Benedict Cumberbatch Wants To Put An End To Toxic Masculinity: ‘We Just Have To Shut Up And Listen’

While promoting his new film, The Power of the Dog, which grapples with a main character who apparently embodies the term “toxic masculinity,” Benedict Cumberbatch challenged men to “shut up and listen” when it comes to criticism of their gender. Cumberbatch made the remarks in a new interview, in which he essentially said that men need to stop pushing back when their masculinity is questioned and reflect on how they act.

“[There’s] this denial, this sort of childish defensive position of ‘not all men are bad.’ But, no, we just have to shut up and listen,” Cumberbatch said. “We need to fix the behavior of men. You have to kind of lift the lid on the engine a little bit.”

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Cumberbatch expanded on his thoughts by tying the abusive nature of toxic masculinity to his role as a ruthless rancher in The Power of the Dog. Via Sky TV:

“There is not enough recognition of abuse, there’s not enough recognition of disadvantages and, at the same time, somewhere along the line – maybe not now, but somewhere along the line – we need to do maybe what the film does as well, which is examine the reason behind the oppressive behaviour.”

The actor also praised director Jane Campion (The Piano) for using her artistic talents to shed light on the subject of men’s toxic behavior, and Cumberbatch feels the problem won’t get better until we see more equality.

“Until there is equal pay, a place at the table, equality across the board of every kind, we still have to have that conversation,” Cumberbatch said.