Benedict Cumberbatch has told how he realised just how fleeting life is following his kidnap ordeal more than two decades ago.
Although he might star as a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Doctor Strange actor admitted he was ‘really scared’ during the nightmare incident in 2004.
While visiting South Africa in his late 20s to film the BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth, Cumberbatch had quite the harrowing brush with death.
Along with two of his friends, he was abducted and held at gunpoint by six men – which is an experience which drastically changed the way he viewed life.
Speaking to Variety about his upcoming film The Thing With Feathers, Cumberbatch opened up about what impact the kidnapping had on him.
“It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one,” he said. “It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience.”
According to Cumberbatch, fearing that he would be shot dead turned him into something of an adrenaline junkie, who blows off steam with extreme sports.
“The near-death stuff turbo-fuelled all that,” the Sherlock star continued. “It made me go, ‘Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment’. I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks.
“But apart from my parents, I didn’t have any real dependents at that point. Now that’s changed, and that sobers you,” he said in reference to the three sons he shares with wife Sophie Hunter.
“I’ve looked over the edge; it’s made me comfortable with what lies beneath it. And I’ve accepted that that’s the end of all our stories.”
Although Cumberbatch has largely overcome his trauma from the incident, after hearing the details of it, you’ll understand why it would be a memory that’s hard to forget.
Benedict Cumberbatch has opened up about the lasting effects the kidnap had on him ( Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)
The London-born actor, 48, was in the province of KwaZulu-Natal – a part of the world which is notorious for its high crime rate – shooting the BBC show.
He drove to a diving spot with two of his mates, but on the way back, their tyre blew and they were forced to pull over.
“It was cold, and it was dark,” Cumberbatch told The Hollywood Reporter in 2013. “I felt rotten. We were wary because that’s a notoriously dangerous place to drive. Then, poof, the front-right tyre blows.
“So we got the spare, but that meant getting all of our luggage out. We were like sitting ducks, adverts for – not prosperity necessarily, but materialism.”
As the group of friends got to work, six armed men emerged from the shadows and began instructing them to ‘look down’ and ‘put their hands on their heads’.
The father-of-three went on: “They started frisking us and said: ‘Where’s your money? Where’s your drugs?’ – we had smoked a bit of weed – ‘Where are your weapons?’
“And at that point, this adrenaline of fight or flight just exploded in my body. I was like, ‘Oh f**k, we’re f***ed!'”
The actor, pictured in 2004, was kidnapped at gunpoint in South Africa more than two decades ago (Toni Anne Barson Archive/WireImage)
Becoming teary-eyed as he recounted the details of the ordeal, Cumberbatch said he and his pals were then forced into a car before being driven around.
After complaining he was losing the sensation in his limbs due to being bound, the actor was then pulled out of the vehicle and placed in its trunk.
Eventually, the car came to a stop and the trio were tossed out onto the side of the road.
“I was scared, really scared,” Cumberbatch added. “I said: ‘What are you going to do with us? Are you going to kill us?’
“I was really worried that I was going to get raped or molested or just tortured or toyed with in some way, some act of control and savagery.”
Eventually, the six men fled and Cumberbatch was left ‘crying with gratitude’ when a local came over to help him.
Reflecting on the experience, he said: “It really, really enriches your values in life. It’s incredibly important.”
Featured Image Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage
Topics: Benedict Cumberbatch, Mental Health, Celebrity, Crime, World News
Olivia Burke
Man reacts to seeing Times Square and iPhones in modern age after spending 44 years in prison
Otis Johnson left a very different world behind when he was jailed in 1970
After spending a sizeable portion of his life behind bars, this man got a rude awakening when he wandered around Times Square for the first time.
While taking in the dazzling displays, Otis Johnson seemed to realise just how much he had missed out on while spending 44 years locked up.
He was left wondering whether the smartphone-clutching passersby were secret CIA agents due to the headphone wires draped around their neck, completely unaware of Apple‘s ascension to tech titans.
But considering Johnson was jailed in 1970 and therefore completely bypassed the digital revolution, it’s no wonder really, is it?
Otis Johnson was left mesmerised by the billboards in Times Square (YouTube/Al Jazeera)
This is a guy who has probably never heard of the likes of Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos…whether that’s for better or for worse.
Johnson was imprisoned when he was 25 years old for the attempted murder of a police officer in May 1970 in New York – and by the time he was freed, he was 69.
The former martial arts teacher never confessed to the crime and maintained his innocence, previously telling Dazed: “Why would a man shoot at a police officer and then stand on the corner talking to people with the same clothes on?”
Upon his release from prison in 2014, Johnson claimed he was handed an ID, documents discussing his criminal case history, two bus tickets, and $40 (£32.04).
“Prison affected me a lot,” he told Al Jazeera 12 months after he gained freedom. “My re-entry was a little bit hard at first, because things have changed.”
You can say that again – as when Johnson was first locked up, the first mobile phone hadn’t even been invented yet, and he was a few decades off the invention of the iPhone.
So you can forgive him for being a little taken aback when he saw neon billboards plastered across Times Square, and for suspecting people glued to their gadgets might be government agents.
Taking in the extraordinary sights at the tech-drenched tourist hotspot for the first time, Johnson said of the advertisements: “On the windows?! I ain’t never seen anything like this before! Look! On the windows?
Even the supermarket shelves are a lot different in comparison to the late 1960s (YouTube/Al Jazeera)
“We ain’t seen nothing on no windows but people walking by, not no video,” he laughed, before sharing his thoughts about the people who passed through the thoroughfare.
“I was looking at the atmosphere, the new things that was happening and I seen that the majority of people were talking to themselves,” he continued.
“Then I look closely and they seemed to have things in there ears. I don’t know with those things, the phone things…iPhones they call them or something like that?
“I thought, ‘What, everybody became CIA or agents and stuff like that?’ Because that’s the only thing I can think of if somebody walking around with wires in the ears. That’s what they had when I was out during the 60s and the 70s.”
Johnson said he was also baffled by the fact that people could ‘walk and talk on their phone without even looking where they’re going’.
“That was amazing to me,” he added, before saying of the street performers which stalk Times Square: “I stand out here for a long time watching this crazy stuff.”
The advancements in technology weren’t the only things that had changed while Johnson was inside though, as the cost of making a call on a pay phone had shot up by 75 percent.
“I remember this when I first got out,” he smiled. “I was gonna make a call – then I seen the 1$ thing. It was what, 25 cents when I was out?”
As well as this, the supermarket aisles in the US were adorned with a lot more stuff than they were in the late 1960s, which came as quite a surprise to Johnson.
“I eat different things now because I’m looking at all this crazy stuff they got,” he said. “The funny dinners, different coloured drinks.
“There’s so many things that you can eat, so it’s a hard choice to pick out the food that you want. For instance, the peanut butter – it had jelly in it?
“And I ain’t never seen nothing like that before, it definitely wasn’t in the prison system. Peanut butter and jelly in the same place, in a jar? That that was strange.”
He was extremely relieved to see that Skippy’s peanut butter still had a place on the shelves, a condiment which he fondly remembered from his younger years.
Despite the demise of some of his favourite snacks coming as quite a blow to Johnson, he was still thrilled to have his freedom.
“Being in society is a good feeling, a very good feeling. Being inside the prison, you only can go outside at certain times. So I like being in the sun and also observing people. It’s nice. It’s nice to be free.”
Hearing Johnson’s perspective really might make you think twice about your mammoth amount of screen time, that’s for sure.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Al Jazeera
Olivia Burke
Niece of ‘dead man’ she wheeled into bank insists he was alive when they went in
The woman was arrested at the scene as paramedics pronounced him dead
Warning: This article contains content which some readers may find distressing
The niece of the ‘dead man’ who she wheeled into a bank insists he was alive when they got there.
Videos and images went viral last week as a seemingly deceased bloke was taken into a bank in Brazil to sign off on a loan.
Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes was filmed by staff who became suspicious as she took a hold of the back of his head to stop it from swaying.
The woman could be seen holding a pen between Paulo Braga’s fingers and attempting to sign off on a loan for a reported 17,000 reais (£2,600).
Staff told Nunes the man didn’t ‘look well at all’ as they commented on him being ‘very pale’ and said they didn’t think it was ‘legal’.
She spoke to him as staff raised concerns. (X/@realengotv)
However, she continued to run with it and said: “He’s like that,” before saying to him: “If you’re not well, I can take you to hospital. Do you want to go back to the hospital again?”
But he certainly wasn’t well, as it is believed he had been dead for two hours.
An autopsy found Braga had died due to ‘bronchoaspiration and heart failure’.
However, as reported by local media, Nunes’ lawyers say she is an ‘honest person’ and in a request for her to be released during investigations, they add: “The evidence is based solely on a public outcry that Erika had taken a corpse to the bank to try to carry out a loan scam, which is not true.”
The 42-year-old was arrested at the scene as bank staff called the paramedics who confirmed he was dead.
Claiming to be Braga’s niece and caregiver, she ‘responds for vilifying a corpse and for attempted theft’.
The body was in a wheelchair. (X/@realengotv)
At a custody hearing, judge Rachel Assad da Cunha said: “The question is to define whether the elderly person, in those conditions, even if they were alive, could express their will. If he was already dead, obviously, it wouldn’t be possible.
“But even if he was alive, it was clear that he was unable to express any will, being in a total state of incapacity.”
Nunes’ defence maintains that the 68-year-old was alive when he arrived at the bank while investigating officer, Fábio Luiz Souza told breakfast news program Bom Dia Rio: “She knew he was dead … he had been dead for at least two hours.”
Ana Carla de Souza Correa, who is representing the woman, previously told reporters her lawyers ‘believe in Érika’s innocence.”
But police chief Souza said: “Anyone who sees that
can see the person was dead.”
Featured Image Credit: X/@realengotv/G1
Topics: Crime, Viral, World News
Jess Battison
Doctor who has lived on cruise ships for 20 years explains what happens when someone dies at sea
Sadly people do die when on a cruise ship holiday
A doctor who has worked on cruise ships for 20 years has revealed what happens when a passenger or crew member dies while on the open seas.
Going on holiday is something we all look forward to. From a week by the beach and pool on an all inclusive to a quick weekend city break and everything in between, getting away is a great way to escape the pressures of modern life and reality as we know it.
For many, that means packing a bag and getting on a cruise ship.
The massive billion dollar vessels are loved by millions every single year. But as with any holiday, people tragically lose their lives while enjoying some down time.
Obviously there is a big question here. Given the ship could be in the middle of, say, the Atlantic Ocean, what happens when someone dies?
Being a cruise ship doctor
Dr Aleksandar Durovic has worked, and lived, on cruise ships for two decades due to his profession.
Life on the ships is very different to dry land, according to the man himself who spoke to CNN Travel about all things cruise ships.
“It’s a job full of stress and responsibility. The medical side can be very demanding,” Dr Durovic said.
“Most of what we do on big cruise ships is emergency services, like in an ER. But we are also general practitioners for crew, and take care of chronic medical needs.”
Most cruise ships have morgues (Getty Stock Image)
What happens when someone dies on a cruise ship?
Most cruise ships – and ships in general – are now built to have a place for dead bodies in the instance of someone passing away while at sea.
The first thing that happens on a cruise ship is that the medical team will inform the captain about the death.
On top of this, medical teams on dry land will also be told about what has happened on the cruise ship. For companies that have set sail from the USA, with many travelling from and to Miami, this will be the US Coastguard as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Dr Durovic explained: “They decide what to do. Sometimes medical examiners will come onboard, and take the body for an autopsy. It depends case by case.”
The body is usually taken off of the cruise ship at its next port of call (Getty Stock Image)
Is there police involvement? And what happens to the body?
Usually that is the case, yes. After someone dies on a cruise ship, police will often come on board at the next port of all to interview the doctors who dealt with the deceased person.
In Dr Durovic’s experience, though, no death on a cruise ship has ever come with an element of suspicion.
The body is usually taken off of the cruise ship at the next port with rules saying a ship cannot set sail once moored with a corpse on board. From there, it is about the logistics of getting them back to where they call home, which can be stressful and expensive.
“Obviously the doctor pronounces the death, but for most medical teams, the person is given some respect. There’s a moment of silence before the body is prepared,” the doctor said.
The welfare and wellbeing of relatives or loved ones of the deceased becomes the cruise ship’s priority, with staff doing their best to help arrange flights home. For those staying, counselling might be available.
Featured Image Credit: Aleksander Durovic/Getty Stock Image
Topics: Cruise Ship, Health, World News, Travel, Holiday
Tom Earnshaw
One of Avicii’s most famous songs was a ‘cry for help’ as friend wishes he ‘understood lyrics sooner’
A frequent collaborator of the DJ spoke out about the lyrics in the song, and how he wished someone had paid attention
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
One of Avicii’s friends in the music industry wishes he understood the meaning of one of his most famous songs as he now realises that it was a devastating cry for help.
The Swedish artist sadly took his own life in April 2018 in Muscat, Oman, as he was understood to be struggling with the pressures and lifestyle that came with being a worldwide DJ star that was regularly touring.
The 28-year-old was said to be like a ‘zombie’ in his final days, as the introverted artist continued to struggle with fame and his own mental health, as the harrowing last words in his diary spoke levels of the pain he was going through.
He wrote a message hinting at rebirth, saying: “The shedding of the soul is the last attachment, before it restarts!”
A new documentary about the DJ’s life premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday (9 June), featuring exclusive interviews with his family, loved ones, friends in the music industry and even from the artist himself.
Some of his words are also used in a powerful narration during the film, which hasn’t had an announcement on a wider release as of yet.
One of his friends and collaborators, Aloe Blacc, recently spoke out about his late friend and peer, saying that he wished he had acted sooner after seeing some warning signs.
Avicii took his own life in 2018 at the age of 28. (Rich Polk/Getty Images for Rolling Stone)
The pair are best known for their song, 2013 hit ‘Wake Me Up’, which has over two billion streams on streaming platform Spotify.
Blacc opened up on his heartbreak when he read the lyrics to another one of their big hits together, called ‘SOS’.
Following Avicii’s passing, the Swede’s record label executives asked Blacc to sing on the track, which would be released in a posthumous album for the artist, called ‘TIM’.
When performing the vocals for the song, he explained that he properly read and understood the words, calling it a ‘cry for help’.
“I got the lyrics from the record label and I looked at them and I thought, ‘How am I getting this S.O.S. as a song after Tim’s gone,’” he told Good Morning America in 2019.
The 45-year-old continued: “It felt like… all of us really wanted to have this message way before, so that we could have been there to support him.
“He had written in his notes that he wanted me to sing this song, but he never communicated that to me. He communicated other things via emails and text messages,” Blacc revealed.
The artist was highly successful in his career, but he was also incredibly troubled away from it. (Lester Cohen/WireImage/Getty)
The soul-singer further said that he was ‘flattered’ that Avicii requested that he features on the track, which was sent to his producers with some new music before his death.
Blacc explained: “I was super impressed with the way that he could create melodies on the drop of a dime and come up with great productions and sonic landscapes and he was impressed with my voice,
“I think he just knew with this song I could attack it and accomplish what he was looking for. I’m glad that I got a chance to do that,” he concluded.
Some of the lines from the song read: “Can you hear me? SOS, help me put my mind to rest.
“Two times clean again, I’m actin’ low, a pound of weed and a bag of blow…”
“I get robbed of all my sleep, as my thoughts begin to bleed.”
Blacc thought that if anyone had paid any attention to the lyrics, the DJ could have got the help he needed prior to taking his own life.
