Benedict Cumberbatch shares terrifying abduction experience overseas

Benedict Cumberbatch recounted a terrifying experience of abduction in the early 2000s and how it changed his perspective on life.

In a recent chat with Variety, the 48-year-old actor looked back on his abduction in 2004, while he was in the country for the filming of the BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth.

“It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one,” Cumberbatch told the outlet. “It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience.”

According to the outlet, the actor went out on an outing with his friends, and on their way back they faced a tire blowout. while being stuck in the middle of nowhere they all were abducted by six men, who stole their things, drove them tirelessly, and left them all tied up before fleeing.

Cumberbatch told the publisher that his "near-death” experience "turbo-fueled" his will to be involved in activities and hobbies that are filled with adrenaline rush such as skydiving.

"It made me go, ‘Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment,' " he noted. "I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks."

However, his approach has shifted since becoming a husband and a father.

"But apart from my parents, I didn’t have any real dependents at that point. Now that’s changed, and that sobers you," the father of three sons noted.

"I’ve looked over the edge; it’s made me comfortable with what lies beneath it. And I’ve accepted that that’s the end of all our stories," Cumberbatch added.