The Hits' Jono and Ben chat to Benedict Cumberbatch about his time in NZ. Video / The Hits
Did A-lister Benedict Cumberbatch really steal a bag of Burger Rings from a Hawke's Bay dairy?
Countless Kiwis claim to have sighted him while holidaying in Hawke's Bay, but now the actor has put an end to the shoplifting rumour once and for all.
Speaking with The Hits hosts Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce this morning to promote his new movie Dr Strange: The Multiverse of Madness, the Hollywood star was quizzed on his time in Aotearoa back in 2020.
We all know Cumberbatch is a big fan of our country - as he told the radio hosts, "I've banged on about it enough over the past couple of years, but I just love New Zealand."
But that didn't stop Pryor and Boyce from asking him the hard-hitting questions in the name of investigative journalism.
A man named Dale Mcdonald earlier told Hawke's Bay Today he had seen Cumberbatch at the Camberley dairy and was "pretty sure he shoplifted a bag of Burger Rings."
But when he was asked to confirm the rumour, Cumberbatch's response was one of confusion. He even claimed not to know what Burger Rings were despite their status as one of New Zealand's most iconic chip flavours.
Benedict Cumberbatch has put an end to the shoplifting rumours once and for all. Photo / Getty Images
"That's right. You shoplifted in Hastings. You stole," Pryor said.
But Cumberbatch replied that he had "never been to Hastings ... I think."
He did, however, confirm other sightings, including the fact that he was at a trampoline park in Auckland wearing "luxurious trackpants", went skydiving, and had a steak and cheese pie with a young fan.
Cumberbatch spent several months in New Zealand filming The Power of the Dog with Kiwi director Jane Campion, which has since gone on to win countless awards including the coveted Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
But when lockdown restrictions forced filming to hit pause, Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter and three children decided to spend lockdown in Hawke's Bay.
Ever since a roving Hawke's Bay Today reporter took a look at Cumberbatch's bookshelves back in May 2020 and realised they looked a lot like the ones in a resort in Te Awanga, our inboxes have been overwhelmed by people professing to have seen him during his five-month stay there.
