he stopped responding to his real name saying, “If someone forgot … and called me Benedict, I wouldn’t move.”