Benedict Cumberbatch recounts robbery and abduction terror

Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed that he was the victim of a robbery and abduction.

"It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one," Cumberbatch told Variety in a profile piece published this week.

"It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I'm still dealing with that impatience."

The Sherlock Holmes star - then in his early 20s - was filming the BBC's To The Ends of the Earth in South Africa in 2004 when he went on a diving excursion with a group of friends. A tyre blew out on the way home, leading the group to pull over to the side of the road.

They were then allegedly robbed and abducted by six men. According to Variety, Cumberbatch and his acquaintances were forced into a vehicle and driven around for hours.

The suspects eventually let the group out of the car, making them sit execution-style with their hands tied. The group was still seated as the assailants fled.

"The near-death stuff... it made me go, 'Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment,'" he recalled.

"I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks. But apart from my parents, I didn't have any real dependents at that point. Now that's changed, and that sobers you."

Cumberbatch is married to Sophie Hunter and they have three sons.