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EXCLUSIVE: Benedict Cumberbatch reveals his Doctor Strange workout

British actor Benedict Cumberbatch makes his debut in the Marvel universe as Master of the Mystic Arts, Dr. Stephen Strange in the upcoming superhero flick, Doctor Strange.

But when he signed on to play the Dr, he knew that he would need to be fit…really fit.

"You have to be incredibly fit," he tells Be in an exclusive Q&A. "I started working out for this film, not just to be bigger to fill the suit so to speak of being this Super Hero, but also for endurance, to be able to take knocks, to be able to do multiple takes of fight scenes over five days and to do an action sequence at the end of the film."

Source: Disney/Marvel
Source: Disney/Marvel

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Elaborating on his workout plan, the 41-year-old adds: “You have to have great core strength. You have to be able to hold yourself well. You have to move well. So you have to have fluidity."

But it wasn't just about bulking up, the Sherlock star reveals he also did a lot of yoga and posture exercises...and all this while looking after his baby son Christopher (who is now one-year-old), with his wife Sophie Hunter.

“So, as well as a training ritual to bulk up and become strong, I did a lot of postural movement and balancing with a form of flowing, power yoga. You build up a sweat and muscle but it all connects for mobility.

"That training started before I played Hamlet [in the London theatre production], which was a sort of shred every night - three hours of cardiovascular workout. Then during the day I’d be working out for this film and rehearsing for this film and looking after a baby. That keeps you fit and awake.”

Source: Disney/Marvel
Source: Disney/Marvel

Benedict’s diet also needed a bit of a revamp for the Marvel role.

“Once this started, there’s an eating regime that goes with the training,” he explains. “Which is all very boring and which you’ve heard countless actors talk about. But it's all good fun.

“I love the kind of transforming aspect of it. You get a lot of help along the process from nutritionists and trainers. So as long as you stick to the program and are motivated, it’s great fun. And I’ve really enjoyed that aspect of it. “

Explaining how he was drawn to the role, the actor says, “I found Stephen Strange to be incredibly arrogant, brilliant and sort of extraordinary. He is utterly broken down to be reconstituted into the Super Hero that becomes fully fledged by the end of the movie."

Source: Disney/Marvel
Source: Disney/Marvel

He adds: “He does seem arrogant to the point of being unlikable but yet, somehow, you still like him. He’s got a great deal of charm. There is a sense of loss or soullessness about him very early on in the film. You see him as a lone figure at the beginning and end of this film.

“But by the end of the film he’s a Super Hero, and we all know that’s quite an onerous task and often quite a solitary existence. Not too many people can form meaningful relationships when your responsibilities are always others and elsewhere.

"There’s no love. There’s no other life. There’s no child. There’s no wife. There's nothing more important than himself in that landscape. It’s pretty barren in my opinion. He's made his bed and it’s empty.

Source: Disney/Marvel
Source: Disney/Marvel

"But he gets great job satisfaction. He has a sense of humor. His colleagues like him, even the ones that are beaten down by him because they’re wrong or they’ve been corrected by him. He doesn’t make enemies of these people. He’s respected by them. But he is incredibly arrogant and incredibly forthright.

Speaking about his brazen character, Benedict says: "I’ve personally never liked the sort of 'vanillafication,' the kind of warm, soft, fuzzy edges of 'huggableness' of characters that are a hero all the time from beginning to end. Give me edginess over cuteness any day!"

We couldn't agree more, Benedict.

The film is based on the ‘60s comic book of the same name, and besides being a reflection of the time period, has a blend of western science and eastern mysticism that, as a teenager Benedict was really into.

“I spent some time teaching in a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery near Darjeeling,” the actor relates. “And read things like Fritjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, as well as studying Buddhists texts and reading up on certain scientific books about cosmology.

“I got to observe extraordinary ancient ritual and wisdom right in front of me every morning and every evening. My mind as a 19-year-old was really blown open by all of that. So this material immediately made sense to me.”

Doctor Strange is in cinemas on October 27, 2016.

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