Benedict Cumberbatch says he regrets his controversial role in Ben Stiller's Zoolander 2 where he played a non-binary fashion model

Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed helium regrets his arguable relation successful Ben Stiller's Zoolander 2 wherever helium played a non-binary manner model.

The histrion played a non-binary manner exemplary named All successful the drama sequel, which was an infamous container bureau flop successful 2016 with conscionable £23 cardinal astatine the container office.

Speaking to Variety, the Sherlock Holmes actor, 48, said astir the role: 'I've had to apologise for that rather a lot.

'It's a hard 1 to speech about. I emotion that radical of radical and it was the accidental to benignant of beryllium portion of thing that the archetypal clip astir was iconic and I was a immense instrumentality of.

'But it got analyzable and it got misunderstood and I upset people.

'I respect that, truthful I astir apt wouldn't bash that again now.'

His relation successful Zoolander 2 drew backlash from the get-go erstwhile the film's archetypal trailer was released.

LGBTQ activists urged moviegoers not to spot the movie due to the fact that of Cumberbatch's casting, with 1 online petition calling for a Zoolander 2 boycott.

During his country Cumberbatch wears a fur overgarment with a achromatic agelong wig.

'Are you similar a antheral exemplary oregon a pistillate model?' Stiller's Derek Zoolander asks All.

'All is not defined by binary constructs', replies Cumberbatch.

Owen Wilson's quality Hansel past attempts to get a clearer answer.

'What I deliberation he's asking is bash you person a blistery canine oregon a bun?' helium asks.

'All is All,' replies Cumberbatch.

The movie revolved astir the washed-out Derek Zoolander and Hansel McDonald rejoining the satellite of precocious manner to way down the idiosyncratic assassinating the world's astir beauteous people.

The sequel to the beloved 2001 movie starred Stiller and Wilson, arsenic good arsenic Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell, with appearances by Joe Jonas and Justin Bieber among galore prima cameos.

Cumberbatch admitted successful 2022 to his Zoolander 2 co-star Penelope Cruz successful Variety's Actors connected Actors interrogation that 'there was a batch of contention astir the role, understandably now.'

'In this era, my relation would ne'er beryllium performed by anybody different than a trans actor,' helium said.

'But I retrieve astatine the clip not reasoning of it needfully successful that regard, and it being much astir 2 dinosaurs, 2 heteronormative clichés not knowing this caller divers world. But it backfired a small bit.'

Ben Stiller, 59, has besides admitted successful past interviews that Zoolander 2 performing severely astatine the container bureau was 'not a large experience,' and helium said connected David Duchovny's Fail Better podcast past twelvemonth that helium was blindsided by the disastrous results.

He said: ''I thought everybody wanted this. And past it's like, "Wow, I indispensable person truly f***ed this up". Everybody didn't spell to it. And it's gotten these horrible reviews'.

He said the film's nonaccomplishment 'really freaked maine retired due to the fact that I was like, "I didn't know. Was that bad?"'. 

'What frightened maine the astir connected that 1 was I'm losing what I deliberation what's funny, the questioning yourself... connected Zoolander 2, it was decidedly blindsiding to me. And it decidedly affected maine for a agelong time,' helium said. 

The drama made $28.8 cardinal domestically, according to Box Office Mojo, and cleared $56.7 cardinal globally, which conscionable covered the movie's $50 cardinal budget. 

Critics astatine Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 22-percent rating, 2 points higher than the assemblage score.

However, since the rubric of the podcast is Fail Better, the Starsky And Hutch prima said that peculiar occurrence successful his beingness gave him clip to deliberation astir what helium truly wanted to do.

'The fantastic happening that came retired of that for maine was conscionable having abstraction where, if that had been a hit, and they said "Make Zoolander 3 close now," oregon offered immoderate different movie, I would person conscionable astir apt jumped successful and done that,' helium reasoned.

'But I had this abstraction to benignant of beryllium with myself and person to woody with it and different projects that I had been moving connected — not comedies, immoderate of them — I person the clip to really conscionable enactment connected and develop.'