Photo Credit: Marvel Studios
The MCU’s Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch says it’s more fun playing a villain compared to a hero.

Cumberbatch has played Stephen Strange in the MCU since 2016’s Doctor Strange. He’s since appeared in a number of other Marvel Studios projects, including 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, and 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Additionally, he’s voiced different versions of the character in What If…?, and, while his Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars casting has yet to be officially confirmed, fans are speculating he’ll likely show up in some capacity in one or both of those movies.

Outside of Marvel, Cumberbatch is no stranger to playing villains. He notably played Khan Noonien Singh in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, while he also voiced Smaug in The Hobbit movies, among other examples.

What did the MCU’s Benedict Cumberbatch say about playing villains?

In a Reddit AMA, Cumberbatch was asked if it was more fun to play a hero or a villain, and which type of character is easier to inhabit for him as an actor?

Cumberbatch answered, “I think it’s definitely more fun to play a villain, but if you have a character arc in a hero that challenges them to be compromised with obstacles that are delightful and as brilliant as the best villains can be, it’s often fun to play the hero. Inhabiting a villain is a license to take vicarious thrills in the worst of our nature letting rip.”

Following the recent release of The Roses and The Phoenician Scheme, Cumberbatch will soon be seen in a new British drama movie titled The Thing with Feathers. Written and directed by Dylan Southern, the film will be released in United States theaters later this month.