Actor Benedict Cumberbatch recently offered his perspective on Hollywood’s environmentally unsustainable practices. Speaking candidly on the Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast, he addressed the behind-the-scenes excess that often goes unnoticed by the public.
“It’s a grossly wasteful industry,” he stated frankly, urging studios and productions to take their carbon footprints more seriously.
“It just slowly, slowly, you have to meet people where they are on these issues in filmmaking,” he explained, emphasizing the need for gradual yet consistent change. “So let me think about set builds that aren’t recycled, think about transport, think about food, think about housing but also light and energy.”
“I try to push the green initiative, the green handshake into every agreement I can,” he shared, making it clear that his commitment extends beyond mere talk to concrete action.
He went on to assert that some solutions are readily apparent. “Whether it’s just a gentlemanly discussion about: ‘Can we not have any single-use plastic?’ Really, I think we’re beyond [that],” he said pointedly.
He concluded by declaring, “You don’t have to give the crew plastic bottles. If you’re in the middle of a desert and you can’t get glass bottles there, fair enough, but we’re in the 21st century.”
