Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy probably aren't the first celebrities you think of when it comes to a film involving cats. But the British actors pipped the likes of Thomas O’Malley and Snagglepuss to the scratching post to star in an upcoming, cat-related comedy-drama that's sure to make you laugh and cry in equal measure.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain explores the widely eccentric British artist Louis Wain (Cumberbatch), who became famous for his psychedelic pictures of felines in the early 19th century. In the film (which also stars Aimee Lou Wood, Andrea Riseborough, Nick Cave and Taika Waititi) Cumberbatch and Foy’s characters enjoy a romance worthy of a Nicholas Sparks novel, but in real life they’re firm friends and an absolute hoot, if we say so ourselves.
Ahead of the release of their new film, which is out now, the actors joined ELLE UK for a game of 'Knowing Me Knowing You' so we could grill them to find out just how much they know about their co-stars.
During the interview, Foy revealed to Cumberbatch that she had a fig tree named after her The Crown co-star Matt Smith, but during the game, the pair couldn’t quite figure out whose other half had stolen toilet roll from Buckingham Palace.
‘I don’t know that Sophie [Hunter] has… has she?’ asked Cumberbatch, wondering whether his own wife had nabbed a roll from the Palace.
‘She doesn’t seem like a thief to me,’ responded Foy, before the Doctor Strange actor sweetly added: ‘Well, she stole my heart….’
Of course, it was the pair's co-star Olivia Colman whose husband Ed Sinclair stole a royal roll of loo paper. In 2019 the actor, who played the Queen after Foy in season three and four of The Crown, told the Sunday Times: ‘My husband stole some loo roll just to say we got it from Buckingham Palace.’
As for what skills they’ve picked up over the years in their careers, Cumberbatch said that playing the banjo and violin for roles has been tricky, while Foy admitted that she’s always found riding a horse ‘really difficult’, much to Cumberbatch’s shock as he had been of the belief that she’d performed her own riding 'stunts' in The Crown.
‘I didn’t do it once, I refused to get on a horse… course it wasn’t me,’ she told her co-star.
‘Vanessa Kirby rode as a child and looked extraordinary on a horse whereas I was like “I couldn’t sell it guys”. And I would’ve had to do it for nine years. And even then, I can’t command the animal.’
Later in the interview, Foy confessed to having an ‘encyclopaedic knowledge’ of Harry Potter and a desire to star in the franchise, but was flabbergasted to learn that her co-star Toby Jones had voiced the character of the house elf, Dobby (wait until you watch their Dobby impressions).
From opening up about what items they’ve stolen from sets (Marvel Fans, watch out for the sling ring mention), to how Cumberbatch’s Oscars photobomb came about (hint: it involves vodka), Foy and Cumberbatch certainly make a fierce twosome when playing a quiz about their The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain co-stars.
Watch Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy play Knowing Me Knowing You in the video at the top of this article.
The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain is out in cinemas now.
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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
