Benedict Cumberbatch Used His Ranching Skills To Help A Family Cornered By A Cow Herd

Benedict Cumberbatch is on a bit of a hot streak at the moment. He plays the lead of Phil Burbank in Netflix's "The Power of the Dog," which is up for a slew of Oscars. It's nominated for 12 Academy Awards, the most out of any film that came out in 2021, including Best Picture and Best Director for Jane Campion. Cumberbatch also has a chance to take home Oscar gold as he's up for Best Actor at this year's ceremony. The good times will just keep rolling for the actor, as he's set to lead one of the most highly anticipated films of 2022 in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." 

In addition to calling himself an Oscar nominee and superhero, Cumberbatch can also apparently add real-life hero to his list of accolades. The actor recently revealed a story of how he saved a family from a herd of cattle using the skills he learned on the set of "The Power of the Dog." 

For a forthcoming appearance on "The Graham Norton Show," Cumberbatch related a story where he had a chance to use the ranching skills he learned on "The Power of the Dog" in real life. Apparently, he delved into method acting for the role, even going so far as to only be referred to as his character's name — Phil Burbank — during filming. He told The Hollywood Reporter, "[Campion] introduced me to the crew as Phil and said, 'You'll meet Benedict at the end. Benedict's really nice. Phil is Phil.'"

That level of commitment also extended to learning a few moves to use around cattle. For his most recent media appearance, Cumberbatch mentioned how he was back in the United Kingdom recently, and when he saw a family in need, he sprung into action. He detailed, "I came back from shooting the film in August, and we were off to the beach. To get there, we had to cross a field and in the field was a petrified family who just couldn't move; they were frozen because of a herd of cows with calves" (via Insider).

The family was immensely grateful for the act, and the story has a pretty funny ending. Cumberbatch concluded, "I thought, 'I can do this,' and I just sort of parted the waves of cattle. The family was like, 'That was incredible. Hey, aren't you Sherlock?' It was very un-Sherlock activity!" It's good to know that if the whole acting thing doesn't work out, Cumberbatch could have a lucrative career as a ranch hand.