Benedict Cumberbatch sporting the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner Memovox watch. Photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre
Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/style/watches/article/3111704/covid-19-trapped-sherlock-and-marvels-doctor-strange-star Watches
When Covid-19 struck, where was Benedict Cumberbatch? Here’s why the Sherlock and Marvel star was on a tiny island in New Zealand
The star of Marvel films, The Imitation Game, Patrick Melrose and The Hobbit regularly uses meditation and deep breathing to help focus on set – and they came in handy for free-diving sequences in a new short film about Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Polaris Mariner Memovox watch
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, star of Sherlock, The Imitation Game and Doctor Strange, on location on New Zealand’s Rakino Island. Photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre
As the world was on the verge of coming to a complete standstill, Benedict Cumberbatch found himself safely tucked away in one of its most secluded corners. Earlier this year, a short film project took the actor to New Zealand’s Rakino Island – permanent population, 21 – which remains largely untouched by the modern world.
“There are no shops or any kind of logistical support, so it’s a pretty rare breed of person that lives there that’s really in tune with nature … It’s kind of magical and timeless in that way,” says the actor.
Cumberbatch spent time on the island free-diving for his role in the film –to launch Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new Polaris Mariner Memovox diving watch – an experience, the actor recalls, that turned out to be even more memorable than expected: “The miscommunication on this shoot was that I’d said I love diving, which I presumed would be interpreted as scuba diving, but it was actually free-diving.”
Being a long-time practitioner of meditation and the Wim Hof breathing technique was a tremendous help. “I know what [free-diving] is,” he adds. “I’ve never done it before, but actually it ties in with more than just the activity. It’s really about the breathing and meditation, and what that aids in terms of being able to hold your breath.”
Cumberbatch had his first encounter with meditation in his early twenties, and it has since developed into an invaluable tool. “I fell in love with the practice and the mystery of it, and also the pragmatism of it, the routine of it, the discipline of it; and eventually I started to become a practitioner and went on retreats myself, sort of immersed in that process.”
Cumberbatch says these practices have been a tremendous help in his daily life. “The practice of meditation is about calming yourself and allowing a degree of grounding and stillness, and bringing back your focus to the breath, allowing for thoughts but not engaging in them,” he says. “[It helps to] calm yourself, make time stretch for a little bit longer.”
The focus that meditation brings helps the Sherlock actor in his work, too. “The isolation or the feeling of singular focus, that’s absolute gold for an actor,” he says. “It’s tantamount – that isolation – but still being responsive to your environment and the players in it.”
Filming is set to begin for the sequel to Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange, in which the actor plays a neurosurgeon with superpowers. Cumberbatch’s character may be a superhero, but like the rest of us, he is experiencing a flood of mixed emotions during these uncertain times.
Benedict Cumberbatch on set for a short film project on New Zealand’s Rakino Island. Photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre
“I’m very excited about [the film] and we’re in pre-production now. There’s a little voice going, ‘But what if it all goes wrong again? What if case numbers rise?’”
Despite all of these questions going through his mind, he always makes time for positivity. “A lot of it has to do with kindness. I think if you walk through your life with consideration for other people as well as yourself … it’s part of our global community responsibility to other citizens of this planet.”
Benedict’s Diving Watch
Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner Memovox. Photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre
“A diving piece is obviously very important because [this watch] has safety features to safeguard [the diver]; you’re never going to be diving for longer than you should with this watch.”