Benedict Cumberbatch responds after Sam Elliott calls The Power of the Dog a ‘piece of s***’

Benedict Cumberbatch has responded to comments made by Sam Elliott calling The Power of the Dog a “piece of s***”.

The Sherlock actor stars in Jane Campion’s Western drama as Phil Burbank, a volatile cowboy who struggles with his sexuality.

Appearing on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast last week, Elliott ​​said he took the film’s portrayal of the American west as “f***ing personal”.

“They’re running around in chaps and no shirts,” he said. “There’s all these allusions of homosexuality throughout the movie.”

Speaking at a Bafta Film event on Friday (4 March), Cumberbatch was asked about the importance of exploring a character like Phil and his toxic masculinity on screen.

Alluding to Elliott’s comments, he added that he was “trying very hard not to say anything about a very odd reaction” made on a recent podcast.

“Without meaning to stir over the ashes of that… someone really took offence to – I haven’t heard it so it’s unfair for me to comment in detail on it – to the West being portrayed in this way,” he said (per Digital Spy).

“These people still exist in our world. Whether it’s on our doorstep or whether it’s down the road or whether it’s someone we meet in a bar or pub or on the sports field, there is aggression and anger and frustration and an inability to control or know who you are in that moment that causes damage to that person and, as we know, damage to those around them.”

Cumberbatch added that there was “no harm” in “looking at a character to get to the root causes of that”.

“This is a very specific case of repression,” he continued, “but also due to an intolerance for that true identity that Phil is that he can’t fully be.

“The more we look under the hood of toxic masculinity and try to discover the root causes of it, the bigger chances we have of dealing with it when it arises with our children.”

The Power of the Dog is one of the frontrunners at this year’s Academy Awards, with 12 nominations.

You can read The Independent’s four-star review of The Power of the Dog here.