You’d think that a pale, wan, posh Englishman named Benedict Cumberbatch would never be some muscled-up action star. But our Bendy is a man of many talents. Back when he was preparing to play (spoiler?) Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness, Benedict borrowed Tom Hardy’s trainer and he ended up bulking up significantly in all the right areas. He just seemed bigger overall, stronger, harder, and more like the kind of dude who could take people down. People forget that Benedict looked like that because he immediately had to go on a diet and lose weight to play Sherlock Holmes again. And now guess what? He’s going to spend the summer playing pale, wan Hamlet and then he’ll have to haul ass and bulk up to play Doctor Strange:

Benedict Cumberbatch is currently busy preparing for his next big movie project, which will see the ‘Sherlock’ star take on the lead role in Marvel’s ‘Dr Strange’ film. As well as the usual task of learning lines, Benedict has the added job of bulking up as, according to reports, he’ll be hitting the gym constantly during the next few months to ensure he has a buff bod.

An insider tells the Sun: “Dr Strange was always muscly in the cartoons so Benedict has to look the part when they start filming in the autumn. Skinny Sherlock Holmes will be the last thing anyone thinks about.”

The paper adds that the ‘Imitation Game’ actor is having sessions with a personal trainer and eating twice as many calories in a bid to add some muscle to his frame.

[From HuffPo]

So there’s a chance that Benedict is going to prepare his body for Doctor Strange while he’s starring in Hamlet. So his Hamlet might be beefy and pumped up. That’s not the traditional characterization of Hamlet, but it might work for Bendy’s Hamlet. Besides, it’s not like there would be protests in the street if Bendy’s Hamlet was muscled-up and shirtless in a few scenes.

Photos courtesy of WENN.