‘Eric’: Benedict Cumberbatch & Gaby Hoffmann On Their Thrilling Netflix Series, ‘Doctor Strange,’ & More [Bingeworthy Podcast]

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo delves into the underworld to wrestle with the emotions of “Eric.” The Abi Morgan-written Netflix series follows Vincent, a neurotic puppeteer whose son goes missing, leading him to attempt to solve the case with his son’s imaginary friend – a monster named Eric. The show stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Belcher III, Dan Fogler, Ivan Morris Howe, and more.

Joining Bingeworthy to discuss their harrowing mini-series are the series stars Benedict Cumberbatch (“Doctor Strange,” “The Power of the Dog”) and Gaby Hoffmann (“Girls,” “Now & Then”). During the interview, both described what brought them to the show; however, Hoffmann noted feeling conflicted initially for a very understandable reason.

“I was hesitant about entering that world as a mother,” Hoffmann shared. “But as I kept reading it, I realized the story that we were telling, and I just started to become inhabited by Cassie in the ways that I don’t understand how these things work and had a deep instinct and desire to play her and then kept reading and kept reading and the themes and the world and the real moral messaging, which is a complicated phrase, that was happening aligned with the kinds of work I’d like to be putting out in the world.”

For many modern actors, it’s become a taboo to stay in character on-set or use the “go method.” Cumberbatch has been known to dabble in method acting for his more serious roles like Jane Campion’s “The Power Of The Dog,” which he attempted to take into his role of Vincent in “Eric.” But it seems that didn’t stick this time around.

“I tried— I did at the beginning, I tried [going method],” Cumberbatch said. “You know, [Vincent has] another lived experience different to my own in multiple ways, especially the location and the era, but it was much harder with that volume of work and in a TV schedule framework to pull that off. I needed to be sociable. I was weaker. I failed a bit there, I suppose, but I needed to sort of stretch out to welcoming arms and just feel that I could be myself as well as him. And I needed to turn it on, and it was a lot longer, but it’s a brilliant way to work, and I had these incredibly patient people, including Gaby, here that were like, ‘Yep, sure—whatever you want to do. If that’s your method, you go for it.’ I was afforded that, but after a while, I let people call me Benedict rather than Vincent stepping on set.”

The series is a very tense and emotional thriller with undertones of dark humor injected due to the presence of “Eric,” who only Vincent can see. Both Hoffmann and Cumberbatch described working with a real Jim Henson-esque puppet and the unexpected emotions it brought up seeing him for the first time.

“I still believe [in the magic], and everyone on set believed it. When Eric was around, we didn’t say hello to Ollie, who was sweating tears and blood inside that costume with a kind of vision-esque band of four cameras giving static points of view in order to know where he was in a room. I mean, slow that sentence down and unpack it. It’s absolutely vertiginous what he was doing. We just went, ‘Oh my God, it’s Eric!’

‘I started crying.’ Hoffman added.

“Yeah, I was crying,” Cumberbatch said. “I cried when I saw him, and it’s just a man in a suit.”

Cumberbatch is perhaps best known for his role as Doctor Strange within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who was last seen jumping into the unknown with Charlize Theron’s Clea to fix the multiverse. So, where is he now? Cumberbatch, always reticent to give any details away, says he is just as in the dark as us.

“Who knows, “Cumberbatch said. “We will see. We will find out. I’m not sure where he’s been and what he’s been up to and who with, but yeah, I know as little as you.”

Bingeworthy is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes The Playlist Podcast, Deep Focus, The Discourse and more. We can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, and most places where podcasts are found. You can stream the podcast via the embed within the article or click on the lead image at the top page. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we greatly appreciate it. Thank you for listening.

The Playlist Presents – Benedict Cumberbatch and Gaby Hoffmann’s Film Recommendation Playlist:

1.) “Anatomy of a Fall” (2023) – Directed By Justine Triet

2.) “The Zone of Interest” (2023) – Directed By Jonathan Glazer

3.)“Toni Erdmann” (2016) – Directed By Maren Ade

4.) “Songs from the Second Floor” (2000) – Directed By Roy Andersson

5.) “Pelle the Conqueror” (1977) – Directed By John Badham

6.) “The Shining” (1980) – Directed By Stanley Kubrick

7.) “Where is the Friend’s House?” (1987) – Directed by Abbas Kiarostami

Listen to the entire interviews below: