Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch have spent the best part of the last year swearing, shouting and sneering at each other in their latest roles as Ivy and Theo Rose, a wealthy couple going through a marriage breakdown and bitter divorce battle. Despite their characters’ animosity, the actors are close friends, having met decades ago in a radio recording studio.
They recently attended the premiere of their film, The Roses, and the morning after, they sat down to discuss their experience working together. Colman thanked Cumberbatch for his support the night before, admitting she hates events and parties. Cumberbatch agreed that these events can be challenging, but they both tried to enjoy it and find the fun in it.
The film is an adaptation of the 1989 film The War of the Roses, directed by Danny DeVito and starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. In this new version, the sour marital conflict has been transported into a glossy but volatile world of modern ambition. Colman plays a high-flying chef, while Cumberbatch plays an architect whose career collapses at the same time as his wife’s career skyrockets.
The actors are both happily married in real life, with Colman married to producer Ed Sinclair and Cumberbatch married to playwright and director Sophie Hunter. When asked about the secret to a successful marriage, Cumberbatch said it’s essential to keep the conversation going, be tolerant and understanding, and never stop working at it. Colman added that she makes sure to appreciate her husband and check in on each other.
The film explores what happens when work, ambition, and family life collide. Both actors admit it’s taken time to work at balancing career pressures and family life. Colman said she feels guilty for missing key moments in her children’s lives because she’s working, and she tries to be home every night. Cumberbatch agreed, saying the British industry is flying, and a lot of work comes to the UK.
The pair also discussed their upcoming projects, with Cumberbatch reprising his role as Doctor Strange in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. Colman has previously appeared in the Disney+ TV series Secret Invasion, and there was a hint that she might be involved in the new Avengers film, but it was left unclear.
The film has received praise from critics, with The Independent calling it “relentlessly entertaining” and The Telegraph saying Colman and Cumberbatch are “deliciously savage.” However, The Guardian said the actors were “let down by the overly glossy romcom-y sheen.”
Despite the mixed reviews, the actors are excited to discuss what they might do together next. Cumberbatch wants to do a play like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf or Much Ado About Nothing, but Colman is hesitant, saying she can’t hold a whole play in her head anymore. Nevertheless, it seems certain that this isn’t the last time they will be co-stars.
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