Benedict Cumberbatch on Straight Actors Playing Gay in ‘Power of the Dog’: ‘It Wasn’t Done Without Thought’

Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee are ready to have the hard conversations about “The Power of the Dog.”Jane Campion’s evocative Western, which premiered to great acclaim in Venice and launched its cast into the Oscar race, brings a radical new perspective to its late-1920s backdrop.

The adaptation of Thomas Savage’s novel finds Cumberbatch playing ruthless Montana cattle rancher Phil, who projects a crude, macho presence even as he develops unexpected chemistry with Peter (Smit-McPhee), the son of a widow (Kirsten Dunst) who moves onto the ranch after she marries Cumberbatch’s brother (Jesse Plemons).“I feel very sensitive about representation, diversity, and inclusion,” Cumberbatch said in an interview out of the Telluride Film Festival, where he arrived from Venice.

“One of the appeals of the job was the idea that in this world, with this specific character, there was a lot that was private, hidden from view.

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