Benedict Cumberbatch Says He Is Not Like Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio While Discussing Sex Symbol Status: 'Weirdly Navel-Gazing'

Benedict Cumberbatch is refuting the idea that he is a "typical movie star."

Cumberbatch, 48, referred to Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio as examples of the kind of actors — and celebrities — he does not consider himself similar to while speaking with Variety about his new movie, The Thing with Feathers, in an interview published Wednesday, Jan. 22.

“I’m not Brad, I’m not Leonardo, I’m not a typical movie star. People were scrambling for ‘Why is he at all attractive to us?’ " he said, when asked about how he was viewed as a sex symbol after his star rose for his role in the BBC's Sherlock series. "But for me to guess and try to understand that is so f------ weirdly navel-gazing. I’m not sitting around thinking, ‘Why am I sexy?’ I worry about myself in the mirror as I age, like every other f----- does.”

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The Doctor Strange star — who has been featured in more than one of PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive issues over the years — is also not a fan of the notion that he is a "celebrity." Though, the outlet noted that his fame is the reason his indie new drama was produced in the first place.

“It’s so derogatory, and just lumps anyone famous together,” he said of the term "celebrity." The actor added, “Am I a ‘celebrated’ person? Well, for what? For selling cheese? For being on a reality show? For doing something outrageous? For being an actor?”

Cumberbatch's new movie premieres at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 25 in Park City, Utah. In the film, Cumberbatch portrays a man grieving the death of his wife and struggling to provide for his two young children; as Variety states, his character begins to lose grasp of reality and imagines "he and his children are being terrorized by a monstrous crow." 

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The movie marks Cumberbatch's first feature film role since 2023, when he appeared in The Book of Clarence. The same year, he also appeared in the Netflix short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, directed by Wes Anderson. The actor, who shares three sons with his wife Sophie Hunter, last starred as his Marvel Cinematic Universe character Stephen Strange in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Cumberbatch also teased Variety about Doctor Strange's future in the MCU, confirming that the character will actually not appear in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday due to changes made after Marvel dropped actor Jonathan Majors and his character, Kang the Conqueror, from its story plans in 2023.

Doctor Strange, however, will return in 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars and for a potential third solo film, Cumberbatch said. "He’s quite central to where things might go," he noted.

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