Benedict Cumberbatch once punched a journalist to defend Keira Knightley
When he's not photobombing U2 and playing Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch is attacking the media for overstepping their bounds.
In the July issue of Elle UK, cover star Keira Knightley reveals that Cumberbatch once punched a British journalist in her defense. The reporter, film critic Mark Kermode, apparently called the actress "IKEA Knightley" because "her acting was so wooden." Cumberbatch, a friend of Knightley's, didn't appreciate the attack and gave Kermode a (lighthearted) punch on the arm.
"When I saw him again, I said, 'Did you punch a journalist?' and he was like, 'I f---king did,'" Knightley told the magazine. "Everybody needs a friend like that."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This November, Knightley and Cumberbatch's relationship will extend to the professional realm: They're costarring in The Imitation Game, in which Cumberbatch plays famed mathematician and cryptoanalyst Alan Turing, and Knightley plays his ex-fiancée, Joan Clarke.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
How are ICE’s recruitment woes complicating Trump’s immigration agenda?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Lowered training standards and ‘athletically allergic’ hopefuls are getting in the way of the White House plan to turn the Department of Homeland Security into a federal police force
-
What is a bubble? Understanding the financial term.the explainer An AI bubble burst could be looming
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
