One of Hollywood’s most infamous characters, Benedict Cumberbatch, is set to play Greville Wynne in an historical adaptation of one of the Cold War’s least likely heroes. Ironbark tells the tale of a salesman turned spy, and it’ll be available to the public at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in Park City on January 24.
Cumberbatch, most widely known for his roles as the Grinch, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Stephen Strange, and Alan Turing, morphs into Greville Wynne for his upcoming film. Explaining the character to EW, he said, “This is a story of a very average hero.” He continues, “He was just a charming Welshman with the gift of the gab.”
His heroism is interesting because it is so mundane. Cumberbatch explains, “He literally goes from being a rather charming businessman heading towards retirement, with a good sense of humor and a jolly manner, to being someone who is basically secreting Minox film cartridges about his case as he tos-and-fros to Moscow under the guise of being part of a British delegation of trade.”
He continues, turning his attention to the current political climate, “It’s a window into a world that’s not that far from our own, sadly, now, again, as far as how things heat up so quickly in politics and on the global stage. I think we forget how close we came to not existing anymore [after the Cuban Missle Crisis].”
Cumberbatch hopes this film will encourage ordinary people to do extraordinary things. He said, “It is possible for us to be ordinary people that are capable of doing extraordinary things when the time comes, when the questions are asked. I think that’s what it is – it’s quiet heroics in a very loud world.”