Nobody wants to judge Julian at the presser for The Fifth Estate

The press gallery really, really wants Benedict Cumberbatch to commit to a position on Julian Assange’s character. After fielding a series of pointed questions at the red carpet premiere of The Fifth Estate last night, the star of the Assange biopic remained equivocal in his response to the same series of queries today. “As an actor approaching a role, you have to find a level of empathy and understanding in your character,” said Cumberbatch. “To go into this realm of ‘Is he thumbs up, thumbs down? I find that so limiting. As an actor, I want to find out what motivates them, what’s human about them.” Cumberbatch also underlined the fact that he’s not actually Assange—he’s an actor, okay—and a computer illiterate one at that. It’s only been 12 hours, and frankly, we’re already bored with this dynamic. More Michael Fassbender on the dance floor and less judging Julian, please.