Benedict Cumberbatch Gives Us a Legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger Impression

Summary

• Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch chat to Collider’s Steve Weintraub ahead of The Roses.
• Colman and Cumberbatch gush over Tony McNamara’s script that melds real drama with absurd, laugh-out-loud comedy.
• The duo tease the movie’s star-studded, explosive dinner scene.

The summer slate of movies has included some of acting’s most high-profile names, from Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby in The Fantastic Four: First Steps to Matt Smith with a mohawk in the brand-new Caught Stealing from director Darren Aronofsky. Now, two of Britain’s best are getting in on the act as the season comes to an end, with the brilliant Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch starring in Austin Powers director Jay Roach‘s The Roses.

Based on the 1981 novel The War of the Roses and following the 1989 comedy of the same name starring Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito, The Roses is one of the comedy highlights of the 2025 summer box office, not least for its incredible cast. Of course, Cumberbatch and Colman are powerhouse enough to lead any movie, but throw into the mix the likes of Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, and Kate McKinnon, and The Roses becomes unmissable.

With The Roses in theaters now, Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with Colman and Cumberbatch about the black comedy. Chatting about everything from the movie’s balance of tone and drama, the film’s most explosive scene, and much more, this interview shouldn’t be missed simply for Cumberbatch’s multiple impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman Name Their Favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie

“I just think they’re all great.”

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH: Is that a Total Recall t-shirt, with Arnie?

COLLIDER: It is, yes.

CUMBERBATCH: [Does a Schwarzenegger impression] When he’s melting in the thing? No? No, too much. Okay, cool.

This interview’s not going to get better than that. I might as well shut it down.

OLIVIA COLMAN: No, I’m with you. I can’t compete.

Andy Samberg does a podcast with the Lonely Island guys and Seth Meyers, and I wore this for Andy because there’s a whole thing of Quaid Army, Righteous Kill. It’s a really good podcast.

COLMAN: He said [Quaid Army] earlier!

CUMBERBATCH: Yes. We need to listen to it.

Did someone say Quaid Army earlier?

COLMAN: Yes, Andy did.

It’s from the podcast, and if you listen it’ll make sense.

COLMAN: I didn’t even know he did a podcast.

CUMBERBATCH: We’re really off-line here.

COLMAN: We’re rubbish.

CUMBERBATCH: I know, we need to do it.

COLMAN: I grow vegetables, and I seem unaware of everything else that happens in the world.

CUMBERBATCH: But I watched Brooklyn thingy…

COLMAN: Oh, I love Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

CUMBERBATCH: And I watched Stath Lets Flats as well, because Jamie Demetriou is brilliant. I hadn’t seen enough of that on the plane on the way over.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of my favorite shows of the last few decades. I think it’s a phenomenal, phenomenal show.

CUMBERBATCH: It is phenomenal.

COLMAN: And when it sort of blended into New Girl.

CUMBERBATCH: Stop, I don’t know that. I don’t know that!

Because I’m wearing the Arnold T-shirt and I want to ask something you haven’t been asked, do each of you have a favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger movie?

COLMAN: Twins with Danny DeVito, to bring it back to The Roses.

CUMBERBATCH: [Schwarzenegger impression] “Get into the chopper! Run!” That’s terrible. It went off. “Get into the chopper, now!” in Predator. I love that moment. It’s famous. It’s wonderful. They’re all great. Kindergarten Cop. “Now we are having fun,” you know, it’s too much. “Tonight is your night, bro.” Twins, I do love Twins. Danny DeVito, The Roses. Yes. Great segue.

COLMAN: And I love it when Danny DeVito asked him if he’s allergic to something, cause of all the muscles he had, all the big bumps all over his body. [Laughs]

The Stars Gush Over ‘The Roses’ Balance of Drama and Comedy

“It’s one of those laugh-out-loud scripts.”

Congratulations on the movie. You guys are both so fantastic in it, which is not really a surprise, because you’re both always so fantastic. Tony’s [McNamara] script is so good, and you guys read a lot of scripts. What was it like actually reading this one for the first time? Because it’s just delicious.

CUMBERBATCH: It was a relief. [Laughs] No, it was an utter, utter joy.

COLMAN: It must be awful being Tony in a way, because everyone expects so much. But we got it, and we went, “Oh, yay!”

CUMBERBATCH: It was a good moment. A really good moment. It’s rare that a script that early on, as well, is that good.

COLMAN: It really didn’t change much, and often they do. They have all sorts of notes come in from all factions. Everyone just went, “I love it.”

CUMBERBATCH: It’s great. Just the balance of tone, the amount of drama in it, the way that the dynamic shifts, and what’s authentic and believable, and true to life, but also absurd and ridiculous and fantastical. He manages to mesh it all into one delicious scoop. It was a pleasure. It’s one of those laugh-out-loud scripts. And the read-through was on Zoom, which is always a killer when you’re not in the room where the atmosphere of the room can be read.

COLMAN: It really worked. And you do like both of them. He’s managed to make us like them both, root for them both, and want to bang their heads together.

CUMBERBATCH: Sort themselves out.

COLMAN: He’s very clever. I think he’ll do very well.

CUMBERBATCH: He’ll be alright.

The Duo Discuss ‘The Roses’ Most Explosive Scene

“It was just a pleasure being in the audience of it for a bit.”

Did you find on set that the crew was picking sides between the two of you?

COLMAN: Well, if they were, they did it quietly.

CUMBERBATCH: I think that’s something that might’ve been talked over at lunch, not that we had very much of a lunch. Lots of rolling days because we wanted to go home. But, no. I don’t think so. There was one moment with Katie.

COLMAN: What?

CUMBERBATCH: Katie from Fox Searchlight said, “Oh, I’m Team Ivy,” and I went, “If that shit starts then the film’s dead.” You have to root for both them and be against both of them. It has to be a mixture.

COLMAN: You’ve got to see when both of them do the wrong thing and see when they both do the right thing. And I think they’re equally lovable and wrong.

I love the dinner scene. I read that it was filmed over three days, and everyone is saying such horrible things to each other. Can you talk about filming that scene?

COLMAN: Yeah, we loved that. I think that was my favorite.

CUMBERBATCH: It was mine, too. And also because the aftermath, as well, is a very brilliantly written piece of drama. But within it, you’ve got Kate McKinnon not able to get through the new invented version of why they had to give up a surrogate. I mean, you can’t really plus a Tony McNamara script, but she was doing it, Andy Samberg was doing it, as was Jamie Demetriou, as was Zoë [Chao], as was Ncuti [Gatwa], and Sunita [Mani]. We are all bound by this thing, but you had front-row seats. When it wasn’t on you, it was like, “Oh, now I get to watch everyone else’s work.” So it was just a pleasure being in the audience of it for a bit.

COLMAN: It was so much fun. And the only scene where we all get to be together.

CUMBERBATCH: Yes, exactly. So it was a lot of communal love, and there was a dinner one night. We had a fun time, a lot of fun shooting it.

The Roses is available to watch in theaters.

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