What's funny is that Sherlock Holmes is the character that was portrayed by the most actors over the years. Guess who's the second? Hamlet.

They should show this to students who study hamlet. It's such a thought provoking discussion and Cumberbatch has an immense respect for this play and it shows every second

You can tell he is very passionate about acting and telling stories. Would love to see more in depth interviews like this instead of the usual and boring interviews artists are forced to do.

could i just borrow benedict to help me write my english essay

I went to The Barbican in September of 2015, all the way from New York. Best thing I've seen in my life. Was worth the six months wait until I was in my seat, second row center. Benedict is phenomenal.

Ben is a remarkable actor. I had no idea how talented he was until quite recently but wow I now see it big time.

I didn't mind the amount the interviewer talked, because it seemed more like a genuine and engaging intellectual discussion rather than a question-answer thing, which has always bugged me. I think a discussion format is so much more conducive to the kinds of rich conclusions drawn in this video. Plus, Benedict doesn't seem to mind the times that he gets interrupted. There's one moment where the interviewer interrupts and says something like "It's very powerful," and Benedict just says "Yes it definitely is powerful" and adds it on to what he was saying. I don't know why it bugs some people so much.

Thank you so much for uploading this! I saw the play at the Barbican in September and it was a life-changing experience. Lovely to listen to Benedict explain and analyze it. No other actor has ever shaken me to my core the way Benedict does.

absolutely flawless. not a second went by in which i wasn't completely fixated with my jaw hanging down. seeing such a legendary play brought to life with one of the biggest figures in my life is completely astonishing. just the way he talks about this play and every ounce of strength and breath and concentration he puts into these performances is absolutely beyond me. i always see him express such a definite and unconditional love for the things he does, he doesn't seize to express his own appreciation for the projects he is involved in and how much he values them and the stories they include. i'm forever regretting every second of thought that went into not deciding to see this in theatre, nevermind in cinema. i missed out of a pure, pure experience, glad i can finally live it to some sort of degree. hope to one day express my sincere admiration for this man in person one day. i hope to follow my own aspirations and be able to work alongside this perfect example of a talented, honest, beautiful human being. this comment will hardly be valued but i value benedict and this performing in such immense amounts.

We saw this performance for the first time in 2019 as part of the City Cinema / National Theater program in the US and it was absolutely wonderful :) All of the actors did a fantastic job, Benedict was perfect as Hamlet, the set design, music and costumes were great and it was an unforgettable production :)

I would love to see him play Macbeth. It's my favorite Shakespeare play.

One of the best things about this particular production is the focus on war imagery, The war and it's affects are not often brought to the forefront, it's usually all about the relationships and Hamlet's decisions, or lack thereof. Almost no vanity in this production, which is really interesting.

Oh man, I'm so excited for this movie. Benedict obviously cares very much about doing a good job as an actor, and thinks very hard about the philosophy and the psychology of it all. And I love how genuinely passionate he is, as an actor, but also as a person.

I wish the interviewer would let Benedict- be INTERVIEWED! He's like "How does it feel to...." And Benedict will start to speak and then he's like, "I THINK THIS....." like. My dude. Chill or switch seats.

I saw it on screen . I loved it . It is getting to a new audience as I have never wanted to see it before because I was afraid I wouldn't understand . You made it totally understandable even in the words of yesterdays long past . Strange how politics were conducted within that time as much as in this time.

This is an excellent interview. An exchange of ideas between two very intelligent men who understand the play.

Bless him. He’s a gem 💎

Love him so. Thank you for the inspiration Benedict.

Yes I saw a glimpse of the same scene /a part of act played by him and Andrew Scott both,I think both are excellent ,it's a complex character so everyone who plays it does it in their way✌️

Thank you so much!!!

I love him, I really do not only as an unbelievable good actor but as an human being...

I first saw Benedict Cumberbatch perform in 'Zoolander 2,' and I wondered to myself: "Who is this remarkable creature? So noble in performance, so sublime in movement and in diction!" And I know that, 400 years from now, whenever they perform Zoolander 2, the ghost of Benedict Cumberbatch will still hover, beguiling and enigmatic, over those cyber-hologram-productions of the future.

Every actor who played Hamlet presented the character in their own unique way. Benedict did quite well. I have recently seen David Tennant and Andrew Scott's version. They were also mind blowing!

Saw it on the big screen in Dallas. Gobsmacked. Still processing it. I will purchase it on DVD.

Benedict is so kind with the kids!!! 😍

I loved hamlet bennadict was amazing at this!

Was watching this on the tv. Had to come here to comment that the interviewer needs to shut up and let Ben talk

Thanks so much for sharing this. Love Hamlet and love Ben.

This play is just so so hard to do well from an acting standpoint. From what I see here Benedict is "doing" Hamlet vs "living" Hamlet. Don't get me wrong this is no easy feat. Sometimes an actor does this with their work when he wants to really "do it" vs "give it". He may just need to get it out of his system. I love Benedict but his best acting in this video is when he's teary-eyed applauding the student interpretation. Shakespeare is so hard because the language can completely derail the spontaneity, and the thing doesn't "come alive" because it's actually been so processed. My theory is that this in-depth analysis of the "myth" is useful up to a point, but to focus on the character Hamlet as the play "Hamlet" is the first mistake. To perform this, or anything onstage, it can never be intellectual exercise - otherwise you're left with a dead performance. Good acting, the challenge of acting, is what I'm watching when Im completely convinced that the things that are happening to the characters have never happened until they did before me in the instant I'm seeing them. Where the character is completely vulnerable to the events transpiring because he/she cannot control or predict all or any of them. Hamlet having this relationship with "himself" turns into this self reflective narcissist melodrama that's really not that interesting. As an audience we don't really need to see characters relating to themselves - we are most interested in relationships that surround, and lay underneath the self, the relationships which drive the self reflection, vs the self reflection itself as a medium. I'm saying that "soliloquys" arent truly delivered in the absence of other characters. Our viewership doesnt increase in value unless we can sit back and become fascinated as we identify a character dealing with complex external relationships and the actual inner struggle. We can't get sucked into something that's not really there. Our brain wont let us believe in whats happening unless there's something (selfish) to be gained/discovered out of the genuine representation. Benedict should - create the neutral avatar of Hamlet, the character with zero knowledge of the plays events- and then like a puppet master, just place him down into the story, with an unconditioned mindset - meaning he should try not planning any parts of his performance in advance and just let them emerge through the organic forces of the writing/story. Before stylizing all the reactions he will reinact in the course of the play, he should instead let the events flow through the avatar, and react spontaneously, impulsively, trusting the organism as a whole, to pick up on subtleties he cannot sense while in his head- and let the reality of the events dictate and articulate how the character progresses, and allow the actual inner journey to take place. Over-manipulated- mechanical performances cannot give us the audience what we need or want - to have vulnerability and our human condition revealed to us, richly, on a personal level, that we can take home with us.

Benedict is quite the gentleman with his rather headlong interviewer. Nicely done

OMG BLESS YOU

The "to be or not to be" soliloquy is his inner monologue, his decision making. I think Shakespeare, in inventing the soliloquy, either realized how alone people often are in general, or, in this play particularly, how alone Hamlet is.

Cumberbatch is a perfect Hamlet.

This man is so Great!!!

I thought the school children were fantastic!!! What a great idea to create a chorus, in the true Ancient Greek style. I agree Benedict, very beautiful!!! 👍👍💖💖

Wonderful !,,❤️

The school section is the best part of this interview!!!

Wunderbar

CAN WE GET A ROLE CALL FOR THIS TO BE STREAMED AGAIN PLEASE I NEED IT IN MY LIFE I CANT BREATHE, #CUMBERBITCHESUNITE

They showed the record in sony centre in Berlin for just one day, and I missed it. I will regret forever...

fascinating.

Well, I’m terrified of playing Hamlet in school now.

It's funny how while Benedict explains his opinions there will be the shots of interviewer's reactions, like it's the most interesting thing to see. I don't know if this is the editor's fault because it makes the interviewer look self-centered.

God, his voice!! No more translations!)

Lovely quality thanks :) Any chance you might get the extended version?

My mother had a deep understanding of Shakespeare. Clearly Benedict does as well. I wish that I were so perceptive. I love Shakespeare, but I struggle with it. I wonder how many actors have played Hamlet brilliantly who didn’t have such a deep understanding of what they were playing?

The music in the background at 18:16 is Serbian Military March ( March on the river Drina) from WW1 when Serbian Army defeated for the very first time AustroHungarian Empire in their first battle. Its the most famous Serbian Military March,and i find that this music contributing as a part of Hamlets circus acting or faking madness is really insulting. Note to the director: More history less free choice. PS. I enjoyed this interview very much Benedict is a such a great actor.

WoW I just realised I absolutely adore literature and just the arts in general, this is honestly so inspiring , I'm kind of confused because I have always been kind of a science person, but maybe my passion lies within music or theatre or literature?

Do you guys think this cast may have been recorded, because they are immeasurably talented. I'd love to see them act together.

He admire the shakespeare so much wich I guess . I wish he can act as Gim merlin in Jamaica inn, and Scarlet pimpernel . Scarlet pimpernel is suite him so much.

Cumberbatch is the spitting image of the late comedian Eric Morecambe. Cumbs mum Wanda Ventham used to guest on the Eric and Ern show..

Sadly I missed the live show. They obviously have recordings. Has it been released at all?

I never knew Benetton Cumberbund once acted as Hamlet.

Where we can watch it? I wasn't lucky enough to see the show :(

Interesting 😃

Does anyone know where I can watch these plays online? I live in Asia and its not like I can fly over to another continent just to watch them. Hamlet, Richard III and others.

They showed us a version of this before the NTLive recording and the interviewer talked about how everyone in the audience thinks the line of "to be or not to be" in their heads together with Hamlet when he says them. Did I miss that part in the video or was it simply not there?

he is so fucking beautiful 😍

where can I watch the full production

Does anyone feel the tension between to two of them? It's as if Benedict is irritated with the interviewer who is so caught up in show off his intellect that he keeps forgetting he is actually there to interview someone else. But maybe I am reading too much into it lol.

DOCTOR STRANGEE :O

18:18

I still can't recognize some of the Hamlets from some of the clips, if anyone knows them all.

Why isnt David Tennant even mentioned :/

What does he say at 1:33? Something about shoots? Oh wait, it's "Your thinking about how you were parented shoots up."

chapter 3 28:44 32:10

He is the greatest actor in the Chinese speaking world

If someone feels so inclined to answer these questions for me, go for it. 1. Why is Hamlet considered to be such a ‘beast’ of a play? 2. Cumberbatch says that the “trick of acting” is to find a reason for the character to say their lines in the moment. In theatre, we call this the “illusion of the first time,” meaning that it needs to appear the character is revealing the line for the first time ever. From and audience perspective, why is it it important for the actor to be successful with this? 3. What does Shakespeare gain in making the “To be, or not to be…” speech a soliloquy instead of a conversation? Do you agree? 4. There is discussion in the interview about the appearance of the the Ghost in King Hamlet. If you were a director for a stage production, how would you create the ghost’s appearance? What do you think of the idea that the memories of those who have passed contribute significantly to who we are today? 5. When does Benedict Cumberbatch say is, the first time Hamlet looks to himself and his role in the situation? Why does he believe this is an important moment? 6. Part of the purpose of theatre is to provide a mirror to ourselves and society. Do you agree that everyone has a Hamlet in them? Explain.

Give me 1 year and i will become hamlet.

I'm in no way having a go at BC. But for me...my entry to Hamlet and amasing experience was Mel Gibson.

VHS?

I thought Polonius was the chief counselor of the king, not a courtier. Or...is chief counselor a type of courtier?

Who is the actor at around 15:30?

Who is this interviewer?? He looks very familiar.

fishmonger

It’s so annoying when he talks over Benedict 😝

Shut you gob, and let the man speak! You're were there to conduct an interview, no spout out your incoherent thoughts.

Who is the actor at 23:37?

Good grief! This interviewer just babbles on!!!

What does Benedict Cumberbatch say at 42:15?

That interviewer is so bad, he should stop talking over the interviewee.

ВГПУшникам привет, всем остальным- соболезную

Omg stop lol

35:00 the pirates aren't a fanciful device, they're an account of what actually happened to the author, Edward de Vere--and the play is his autobiography

The interviewer clearly loves the sound of his own voice. He talks too much. And no, I don't say this because I'm a Benedict fangirl. I say this because is annoying when the interviewed wants to talk and develop an idea and the other keeps interrupting. Shut up.

Needs to reed more EM forester

3 lbs

So impregnated by tom and live w Ben fun lol actually somehow seems completely natural and normal at this point lol

In the pieces that are shown of Cumberbatch's speaking, he is not doing a good job. He is completely overacting. Kenneth Branagh gets Hamlet a little better, except for his spitty speeches. "Transgenerational" talk is bullshit; "it hath made me mad." Study the play in school, with a good teacher, then read it again at least once a year for 30 years, and then you'll get what it all means, and how it should be performed.