How Benedict Cumberbatch Learned to Freedive for Jaeger-LeCoultre’s New Short Film

As an actor, Benedict Cumberbatch is no stranger to finding himself in uncharted territory, but when the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand ambassador went to Rakino Island, New Zealand to film with the brand for their new Polaris Memovox watches he found himself a little bit out of his depth.

“I think there was something lost in translation when I said [to Jaeger-LeCoultre] that I love diving and want to do something in nature. I was thinking scuba diving, which I have done a bit of,” said Cumberbatch at a conference for select international press last month. What he didn’t expect to find himself doing was freediving. Despite being an avid meditation enthusiast and practicer of the Win Hof breathing method, prior to the experience, Cumberbatch said the closest he had gotten to free diving was holding his breath in a pool, while an Italian friend of his, who is a fan of the sport, recounted stories about freediving in the open ocean.

“Even with all the noise of making a film, the calm you see me in and the breathing where I’m beginning to get into the state of lung capacity with oxygen going to the blood and the stuff in the water was real,” said Cumberbatch. “It was very easy to go into that bubble, which is very important to do as an actor as well—to be able to just switch off and focus on the present. So, I think I’m going to keep doing it.”

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