Kids interview 'Grinch' star Benedict Cumberbatch, challenge him to create new 'Grinch-y' song
The British star plays the conniving Dr. Seuss character.
It’s hard to believe the voice behind the all-new animated "Grinch" character is actually British actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
But this version puts a spin on the Dr. Seuss classic.
Cumberbatch happily chatted with a couple of lucky kids in New York about playing the iconic grumpy character. They even convinced him to make up a song only The Grinch could love.
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William Arbuckle, 10, wanted to know if the evil Grinch also had powers like Dr. Strange, the Marvel superhero and sorcerer played by Cumberbatch.
“I think he is a really good inventor, if that’s a power,” Cumberbatch said. “I mean, he invents things that give him great power like those go-go legs that elevate him up. And the sleigh is pretty cool. He pimps that ride and it’s pretty sparkly and fantastic. If he had any power, I think he’d just like to steal Christmas without going to all of the effort he goes to. Maybe he could do something that Dr. Strange does, like a circle and get it all out.”
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/cumberbatch-interviewers-abc-jef-181107_hpEmbed_11x12_992.jpg)
Nyla Smith, 9, was curious to know if Cumberbatch was much like his character, asking if he had a favorite holiday.
“Christmas, I like it because it’s nice and cold where I live and everyone sort of gets really cozy, drinks and eats and spends time together as family and friends,” he said. “I love that.”
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But when asked if he preferred to be the good guy on screen or the bad -- aka the misunderstood, green villain -- Cumberbatch carved out a new term.
“I like ‘gevil’(good+evil),” Cumberbatch said. “I like a mixture of both, or ‘evood’(evil+good). I think he’s kind of, he’s an anti-hero which means you understand why he is the way he is, but he does do bad things. And he has a journey whereby in the end he becomes good. His heart grows back to it’s right size.”
To wrap things up, the kids surprised Cumberbatch by singing a rendition of the song “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells” and challenged him to chime in with the next verse. Without missing a beat, Cumberbacth came right back at them with his own impromptu verse.
Riding through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh,Christmas is so terrible,I wish it'd go away.I can't stand a thing, about this ding-a-ling,I just wish that it would go, and disappear into snow.
Surely a moment the kiddos won’t soon forget.
"The Grinch" is in theaters everywhere today.
Watch the full interview with Nyla Smith, William Arbuckle and Benedict Cumberbatch in the video above.