Benedict Cumberbatch Says Decision To Play Non-Binary Character In Zoolander 2 ‘Backfired’

Benedict Cumberbatch has said his decision to play a non-binary character in Zoolander 2 ‘backfired’ and admitted he’d never get the role today. 

The 45-year-old starred as non-binary character All - who was asked by Owen Wilson’s character Hansel if they ‘had a hotdog or a bun’. 

After its 2016 release, the film was met criticism from the LGBTQ+ community and faced calls for it to be boycotted for its ‘over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals’. 

Now the Sherlock star has admitted the role ‘backfired’ and that he understands why people were angry. 

Speaking to Zoolander 2 co-star Penelope Cruz for Variety’s Actors on Actors video series, he said: “There was a lot of contention around the role, understandably now. 

Paramount

“And I think in this era, my role would never be performed by anybody other than a trans actor. 

“But I remember at the time not thinking of it necessarily in that regard, and it being more about two dinosaurs, two heteronormative clichés not understanding this new diverse world. But it backfired a little bit.”

It certainly did and even before the movie was released, a petition was launched slamming the decision to hire Cumberbatch - a cisgender male - to play the role and called for cinemagoers to boycott it.

The petition read in part: “In the Zoolander 2 trailer, an androgynous character played by Benedict Cumberbatch is asked by Zoolander and Hansel if he is a ‘male or female model’, and if they ‘have a hot dog or a bun’. 

“Additionally, Cumberbatch’s character is clearly portrayed as an over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals.

“If the producers and screenwriters of Zoolander wanted to provide social commentary on the presence of trans/androgyne individuals in the fashion industry, they could have approached models like Andreja Pejic to be in the film. 

“By hiring a cis actor to play a non-binary individual in a clearly negative way, they film endorses harmful and dangerous perceptions of the queer community at large.”

Alamy

The petition - titled Boycott Zoolander 2 for its offensive representation of non-binary individuals - picked up more than 25,000 signatures.

Alongside the backlash, the movie failed to become as big a success as the original, picking up mainly negative critical reviews and having an IMDb score of just 4.7 out of 10.

Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film