Benedict Cumberbatch is used to playing a superhero on the big screen, but he recently channelled his skills in real-life by reportedly leaping out of a car and stopping a physical attack.
On Friday night, it emerged that the actor, who is famous for playing Doctor Strange and Sherlock Holmes, came to the aid of a Deliveroo rider who was being beaten up by a group of four.
The Sun reports Benedict was in an Uber vehicle on London’s Marylebone High Street with his wife, Sophie Hunter, when they saw the cyclist being hit over the head with a bottle.
The driver of the car, Manuel Dias, told the newspaper that when Benedict initially pulled the attackers away, “they turned towards him and things looked like getting worse, so I joined in”.
“He stood there instructing them in the street, shouting, ‘Leave him alone’,” he continued. “It was only then I recognised Benedict. Then it all got a bit surreal.
“Here was Sherlock Holmes fighting off four attackers just round the corner from Baker Street.
“I had hold of one lad and Benedict another. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He was very brave. He did most of it, to be honest.
Manual added that “Benedict was courageous, brave and selfless”, telling the paper that the cyclist “could have been seriously injured” if he didn’t step in.
The paper does not reveal when the alleged incident took place.
Benedict’s representative declined to comment on the matter.
Having recently reprised his Marvel role for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, Benedict is currently delighting critics as the title character in Sky’s ‘Patrick Melrose’.
Last month, it was announced that he’ll play Vote Leave strategist Dominic Cummings in an upcoming Channel 4 film about the 2016 EU referendum.