Last week, I mentioned in a Benedict Cumberbatch post that Bendy had said something shady about and in reaction to Martin Freeman. Freeman complained several months ago about how the Sherlock fandom had ruined the show, and that the fans wanted Sherlock and John Watson to get together so badly that they were going to hate the show if that didn’t happen. It was a weird thing to complain about in general, especially considering that the quality of the writing fell off a cliff after the second season and most die-hard Sherlock fans have moved on at this point.
Anyway, last week, Benedict was asked about Freeman’s previous comments and he said: “I think…it’s pretty weak to blame that on fans. You’re either along for the ride or not, and I think to be kowtowing would, in some cases, disappoint fans – so…I don’t think it can all rest on that.” This is a reminder that after the fourth season of Sherlock aired, there was a lot of talk about how Benedict and Martin were done with it… not because of the writing or the fans, but because they never liked each other in the first place and they were tired of pretending to be friends. Well, in any case, people are still asking Benedict about Freeman’s comments, and this is what he had to say in a new interview with The Telegraph:
Benedict Cumberbatch shot back at Martin Freeman’s infamous criticism of Sherlock fandom, calling his costar’s gripe “pathetic.” You’ll recall Freeman said doing the detective series was “not fun anymore,” citing “people’s expectations” for another season, and how it’s “it’s not a thing to be enjoyed, it’s a thing of: ‘You better f—ing do this, otherwise, you’re a c—.’”
In an interview with The Telegraph, Cumberbatch was asked about Freeman’s comments, and this is what he said: “It’s pretty pathetic if that’s all it takes to let you not want to take a grip of your reality. What, because of expectations? I don’t know. I don’t necessarily agree with that … There’s a level of obsession where [the franchise] becomes [the fans’] even though we’re the ones making it. But I just don’t feel affected by that in the same way, I have to say.”
A fifth season of Sherlock is considered highly unlikely to happen anytime soon due to the busy schedules of Cumberbatch and Freeman. Cumberbatch will next be seen reprising his role as Doctor Strange in Avengers: Infinity War. Freeman was most recently seen in Marvel’s Black Panther.
As I said after the fourth season finale, I’m completely fine with them not making any more episodes. I’ve had my fill. It was brilliant for two seasons, okay for one season and absolute garbage for one season. Martin and Benedict clearly despise each other and Steven Moffat drove this Sherlock car off the f–king cliff years ago. Let’s just call it a day! (Also: Benedict is right, Martin’s fan-blaming comments were pathetic… but wow!)
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I just realized both are in the Marvel cinematic universe. Even if they are both in Avengers Infinity War they probably won’t be in many scenes together as Martin Freeman’s character seems to be mostly involved in the Black Panther franchise.
I’ve only caught episodes here and there of Sherlock, never a full season so most of the time I have no idea what is going on. It seems the show itself has a lot of drama going on behind the scenes with Martin and Benedict not getting along and Martin getting divorced from his wife who played his wife on the show if I’m not mistaken? I wonder if he’s a difficult person in general.
Freeman is extremely difficult. He pretty much takes pride in being a miserable asshole. Every story about him, even the ones he tells himself, has him sounding unbearable to be around.
He seems to be pretty friendly with people he considers his equals, but you can clearly see how much contempt he has for everyone else. Freeman was the much bigger star at the start of Sherlock, and Cumberbatch is exactly the type of person he’d think ridiculous, so I expect he was very unpleasant to work with on that set.
Even people telling *affectionate* stories about Martin, all still make it clear that he is a miserable, angry, unpleasant person.
I loved The Office years ago, but I can’t watch it now. Martin is such an effing nasty prat, he’s ruined it for me.
Yep, another one agreeing here. I had some friends who did a radio voice-over with him some years ago and they said he was the most unpleasant a***hole that they ever had to work with. This was just when he was in The Office.
i was going to say this is just classic martin freeman. he’s a massive twat and i hated having to look at him in black panther.
Heh, I thought Freeman and Abbington are a happy couple. So your comment surprised me. I googled it and lo and behold, it’s been over a year and a half ago since they’ve called it quits.
My gossip knowledge is so behind in time that it’s wearing fake-leather flares.
Amanda immediately went out and landed a much hotter, younger boyfriend with a less famous but cooler acting career (does lots at the Royal Court, and is in the new Coen Brothers thing, and Cumberbatch’s Melrose series) which gives me a bit of glee.
Buhbye Hobbit.
Really, Meggles? I’m so happy for her! I’ve loved seeing her in Mr Selfridge, and I thought she was terrific in Sherlock. She seems so upbeat and warm in her interviews, that I wondered: what was she doing with a grump like Freeman?
And he cheated on her with a Sherlock fan, so these comments of his are particularly inappropriate.
More details, raincoaster??????
I really like her, too. She and Cumberbatch were very cheerful at group interviews at Comicon, and I got the distinct feeling Freeman resented their popularity.
One weird thing, she got way in over her head on taxes, made me wonder if no head for business or bipolar, seems such an odd thing to happen.
She was absolutely wonderful with Jason Isaacs (AKA Lucius Malfoy) in Case Histories. And god was he gorgeous in it!
Both were also in The Hobbit haha
Even though a certain segment of those fans are indeed unbearable, I’m pretty comfortably Team Benedict in all this. I’ve liked a lot of Freeman’s work but there are few actors worse at hiding their contempt for other people than him.
I can’t stand Cumberbatch. He could have answered this question a million ways, but chose the bitchiest one. Because of course he did.
Yes! I think of Martin Freeman as an old school working actor and the Cumberbitches/Sherlock fandom would have been pretty exhausting. In interviews, I find Freeman really funny in a caustic British way whereas Cumberbatch seems like a bit of a knob TBH
This is what I don’t get–Freeman has made snide comments about more than one co-star in the past. You get what you give.
Somewhat snooty British actors being snooty with each other…..I love it. LOL. Clearly no love lost between these two. Sherlock was soooo good the first season; still good the second season; okay the third and I never bothered to watch the fourth.
i think by the 4th season the vibe between benedict and martin had broken down and they just wanted to finish it off once and for all.
I mean…I don’t think what he’s saying is that bad? The fans really aren’t responsible for the quality of the show. They don’t have the power to direct it, even if their opinions may influence it. The writing went to shit because Steven Moffat is an absolute hack.
Yep, Moffat is a hack. He tends to ruin all his shows.
Moffat has talent, but he decided “What the fuck, let’s pander and get rich” and it blew up in his face.
Moffat’s talent is very limited. He can write a good short bottled story, but when he needs to write a whole show or a story with long arc he blows it and it ends up to be a mess. Plus he is a mysoginist who has a kink for women inevitably pandering to men or losing to them or sacrificing themselves for these men cause these men are so special and cool and those women need to become putty in their hands one way or another. He also doesn’t have self-control as writer and makes over-twisted plots with lots of “wow” thrown in, which fall apart and prove to be in fact mostly hollow in their resolutions.
Freeman can be a total dick, but I’m firmly on his side on this one.
The Sherlock fandom is one of the most obnoxious ones out there and the Johnlock shippers are second only to the Larries in terms of their entitled insanity. It’s a bummer to see that the Bandersnatch is still pandering to them.
Moffat spent three seasons queer baiting the audience because he’s a lazy hack and then acted all shocked when they turned on him for not fulfilling their fantasies. This is what happens when you let the fans dictate what you put on screen. It ruined the show and the fandom for me.
Agreed 1000% I would also argue that Freeman got the worse deal with the Johnlock shippers who constantly cast him as the cute wifey to Cumberbatch’s oh so manly Sherlock. He may be a grumpy guy, but the craziness these people put him through would piss an angel off.
On top of which, there were all the Cumberbitches who seemed to think that without Benedict, Martin would have no career and he should be undyingly grateful that Benedict got him the role of The Hobbit and his part in the MCU and they were hysterical because Martin didn’t attend the Cumberbatch wedding. Martin had a pretty solid career before Sherlock so that must have been quite annoying
Wasn’t Sherlock and the fact that he’d worked with Freeman before one of the reasons Bendy got the gig of voicing Smaug? I have a vague recollection of an interview with Jackson where he said this. The Sherlock stans and Cumberbitches forget Freeman had been cast as Bilbo before the first ep of Sherlock aired. Bendy was a late addition to the Hobbit cast.
That’s how fanbases are. The Freeman ones aren’t much better in different ways. Both groups are annoying.
Here’s the deal: Freeman has been pretty unprofessional about co-stars from two different shows in interviews in the past, and yeah, nothing but unpleasant is the common story from both the Sherlock and Fargo sets, so…
I agree that’s not true, Lightpurple, Freeman was definitely established before Cumberbatch. My thing would be he’s a 40-year-oldish man. If he’s getting bothered by another actor’s fanbase, he’d have to be pretty immature and insecure. Loads of actors deal with things like that.
I think all those demands from the fandom did ruin the show. It affected the writing.
Perhaps Freeman did say something in that direction to the rest of the crew? Perhaps he told them that that route is going to ruin Sherlock? And that is why they don’t like him. I would give him some credit for this.
Cumby is one actor who panders to fans awfully much and he knows it. He was the internet boyfriend of so many crazy fans he had to hide his then-budding relationship with his now-wife. He also tried his best to keep his wedding under wraps and completely out of the tabloids to the point when he told his friends to not post anything about it (Amanda Abbington and M. Freeman).
Nevertheless in the tabloids it isn’t a good look when an actor complains about the fans even if he is somewhat right.
Was it season two or three where in the first episode they tried to explain all the ways Sherlock survived the fall & most of what you saw came from Tumblr? Which goes back to the show runners & writers. After that season I was kind of out. I totally forgot they made a fourth season and I never saw that Christmas special.
@M.A.F. It was first episode of Season 3 and yeah it was like pure fanfiction-based. The show jumped the shark right there.
Cat fight! Meow! What an ungrateful bitch that Freeman is! /s
Just being disparaging and blowing this up the way the press does for women, like Archie Panjabi and Juliaana Margulies, or Kim Cattrall and SJP
If there are not five more articles about the feud and costars or randoms weighing in which team they are on, and who was nicer on set, I will be SORELY disappointed.
And bonus points if we can get some quotes from either or both disparaging the other’s weight.
I agree with both of them, the fans were crazy and interrupted outside filming on many occasions- a friend used to work near where the flat was and said they always knew when Sherlock was filming as the fans would be obstructive and noisy. People in the surrounding area found it difficult to get into their homes and offices.
I also saw it personal level when I went to a Graham Norton taping when Bendy was a guest and most of the audience were Sherlock crazies. I saw and heard their behaviour when waiting outside to get in with one group of women getting upset over the thought of not getting into the taping as it was over subscribed- which is the norm. When he came on stage they went batsh!t crazy. Me and my mate must have been the only people there for Harrison Ford.
The fans created the hype around the show and Moffat felt obliged to pander to them. He did the same with Dr Who.
As for Freeman he’s known as a grumpy git, he’s admitted as much during interviews. Both actors did well from the show but let’s face it, that show made Cumberbatch and the success went to his head. I followed him from before his career took off and he was a much more likeable person then, now not so much – he often comes across as a stuck up twat now.
All this twatwaffle just reminded me what Cumberbatch said about Johnny Lee Miller having a wife to keep in nice dresses when Miller took the role in Elementary. Also that whole thing of his mother advising him to change his name in case people came looking for reparations was just ugh. He has always been a stuck up twat.
Sherlock had two good seasons then crap, it is no loss.
Bendysticks Kumquat said that? I remember that Freeman said some awful sexist things about Lucy Liu. Working theory: they are both awful divas.
And Elementary was and is the superior Holmes show.
@slightlyannony are you referring to that “dog” comment? Because I’ve seen this repeated a thousand times and it has made me an involuntary Freeman defender. If you watch the video of the interview you can clearly tell that he’s joking. It’s a very dry and dead-pan kind of humour, but he’s not insulting her in any way.
If you have two hours to kill:
https://youtu.be/LkoGBOs5ecM
Freeman said worse than the dog thing tbh. It is what it is (not a Tumblr mindset fan).
I think it’s also pretty clear that the rabid fandom took Freeman by surprise – I don’t think he would have taken the job if he’s had any clue. It’s definitely not his thing, whereas Cumberbatch relishes it.
Yes ITA, Freeman was surprised by how popular it became and it showed. He struggled with the fan base whereas yes Bendy loved it.
Yet he’s in Marvel and was complaining he wasn’t big enough yet back in 2010, after The Office. Don’t mind me, I used to be his fan but trust me: he’s awful.
Did I miss the Tumblr accounts dedicated to his Marvel character?
There are Tumblr accounts for Everett Ross. He’s also shipped with Black Panther, Strange and another character, I think. Not near Watson, but I gotta say anytime you take on a project, there’s a chance you’ll deal with some out of control fans. That’s even true of smaller shows/movies and even plays (ie. Hamilton).
What’s odd is he’s not on social media, doesn’t do fan events. He’s got to be intentionally exposing himself to it or has an incredibly low tolerance.
They should’ve learned from Hannibal. The show was pretty gay but amazing , the actors go with it, have amazing chemistry and never complained about it.
I still miss Hannibal. Hands down one of my favorite shows.
hannibal – mads and hugh dancy. they were so different than sherlock – and miss that show
Another Hannibal fan here. The difference is that Mads and Hugh seem to be very down-to-earth and instead of getting upset about the homoerotic tones on the show, they embraced it. Flower crowns, anyone?
Overall, Bryan Fuller is a much better showrunner than Steven Moffat could ever be (or dream to be). Hannibal fandom embraced the term Murder Husbands, but Sherlock fans seem to split in two camps: Johnlock shippers and anti-Johnlock people. I’m still hoping for a season 4 of Hannibal where they slaughter and eat people together in Cuba. However, I couldn’t care less if Sherlock ever comes back.
HUGE Hannibal fan too! Fan fiction and obsessively rewatching is sustaining me. Hands down the best show EVER.
I guess adult Martin Freeman complaining about Johnlock must have never heard of what the members of One Direction went through, just to mention one example of what fans are all about these days…. If Martin can’t bear the gay pairing of two fictional characters, him being a fully grown man, imagine how’s to withstand constant gay coupling of their real public persona as teenagers. Dude needs to grow up. I like his snappy sense of humour, but his grumpiness has got worst after he got divorced.
Having said that, Benedict should also been more polite. No need to use the word “pathetic” when you can just say you don’t agree with it. Unless you want to get a little extra press coverage…
Mehhh to both of them.
I used to be a somewhat participant member of the Sherlock fandom but had to get out because some are very very unhinged, particularly with the characters’ sexuality and they project that on the actors. At one point Freeman and Cumberbatch were at a convention or a joint interview (I don’t remember too well), and a reporter began reading a slash fanfiction TO THEM. You could clearly see how uncomfortable they were, and the author of that fic was equally mortified.
When your argument is that teenaged girls are worse fans, that’s not a good sign.
I agree with Bendy. If you don’t want to deal with a huge fanbase dont take on an iconic actor. Also don’t blame fans for the writing.
But I sideeye him because MCU fans are just as intense and yet here we are
Watson is a well-known literary character but prior to Sherlock, there was no “young” fan base really surrounding it. There are hundreds of BBC miniseries that are fantastic but didn’t get any traction like Sherlock did-Martin Freeman probably had no idea it would turn into what it did. Of course Benedict Cumberbatch loves the Sherlock fans-the show made his career and got him loads of attention. Before that show, he was playing the fifth lead in serious British films and doing character work. Freeman also got a career bump but I really believe his career post show would have been largely the same-like I think he would have still gotten the Hobbit and he still would be doing critically acclaimed but small series like Fargo. He maybe wouldn;t have gotten his part in Black Panther, which anyone could pretty much do. I don’t know for sure that Cumberbatch would have gotten his Marvel movie or his Turing film.
There’s rumors about Freeman. Very counter his public persona ones.
This sort of public out down … it’s not coming from a disagreement over this one statement.
What rumors? Drugs? Cheating? Do dish.
Yeah, I heard them too (I think I know what you mean). He’s done if that comes out.
Do tell, i only knew of his split.
http://yourfaveisproblematic.tumblr.com/post/45883559709/martin-freeman
http://ew.com/article/2014/05/01/martin-freeman-does-not-want-be-your-friend/
First link gives an overview. Nothing there is egregious, but he’s kind of sexist and tells inappropriate jokes (rape jokes in this case). The dirt that I read is that he has a violent temper, and is an angry, angry man. And the blind dirt is that he was physically violent. This is not from me though, I don’t work on film or adjacent, so no way to verify veracity, and I’ve seen comments that before fame he was a good guy, that he’s gruff and a PITA but good underneath, so grain of salt. One thing that’s true is that he is angry af.
Some quotes from the second one:
”How do I say this without it sounding like I think I’m James Dean?” he (MF) wonders aloud. ”I’ve always been attracted to darkness.” Billy Bob Thornton, who costars on Fargo as the murderous drifter Lorne Malvo — and is no stranger to darkness himself — notes, ”Martin is an interesting guy. He’s much more intense than people might think. He’s got a lot of water under the bridge.”
“Spend a little time around Freeman and you can pick up an electric undercurrent of anger humming inside him. He is perfectly aware that it’s there. ”There’s quite a deep well of it,” he says. ”It alarms me sometimes.” Asked what kinds of things make him angry, he answers, ”F—ing name it. Some of it is a sort of lighthearted anger that I know will pass, but some of it is pretty deep-seated and a fundamental part of me that I think people often don’t understand.”
Not a dig at you, deets, just warning others: don’t assume anything you’re reading there is accurate.. I reviewed some posts there before and found inaccuracies, bad or non-existent sources, lack of context, false interpretations, and so forth. It’s terrible as a source.
That aside, Freeman’s post is one of the few that just lists real quotes and doesn’t try to make misrepresentations or “interpret” them.
Also heard those same rumors. All I knew before that was he did cheat on Abbington, she’s alluded to it more than once.
I like Benedict and glad he called Freeman’s remarks pathetic.
Sherlock put Benedict on the map and I can imagine Martin was not happy about it. Martin is a one note actor and does the same ticks in every role.
martin sd not have said what he did. sherlock benefited both him and benedict so much that he got a film career out of it – of course he ended up breaking up with his wife but that is another separate issue. the other guy who played lestrade is also brilliant just like the mycroft actor – i dare say they were all grateful
None of what you’re saying works. Martin was cast as Bilbo Baggins before Sherlock even aired – his breakout was many years before in The Office. I don’t even understand what you’re saying about Graves and Gatiss.
Martin was in Love Actually and The Cornetto Trilogy so no, he didn’t need Cumberbatch to launch his film career.
The Mycroft actor? Mark Gatiss? Lestrade? Rupert Graves? Go check their resumes. Both have had long, active careers on stage, TV, film. Gatiss is also a writer. Graves was a Merchant-Ivory regular when he was young. These guys owe Benedict nothing.
They have all accomplished great things on their own with no help from the series. The biggest boost in career would have to be Benedict.
Martin Freeman is a more versatile actor than Benedict ever will be. They’re both good but Freeman is miles ahead of him and his repertoire shows this. And he was cast on The Hobbit BEFORE Sherlock even existed.
Martin Freeman “is a one note actor and does the same ticks in every role” uhhhmmm whut? Have you seen this guy act? He’s definitely more versatile than Cumberbatch who relies on the boom of his voice far too often.
I’ve seen Freeman in theatre, Riachard III, he was amazing. ITA Cumberbatch is a less versatile actor who relies on his voice way too much. Bendy had potential but his thirst for HW fame and an Oscar means he pigeonholed himself in the tortured privileged genius role. He can’t do accents and I couldn’t watch all of Dr Strange as his performance made me cringe. I don’t think his tortured genius act transfers well into comic book land as I found his Dr Strange to be a camped up version of Sherlock.
Yes there are many stories about how nasty Freeman is. Was particularly taken aback when he up and ditched his longtime partner and the mother of his children the lovely Amanda Abbington.
This was reported by the Telegraph (the outlet also responsible for reporting the story on Martin) and tbh the Telegraph is second only to the Daily Mail in intentionally misquoting actors to get a better click-baity headline. Martin clarified in a recent interview (for Ghost Stories) that he was misquoted and I’m sure Benedict was too. Benedict has always had nothing but praise for Martin so it’s very unlikely he said Martin’s comments were ‘pathetic’.
Moffat out-of-control megalomania will cause him to drive any show he runs off the cliff eventually. He’s done the same with Doctor Who. As far as Cumberbatch and Freeman go, they both seem like deeply unpleasant people and I would doubt that both of their heads would fit in th same room, so it’s little surprise they clashed.
Mick Jagger says most people don’t handle fame well and I got this vibe that BC’s ego was in orbit.
I am a BIGLY Sherlock Holmes Granada Series fan and feel Jeremy Brett is way beyond compare.
I thought Sherlock BBC first two seasons were super, but the rest of it was horrid. What a shame.
As a very young girl I had a massive crush on Sherlock Holmes… as embodied by Jeremy Brett. He is my forever Sherlock, not that Benadryl Cucumberpatch person that people are always banging on about.
Martin is a very problematic guy. I am no fan of cumberbatch but he is right here. You are there because of fans, whether you like it or not. They can be a pain. It is part of the job like papparazzis. Martin said problematic about Black Panther too, I heard. I am not sure what?
Sherlock took a jump into the toilet after season 2. Mary as ex- killer for hire? Overuse of Sherlock’s mind palace? Secret sister with super powers? Mary is faster than bullet? John and Mary’s baby who is half-orphaned? Sherlock’s constantly on drugs cause it’s ~edgy? Bloated role of Mycroft and this lame Holmes family psychological drama? Moffat and Gatiss just disappeared in their own asses and ruined the show .
As for comments it seems both Freeman and BC are fed up with the show and each other.
Think they were both well and truly over it. Love them both as actors. Martin and most of the main cast were well established actors when it started. Rupert Graves was gorgeous when he was younger. Sherlock got a bit ridiculous, but still watched for the actors.
Graves is still a good looking man but yes, he was absolutely lovely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxMJyFAuJlU That’s Daniel Day Lewis scurrying out of the room.
The whole main team of Sherlock is not pleasant tbh. Cumberbatch is a snob and made some ableist shitty remarks, plus he is thirsty af to be HW star and he’s ready to bite his own ass to achieve it. Freeman made stupid and rude jokes and comments. Moffat is sexist, Gatiss is actually racist and bitchy (his hissy fit over Sherlock’s ratings going down after Season 4 was something).
Not knowing everything and screwing up ≠shitty people only. Call them out of course but if you look back through a ton of interviews, you’ll find flubs from most people. If you don’t, they’re probably PR script all the way and you may be getting a Kevin Spacey, who always said the right things.