Comic-Con 2014: Sherlock questions banned as Benedict Cumberbatch fans dominate Penguins of Madagascar panel
The British actor was making his debut appearance at the San Diego event
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Your support makes all the difference.Benedict Cumberbatch's debut appearance at Comic-Con was never going to be a quiet, sedated affair.
Fans camped overnight at the San Diego event in an effort to up their chances of meeting the Sherlock star.
But Cumberbatch, 38, was not there to promote the BBC detective drama. Instead, he was supporting DreamWorks’ Penguins of Madagascar, in which he voices a “super duper smooth” wolf named Agent Classified.
The British actor arrival for Thursday morning’s panel prompted moderator Craig Ferguson to warn the crowd, “If anyone mentions the ‘S’ word, Comic-Con will be cancelled”.
Yet, while questions were kept firmly Penguins-centred much to some fans’ disappointment, Cumberbatch still manage to get the crowd laughing. He was also trending on Twitter within minutes of being introduced on stage.
When asked how he prepared for his role, he replied: “You have to work undercover for a long time. I worked at Yellowstone National Park as a wolf for a while. About a month into it I realised that two other wolves were Christian Bale and Daniel Day-Lewis.”
The movie itself, about a quartet of witty penguins, received a warm response from the hall, but one fan could not resist breaking the rules and asking whether Cumberbatch would be back for Sherlock next year. “Aw, yeah,” he said, prompting huge cheers.
Another admitted that she was “gonna try not to cry” while putting her question to the actor, to which Cumberbatch replied smoothly, “We’ll all try together”.
Despite being rumoured for a part in Marvel’s forthcoming Doctor Strange, Cumberbatch said Batman was the comic book character he would most like to play. Fans can expect to hear more from Marvel at their presentation on Saturday.
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