Ed Sheeran has a lengthy new interview with The Telegraph, which I’m only going to partially discuss. If you’re into Sheeran, have at it: you can read the full piece here. I do kind of like Sheeran – he seems like a nice guy, and while his lyrics aren’t always my cup of tea, I appreciate the fact that he’s a prolific songwriter, not just for himself but for many other artists as well. With Ed’s new album, he’s stepping out of his “English folk/acoustic” vibe and stepping into some Justin Timberlake-esque territory. Seriously, I heard Ed’s new single and I thought it was Timberlake:

Right? Anyway, funny story… Benedict Cumberbatch was supposed to star in that music video. At first, Ed tells The Telegraph that it’s definitely going to happen:

Finally, [Sheeran] presses “play” once more on Sing. “I’m gonna leave you with the single again, just in case you forget it…”

Job done. Now Sheeran pops down from stage for a chat. He tells me that Benedict Cumberbatch will be starring in the video for Sing, doing some hip hop dancing.

[From The Telegraph]

Interesting, right? The idea that Cumby could do some dancing in a music video? But no… it never happened:

That new video, starring hotter-than-hot Cumberbatch, also speaks of Sheeran’s bigger, bolder ambition. Alas, it is not to be.

“Man, the Cumberbatch thing,” he sighs “He was locked on for it, I had dinner with him twice. His UK agent said yes. Met up with him at the Oscars, he was well up for it. But his US agent just pulled him out last minute.”

Because it might besmirch his serious actor/leading man status? Sheeran says no, but it sounds like he means yes. “He’s a class actor. He’s the next Daniel Day Lewis in my opinion. He’s gonna be one of the greats, and the US agent’s argument was it’s not right for him right now. And to be honest: I kind of agree. But I thought that was the genius of it. It would be quite funny to have such a good actor in quite a funny role, doing hip hop dancing.”

[From The Telegraph]

I kind of agree with Ed… it would have been fun and silly and adorable to see Benedict dancing in a music video. And what would have been the harm in that? The fact that Benedict’s “American agent” pulled him out of it says that Benedict is really trying to plot out his career in serious fashion, unlike say, Matt Damon or Jon Hamm. Have you noticed that Matt and Jon will literally say “yes” to whatever they’re offered, no matter how silly or “bad for their image”? Which do you prefer?

There’s also a weird part in Ed’s interview where it seems like he’s ‘fessing up to a tortured relationship with Taylor Swift. Apparently, he wrote a song about “his brief sexual relationship with another A-list artist, and her subsequently betraying him with another pop star.” But Ed later says that it’s not about Taylor and how she maybe dumped him for Harry Styles. Which is too bad, because that fit perfectly. Ed sort of leaves it up in the air, but he doesn’t give a hard denial about whether the song is about Ellie Goulding. Huh.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.