Benedict Cumberbatch Reveals Surprising ‘Toxic’ Turn With Olivia Colman On Set

Ever wondered what happens when you mix two Oscar winners, a failing marriage, and a dash of danger in the kitchen? I mean, marriages are hard—but have you ever tried surviving a fake one with Olivia Colman throwing emotional daggers at you for the sake of cinema? Benedict Cumberbatch certainly has . And let’s be honest, if Doctor Strange himself admits a role got “a little too toxic,” you start to wonder if he needed spells or just a stiff cup of tea to get through it . Their new film The Roses isn’t just a comedy-drama; it’s a brutal tug-of-war, a masterclass in marital meltdown, and from what I’m reading… apparently, a behind-the-scenes rollercoaster that teetered on the edge of too real . I can’t decide if I’d want to join them for drinks, or just watch from behind shatterproof glass . If your curiosity’s as piqued as mine, you’ll want all the juicy details—trust me . LEARN MORE

Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed the moment filming for his new film The Roses became a little too toxic.

The Doctor Strange actor stars in the new comedy-drama film alongside Olivia Colman as a warring couple, Theo and Ivy Rose, whose once picture-perfect marriage has crumbled into a bitter divorce.

Things become even more destructive as the estranged couple fight each other for control over their marital assets, resorting to increasingly petty methods of revenge and one-upping.

Also starring the likes of Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Jamie Dimitriou and Ncuti Gatwa, the film is a remake of 1989’s The War of the Roses, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, itself an adaptation of the 1981 novel of the same name.

Watch the trailer for The Roses below:

When the cameras are switched off Cumberbatch and Colman are good friends, so how did they find playing spouses at war?

According to the Sherlock star, the pair had a great amount of fun on set – with the exception of ‘one speed bump’ in which he thought things were getting a little bit too nasty between the pair.

“There was one speed bump where it started to get a bit toxic,” Cumberbatch recalled in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment.

“I was like, ‘I might need to check in with you as a friend, because this is getting a bit nasty now’,” he continued.

The scene in question came towards the end of the film when Theo and Ivy are engaging in an increasingly violent fight after a dinner party goes terribly wrong.

“I can’t remember exactly what it was, but I just thought, Oh, if we’re doing a scene and having a moment together, chatting on set and doing it, and then I’m going off and doing things – I just need to clear the air and [remind myself] it’s okay, we’re good, we’re here, we’re helping each other,” he continued.

Playing a warring couple had no impact on the pair’s real life friendship (Neil Mockford/WireImage)

“It’s all the same as it was before the gloves started coming off.”

Fortunately there were no hard feelings between the actors, with the 49-year-old adding: “But after that, it was just a lot of fun insulting each other and making it up [to one another].”

Meanwhile, Colman appeared to find filming the tense scenes much more straightforward, revealing the pair would often share a ‘cuddle’ between takes, as it was ‘all pretend’.

“After that, we’d just go ‘aww’ and we would always have a little cuddle at the end of a scene,” she said.

The Roses is out in cinemas now.