'We have to show the world that we're better than the thing that's trying to terrorize us,' the 'Sherlock' star said at TIFF about the U.S. military prison in Cuba.
Macdonald’s political thriller follows the 14-year detainment of Slahi at Guantanamo Bay and also starred Jodie Foster and Tahar Rahim.
Cumberbatch said he was aware his comments about Guantanamo Bay were coming in the immediate wake of the 20th anniversary remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “I understood where the need to find results and to prevent a second attack, which was much feared,” he added. But Cumberbatch insisted Slahi’s fight for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. government indicates he was wrongly and unjustly prosecuted and imprisoned. “Especially with Mohamedou, it was the wrong answer they were trying to get, it was the wrong person,” he insisted.
The role of Colonel Couch got Cumberbatch into the head of an American military prosecutor who was willing to speak truth to power as the tragedy of 9/11 produced a rough justice unmoored from any acceptable standards of due process. “He [Couch] couldn’t have been more perfectly positioned to prosecute Mohamedou, and yet, he saw the injustice of that,” the veteran Hollywood actor added.
Cumberbatch is in Toronto to see two of his latest movies — Jane Campion’s ‘The Power of the Dog’ and Will Sharpe’s ‘The Electrical Life of Louis Wain’ — screen at the festival. He will also receive the TIFF Tribute Actor Award during the 46th edition of TIFF.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
20 Movies We Can't Wait to See at Toronto 2021From an Afro-experimental musical to an Alanis Morissette doc to Benedict Cumberbatch playing a 19th-century cat lover — our picks for what to catch at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival…
Read more »
Why There Hasn’t Been Another 9/11Essay: For 20 years since 9/11, the U.S. has staved off any comparable attack on its homeland. Will its counterterrorism measures hold for the future, too?
Read more »
At Guantanamo Bay, trial for alleged 9/11 terrorists brings some solace to victims' families 20 years laterAt Guantanamo Bay, trial for alleged 9/11 terrorists brings some solace to victims' families 20 years later.
Read more »
T-Pain Claims Kanye West Advised Him to Nix a 'Corny' Lyric, Then Used It on His Own AlbumIn a recent Twitch session, T-Pain revealed that he once shared a line with Kanye West and was shut down, only to hear it surface on 'Ye's next album.
Read more »
US shoots down Iranian drones attacking airport in Iraq: officialsU.S. forces shot down a pair of Iranian drones that attacked the Irbil airport in Kurdish-held northern Iraq late on 20th anniversary of Sept. 11.
Read more »
Wall Street shares down as inflation worry offsets U.S.-China optimismWASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) -Wall Street main indexes finished lower on Friday after data showing persistent U.S. inflation offset expectations of an easing in U.S.-China tensions after a call between President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping. U.S. producer prices increased solidly in August, indicating that high inflation is likely to persist for a while, with supply chains remaining tight as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on. 'Headlines reflecting the highest annual producer price increases in decades won’t give those worried about inflation much comfort, but the smaller month-over-month increase and recent evidence indicating supply chain bottlenecks are no longer intensifying suggest a peak in producer inflation may be near,' said Marc Zabicki, director of research for LPL Financial.
Read more »