Benedict Cumberbatch shared life advice with teenage singer Sophia Grace in a wide-spanning chat that ran the gamut on everything from how to deal with bullies, to brushing your teeth and celebrating your birthday.
The 41-year-old actor sat down with the 14-year-old YouTube personality, who had various topics written on flash cards to present the A-list actor with.
The Doctor Strange star handled a question about how to deal with bullies with seriousness and sensitivity, calling it ‘a really, really difficult topic’ to talk about.
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Interesting: Benedict Cumberbatch, 41, shared life advice with teenage singer Sophia Grace, 14, in a wide-spanning chat on her YouTube page
‘As hard as it may seem, you have to meet it with love,’ the London native said. ‘You have to try and empathize with the hate – not hate yourself – but understand why people often want to damage other people is because they’re damaged themselves.
‘And if you could just turn that mirror around a little bit on them it might cause it to quell it slightly.’
The veteran entertainer stressed that those who have to deal with bullies should remember the inherent motives of the bully before taking it personally.
‘And to stand on your own two feet, to have your own self worth unaffected by bullies,’ Cumberbatch said. ‘They don’t really know the real you, they just want to get at something to feel better about themselves.
Good advice: The accomplished performer sounded off on a number of subjects
Lots of laughs: Lighter topics in the chat included teeth brushing and birthdays
Prepared: Grace had plenty of topics to discuss written on flash cards
‘The strongest advice is, and this is really tough, is not to take it personally, to realize it’s not really about you – it’s about them.’
He noted: ‘Online bullying, as well, is really tough, that’s a whole thing I didn’t have at all [when I was younger,] I don’t know how you guys deal with that.’
The Academy Award-nominated actor was asked to give his advice on girls, and said the key traits to remember are respect and equality, calling them ‘the central tenets of feminism.’
Believe in yourself: Benedict said that those who deal with bullies should not take it personally
And many more: The Doctor Strange actor advised people to enjoy celebrating their birthdays and not worry about aging
On a lighter note, Cumberbatch said that birthdays are a time for partying, not ruminating about one’s age.
‘Go for it, celebrate the hell out of them!’ he said. ‘Don’t go, “I’m getting old … [go] c’mon, yeah it’s my birthday! This is great!”‘
Cumberbatch appears in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, which comes out April 27.
Breakout star: The teen singer has nearly 3 million followers on YouTube