Episode Overview

Podcast: Consider This from NPR
Episode Title: Cumberbatch and Colman team up to play a couple at war
Date: September 1, 2025
Host(s): Juana Summers, Mary Louise Kelly
Guests: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman

This episode dives into the dark comedy film The Roses, a contemporary reimagining of the 1989 classic War of the Roses. Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman join NPR to discuss portraying an unhappily married couple whose relationship unravels spectacularly, leveraging their own friendship to spark chemistry onscreen. The conversation explores the film’s themes of marital discord, creative collaboration, and the delicate balance of on-screen humor and pain.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Exploring the “End” of Relationships

• Opening Context (00:00 - 00:36):
  Juana Summers introduces the idea of focusing on films about relationships falling apart, as opposed to romantic beginnings. We hear a comically tense therapy session excerpt from the film:

  • Cumberbatch as Theo: “Okay, so Today's session, the 10 things you love about each other. Theo, you first.”
  • Colman as Ivy: “One: I would rather live with her than a wolf.”
    (00:19)
  • These exchanges highlight the film's dark, sarcastic humor.

• Film Premise (00:36 - 01:12):
  The Roses follows Theo and Ivy—a couple strained by children, relocation, and midlife disappointment. Even their therapist doubts their marriage’s survival.

A “Reimagining,” Not a Remake

• Project Origins (03:06 - 03:24):
  The film was built around Colman and Cumberbatch’s long-standing desire to work together.
  • Olivia Colman: "This project was imagined around us. We're friends and have been for a long time and wanted to work with each other for a long time." (03:06)
  • The idea was to recast the iconic 1980s War of the Roses dynamic with new energy.
• Benedict Cumberbatch: “But it's not a remake. I think we feel quite strong—” (03:38)
• Mary Louise Kelly: “Well, it's not about that. It's sort of a reimagining inspired by.” (03:40)
• Cumberbatch: “Inspired very heavily by. Because we loved that film.” (03:42)

The House as Battleground

• Significance of the House (03:46 - 05:13):
  The house becomes the central object of contention, symbolizing both achievement and loss.
  • Colman: “It's a very embedded...piece of architecture that sort of comes out of this wilderness...surrounded by trees and bracken and this incredible vista...” (04:06)
  • Cumberbatch: “For you, it's your most precious thing. So it's the perfect weapon for Ivy.” (04:43)
  • Theo’s professional and personal crises converge on this home. After a career setback (the collapse of a building he designed), he seeks redemption through constructing their new house.

Relationship Dynamics and Onscreen Conflict

• Emotional Trajectory (05:33 - 06:07):
  • The couple's conflict escalates far beyond rational mediation—"They go beyond that...I think they want to hurt each other by then. Yeah, that's the thing. That's the terrain." (Colman, 06:05)
• Memorable Scenes & Physical Comedy (06:14 - 07:10):
  • Mary Louise Kelly asks about particularly enjoyable scenes:
    • Benedict Cumberbatch: “I really loved flicking you in the forehead.” (06:49)
    • Olivia Colman: "You liked flicking me in the eye? It was my eyelid.” (06:53)
    • They recall the “dinner party” scene with fondness for its blend of humor and cruelty.
    • Colman: “All that physicality and the comedies was great fun.” (07:07)

The Climactic Confrontation

• Raspberries and Gunplay (07:27 - 08:10):
  • The interview covers a heated late-film confrontation involving a gun and allergies.
    • Cumberbatch: "A gun is gifted to us by our American friends...She gets the gun, says, I want you to get out. Oh, because you’ve tried to kill me with raspberries." (07:41)
    • Colman: “I have tried to poison you with raspberries, yeah.” (07:55)
  • The line between comedy and farce becomes razor-thin.

Reflections on Relationships

• Advice from Experience (08:17 - 09:13):
  • Both actors and the host reflect on marital communication:
    • Cumberbatch: "Sometimes it's about what you don't say initially...if you piss each other off one day, sometimes just wait till the next day. Just don't say it straight away. Find a calm moment." (08:44)
    • Mary Louise Kelly: "You can be a little bit deaf. Selective hearing goes a long way in a marriage." (09:13)
  • The tone is humorous, honest, and relatable, bridging real-life relationship insights with the fictional world of the film.

Lighthearted Closing

• Bananas and Fruit Fights (08:33 - 08:42):
  • Colman jokes: "Don't have hard through fruit that you can throw at each other."
  • Cumberbatch: "Addicted to bananas."

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "I would rather live with her than a wolf." – Olivia Colman as Ivy, mocking a couples’ therapy session (00:19)
• "I don't think you have the capacity...to fix your problems." – Benedict Cumberbatch as the skeptical therapist (00:57)
• "This project was imagined around us...The idea of this film came about around getting us together." – Olivia Colman (03:06)
• "For you, it's your most precious thing. So it's the perfect weapon for Ivy." – Benedict Cumberbatch, on the symbolism of the house (04:43)
• "They really do, you know, I think they want to hurt each other by then. Yeah, that's the thing. That's the terrain." – Olivia Colman (06:07)
• "I really loved flicking you in the forehead." – Benedict Cumberbatch (06:49)
• "Don't have hard through fruit that you can throw at each other." – Olivia Colman (08:33)
• "Sometimes just wait till the next day. Just don't say it straight away. Find a calm moment....I remember hearing that and thinking, I'm going to try that." – Benedict Cumberbatch (08:44)
• "Selective hearing goes a long way in a marriage." – Mary Louise Kelly, citing advice from a Supreme Court justice (09:13)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 01:12: Introduction to The Roses and excerpt of therapy scene
• 03:06 – 03:46: Actors explain how the project came together
• 03:46 – 05:13: The symbolism and centrality of the house
• 06:14 – 07:10: Recollections of favorite scenes (physical comedy, dinner party)
• 07:27 – 08:10: Climactic confrontation (gun & raspberries scene)
• 08:17 – 09:13: Reflections and advice on relationships

Final Thoughts

This episode spotlighted how The Roses leverages the real-life camaraderie between Colman and Cumberbatch to deliver both biting humor and painful authenticity in the depiction of a marriage in collapse. Through witty banter, personal reflections, and a look behind the scenes, listeners gain both a sense of the film’s darkly comedic tone and genuine wisdom about relationships.

For anyone curious about how two acclaimed actors tackle the bitter end of love—and find laughter in it—this discussion is both illuminating and entertaining.