Benedict Cumberbatch reveals he was KIDNAPPED while on location in South Africa: 'It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary'
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Benedict Cumberbatch is opening up about a terrifying experience that helped shape his life in an unusual way over 20 years ago. The 48-year-old actor was in his 20s when he was on the set of the 2004 BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth in South Africa.
![[The 48-year-old actor was in his 20s when he was on the set of the 2004 BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth in South Africa]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/01/94416233-14315459-image-a-2_1737594831600.jpg)
He was on a driving excursion with some friends during his downtime when the car they were in got a flat tire. While they were on the side of the road, they were robbed and abducted by six men and forced into a car. They were driven around in the car for hours before being let out and ordered to sit execution style before the abductors fled.
![['It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one. It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience,' he said]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/01/94415281-14315459-image-a-3_1737595144630.jpg)
Although the actor and his friends were not physically harmed, it changed him irrevocably, he revealed in a new Variety interview where he also opened up about his worries about aging. Benedict Cumberbatch is opening up about a terrifying experience that helped shape his life in an unusual way over 20 years ago.
![[The experience turned him into an 'adrenaline junkie' who used to unwind by going skydiving and participating in extreme sports.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/01/94416225-14315459-image-a-4_1737595167638.jpg)
The 48-year-old actor was in his 20s when he was on the set of the 2004 BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth in South Africa. 'It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one. It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience,' he said.
![['I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks. But apart from my parents, I didn’t have any real dependents at that point,' he admitted]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/01/94415283-14315459-image-a-5_1737595187318.jpg)
The experience turned him into an 'adrenaline junkie' who used to unwind by going skydiving and participating in extreme sports. 'The near-death stuff turbo-fueled all that. It made me go, "Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment,"' Cumberbatch admitted.
