Benedict Cumberbatch thinks the Grinch is a bit like Smaug from The Hobbit

Benedict Cumberbatch found that two of his characters, the Grinch and Smaug the dragon, are quite similar. But the acting process for each was a bit different.

Starring in The Grinch might be a fun step up for Benedict Cumberbatch, who’s usually considered a more serious actor. But when you think about it, the Grinch is a bit of a loner, keeps to himself, and is a misfit who does nothing unless it’s in his own self-interest.

If we didn’t know any better, it sounds like Cumberbatch is starting to get typecast. But that connection was not amiss to The Grinch actor, who chatted with Entertainment Weekly to reveal that he, too, saw the similarities in his characters — especially between the Grinch and Smaug. Speaking about the similarities, the actor said in the interview:

"For this character [the Grinch], a little bit like Smaug, he lives in a mountain and he’s quite angry and isolated and alone, so apart from talking to Max who doesn’t verbalize, it helped for the character in this instance."

In 2012, Cumberbatch began his journey as Smaug the dragon in The Hobbit trilogy, where he got a crack at voice acting way ahead of performing in The Grinch. This time around, he didn’t have to preoccupy himself with motion capture technology as he did with Smaug, since playing the Grinch only required him to step up to the microphone. He compared the two voice acting experiences by noting:

"It’s far less mobile. You’re a fixed point. You have to create a lot of energy, but it’s around a really fixed access of a microphone. Whether you’re being hauled around in a sleigh round a mountain or flung through a catapult or talking very quietly to a dog — all those levels have to come around a microphone. Your voice has to be supported by the action that makes it sound that way. But you have to stay on the mic, whereas with motion capture you can really swing yourself about because you have a headset usually. You can throw your body around the landscape."

Part of that voice acting for this movie, Cumberbatch mentioned, was that he was pretty much all alone when it came to acting out his scenes in the movie. This was most likely his same experience in The Hobbit, seeing as he was one of the only major characters (besides Andy Serkis) who needed to do voice acting.

So for The Grinch, where the entire film relies on voice acting, co-stars like Angela Lansbury and Kenan Thompson didn’t get the chance to join him in the recording booth. It seems like things did go well on that front except, as he notes, “It does get very weird if you’re doing quick-fire dialogue and you’re not in the room with the people you’re acting with.”

Part of what well in the recording booth, he added, was getting to improvise lines and having the ability to influence scenes when the opportunity arose. And while it may be good to stick to the script and honor the writers’ intentions, you have to admit, if Emmy winner and Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch gives you suggestions for a scene, you better take it. (Even if it is just for a children’s movie.)

The Grinch is out in theaters Nov. 9. Be on the lookout for all the Smaug similarities (and even ones to his other characters, too).