Benedict Cumberbatch | Style Blog | Canadian Fashion and Lifestyle News

It’s not everyday that you get to attend a very intimate panel with a bunch of movie stars, delicious Grey Goose cocktails, killer views, and a pair of seafood towers…but that’s exactly what I did on day 4 of TIFF. Last Sunday, I found myself on ~~top of the world~~ the rooftop of Lavelle staring at the handsome cast of The Current War film. Led by Deadline Hollywood’s Joe Utichi, the panel consisted of Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Writer/Executive Producer Michael Mitnick, and actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult.

The actors seemed to be in great spirits, cracking jokes, enjoying their Grey Goose Caesars (both Cumberbatch and Shannon had two each, but who’s counting), and chatting about all things electricity, relationships, and muttonchops. When asked a slightly baffling question about getting ugly for a film role, Cumberbatch quipped that he “loved being ugly in this film” as Edison…even though no noticeable changes were done to the actor’s appearance beyond wardrobe. But he did seem to have a sense of humour about the whole thing. In response to the question about the cast’s own relationship with physics and sciences and how it impacted their acting, Cumberbatch confessed that he “was really bad at physics at school”, while Hoult’s response was slightly less modest: “I understood everything and I think that shines through in my performance”, he said with a laugh. Hoult also shared that the cast took a science lesson to prepare for their roles.“Nick is a bright boy”, added Shannon, while Cumberbatch concurred that Hoult did better than the other two in class. Beauty and brains!

After the panel, my friend and I seized the opportunity to say hello to Hoult and grab a photo with the actor…and in case you were wondering, yes, he is very good looking (and tall) IRL, and was super nice about our fangirling.

The Current War will hit theatres on November 24th, and the full video of the panel is embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

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Another TIFF came and went, and while I was only here to catch the first few days of the festival, this year’s celeb sightings were pretty memorable to say the least. Below are my top 5 TIFF experiences this year. Grab some snacks, it’s going to be a long one.

1. Variety Studio Presented By Moroccanoil At Holt Renfrew

Last year, Variety Studio was definitely a highlight, but this year…oh, this year was juicy! After enjoying my amazing Moroccanoil hand/arm massage just like the one celebs were getting (hey, Jemy!), I settled down on the couch to ~~people~~ celeb-watch, and let me tell you, being a fly on the wall at one of these things can be very insightful. While there was no Fassbender action this year, I did find myself in the eye of the Cumberbatch-Redmayne-Worthington-Goode-Knightley-Jones-Leech tornado…the Brits taking over the room in a loud, accented storm of hugs, compliments, and camaraderie. You could just tell that all those actors are truly fond of each other, and are definitely not “over it” all just yet.

For all the Cumberbatch fans out there, your beloved did seem to be genuinely nice and funny. Upon arrival, he checked out the Moroccanoil station, trying a bit of cream on his hands, before joining the rest of his group for a lively chat. Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch were hugging right above me as I shrinked back into the leather couch, trying not to trip anyone with my feet and knees. That’s when I overheard Redmayne exclaiming post-hug “You smell…delicious!” to Cumberbatch. Must’ve been the Moroccanoil. Redmayne’s fiance Hannah Bagshaw was in the room too, looking lovely and normal, sharing a hug with Cumberbatch, not stuck to Eddie’s side, navigating the room on her own. But back to Cumberbatch…at one point, when the cameras were rolling for a Sam Worthington interview, and a Variety staffer yelled out: “WE ARE ROLLING! QUIET, PLEASE!”, Benedict cheekily and loudly quipped: “Rolling with Sam Worthington? Let’s talk louder then!”, before peeking behind the interview curtain to wink at Worthington.

Out of all the hot Brits in the room, Keira Knightley was actually the one I wanted to get close to (not in a creepy way, I promise!). She’s one of my favourite young actresses, and I was most definitely starstruck. I tried to summon the courage to ask her for a photo, but she was never alone – either chumming it up with her co-stars, or chatting with her hair and makeup people. She wore a beautiful Chanel dress, and I tried to inconspicuously sneak a few shots for my Instagram. She smiled a lot, laughed a lot, shared that she was tired, but definitely didn’t look it. She looked happy, thin, but not frail, healthy, and so very beautiful. Can you tell I have a bit of a crush?

Other notable moments at the Variety Studio included: grabbing a photo with the delightful Bill Nighy, who was walking around with an apple in his hand, never having the moment to himself to actually take a bite, and who made eye contact with everyone in the room, instead of ducking his head and avoiding the normals; watching Richard Gere chatting up the hot tequila girls; realizing that the woman on the couch next to me is Elizabeth Banks, who changed out of her white pumps and into some Birkenstocks for comfort; observing the insanely handsome Matthew Goode and super-stylish Jena Malone light up the room with their larger than life personalities (on two different days) – definitely not wallflower types; sitting on the couch next to Downton Abbey’s Branson’s publicist, before ~~Branson~~ Allen Leech himself leaned over me to talk to her; sharing a serendipitous moment with Mark Ruffalo outside the Variety Studio’s bathroom – if life was a movie, that would’ve been our meet-cute.

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