Monday, April 4, 2016

Our "Strange" Encounter With Benedict Cumberbatch


Photo By: Z. Lee My name is Rene Rosa and I'm one of the managers over at JHU Comic Books in Manhattan. I've had my fair share of cool run-ins, celebrity encounters and fanboy dream moments, but nothing prepared me for what happened on April 4th, 2016.

Dr. Strange was filming on 32nd street, just mere feet away from our store's door, and as I was working, my friend Z. Lee came by. (He's the one that took the pictures you've been seeing all over the net.")

Well, during the day, the crew came in to check out the place because they were shocked to see a comic book store where they were filming. The bulk of the crew is based out of the UK and there are very few comic book stores there. They apologized a bunch of times about how the street was going to be mostly closed down for the bulk of the day for shooting and many of them came in to buy stuff. Seriously, these guys were incredibly nice and considerate. Then, at one point, one of the producers joked about how great it would be to have Benedict come into the store in costume. Of course, I didn't know he was one of the producers, at the time. I told him that if he did, I would lose my damn mind.

Photo By: Rene Rosa

It started to get really cold so many more of them started coming in and I told the PA that if ANYONE on the crew needed to use the bathroom, our door was open to them. A couple of hours later and in walks Dr. Strange.

Everyone there was excited, laughing and couldn't believe it. Benedict Cumberbatch was incredibly nice, gracious and he and I went back and forth with some banter for a little bit before he had to go right back out and shoot more scenes. He didn't have time to do much more than shake hands, talk and take a few pictures, but we totally understood that and were lucky just to have him in! Z. decided a comparison picture was in order and handed him "The Oath." I was able to get my picture with him and then he had to go. The whole thing lasted no more than a few minutes, but luckily we were able to get some pictures of it and the very few of us that were there have some unforgettable memories.


Photo By: Z. Lee
I don't usually get star-struck, but it's a different situation when one of the best actors of our time is standing before you in full costume, in your store, while filming the big-budget movie of a character you've loved since you were a small child. I felt like a 5 year-old.


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