Benedict Cumberbatch Jokes About Being ‘Beat By Will Smith’ at Oscars in ‘Saturday Night Live’ Monologue
08.05.2022 - 16:57
/ usmagazine.com
Looking back. During Benedict Cumberbatch’s second stint as the host of Saturday Night Live, he couldn’t help but marvel over his career progress — and being in the Dolby Theatre when Will Smith’s Oscars drama went down.
“I am thrilled to be back hosting Saturday Night Live. It’s been a really fun, great week,” the England native, 45, quipped in his Saturday, May 7, monologue. “I’ve got to be honest though because most of the sketch writers this week, they pitched me sketches every day, and most were about Doctor Strange. It’s great. I love the guy. I love playing the character. The film’s doing really well—but I have been in other films.”
The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star joked that others rarely asked him about the other projects he’s worked on, including Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog which earned 12 Academy Award nominations earlier this year.
“I said, ‘Come on, man. I was nominated for an Oscar for that,’” Cumberbatch recalled telling show producer Lorne Michaels about the 2021 film. “I mean, I didn’t win. I was beat by Will Smith. No, not physically!”
While the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum, 53, ended up taking home the coveted Best Actor in a Leading Role trophy at the 94th annual Academy Awards, his altercation with Chris Rock took over the show.
The 57-year-old Grown Ups actor, for his part, joked during the broadcast that Jada Pinkett Smith —who wed the Philadelphia native in 1997 — could star in a potential G.I. Jane sequel due to her shaved head. (Pinkett Smith has been candid about her struggles with alopecia and hair loss.) While the Maryland native, 50, subtly rolled her eyes at Rock’s remark, Smith walked on stage and slapped him across his face.
“Keep my wife’s name out your f—king