Benedict Cumberbatch plays a drug addict in new drama Patrick Melrose
The actor says it took a lot of rehearsing to play the cocaine an heroine addict
Whisper this around Sherlock fans, but the sleuth may no longer be Benedict Cumberbatch’s best TV role.
The actor is masterful in a new five-part drama adapted from the Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St Aubyn, playing the title role of hedonistic British aristocrat Patrick – in Benedict’s own words, “a narcissistic, suicidal alcoholic”.
And it’s no surprise he’s so good, as it’s the character he’d dreamt of playing.
“I’d read the books and when I was asked: ‘What roles do you want to play?’ on [website] Reddit, I said Hamlet and that I’d really like to be a part of, if not star in, these novels,” explains Benedict, 41.
“This got back to the producers. It was the first time I’d ever put a stone in the pond to see where the ripple went, but I wasn’t actually fishing.
“I was told that they wanted to meet me, so I manically reread the books and didn’t get much sleep before I saw them.
"I thought this was about me trying to win the part and I was terrified and nervous, but really they were pitching it to me.”
Each episode is based on one of the semi-autobiographical books, and the series time-jumps between Melrose’s horrific childhood in the South of France in the 1960s, his twenties in New York and his later recovery at home in Britain.
It opens in 1982 (with the second book, Bad News), as Melrose learns his father is dead and celebrates, given that he was sexually and mentally abused by him as a young boy.
He toasts the event – and indeed fuels his entire existence – by injecting himself with heroin and cocaine.
Although cleverly scripted, well-produced and, at times, very funny, this is also a dark, harrowing drama with explicit scenes of drug use.
“Melrose is in the grip of cocaine and heroin addiction,” explains Benedict.
“Whether it’s shooting up or snorting, I felt I had to get it right, but those substances have huge effects on your body as well as your psychology – so how to portray that when you’ve not done them…
"I had to just keep working on it and rehearsing it.
“Any actor reading these books would say: ‘What amazing source material to play.’
"It’s 55 years of a man’s life, a sort of universal tale of parenting, abuse, addiction, recovery and salvation – and it’s blisteringly funny.
"I always try to leave my work at work when I close the door at home, but this was a brilliant journey to go on.”
Patrick Melrose, Sunday, 9pm, Sky Atlantic & Now TV
Don't know what to watch tonight? Get your daily guide to What's On TV from The Sun Online