Benedict Cumberbatch shares what Meryl Streep taught him about acting

Benedict Cumberbatch is known for many roles, including Doctor Strange in the currently world-dominant Spider-Man: No Way Home, but his small role in 2013's August: Osage County holds a special place in his heart.

"Some of the greatest acting lessons I learned from Meryl Streep," Cumberbatch, 45, told Penelope Cruz for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series. "I had a small part in August: Osage County. I’d already done some bigger stuff by then, but it didn’t matter. To me, this was it. To be in a company like that was extraordinary. I watched in that dinner table scene where Meryl’s character is battling with grief, drug addiction, drunkenness and a family secret. To watch her play with the full orchestra of her ability, every single take was completely different."

"I was on a balcony having a cigarette with her," the one-time Oscar nominee continued. "She smokes, folks. I used to, but I'm sure she doesn't anymore. Anyway, the point is, we were having a cigarette and chatting, and I went, 'Do you have a singular way of approaching things?' She went, 'Oh, no. I don’t have a method. It’s different every time. Isn’t it for you?' And I went, 'Yeah, and I’m getting nervous that I don’t have armor to fall back on.' But every job is different. Every director, every demand, every person you work with in front of the camera and behind, it’s different."

It's that Cumberbatch would share this anecdote with Cruz, who recently gushed about how much she idolizes Streep: