'Courier' star Benedict Cumberbatch talks his dramatic weight loss for the film

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Benedict Cumberbatch plays a super spy in 'The Courier'

Actor discusses the true-life espionage tale and talks losing weight for the role; FOX's Ashley Dvorkin reports

Benedict Cumberbatch is no stranger to portraying real-life historical figures and his new role in "The Courier" is no different.

In the Dominic Cooke-directed film, the Emmy winner plays Greville Wynne, a British businessman who was recruited as a spy by MI6 during the Cold War.

Wynne formed a partnership with a soviet military officer that helped prevent nuclear war and put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Cumberbatch, 44, had to undergo a dramatic weight loss to play his character who was eventually caught by the Russians and starved while in prison for 18 months.

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"We stop filming for three months to lose the weight and for me to do it with lots of cold water, swimming and exercise, and healthy foods," he told Fox News while promoting the film. "I felt that physical vulnerability... mental instability, as well, a little bit. And that was just a clue to what the man himself must've suffered for months or years."

Merab Ninidze (L) and Benedict Cumberbatch (R) in a scene from 'The Courier.'  (Liam Daniel/Roadside Attractions via AP)

Cumberbatch added how he always feels a deep responsibility portraying a real person in a film.

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"You do feel a responsibility to bring a story to light that a lot of people either forgotten or never heard of, especially around an era of history that is fairly well known in the shape of the Cuban Missile Crisis," he added. 

This image released by Roadside Attractions shows Rachel Brosnahan (L) and Benedict Cumberbatch (C) in a scene from 'The Courier.' (Liam Daniel/Roadside Attractions via AP)

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The "Dr. Strange" star expanded, "This is an extraordinary character, a humble man from a very humble beginning, an ordinary man an everyman hero who has to do something quite extraordinary and not only for his country and his family."

FOX's Liza Aristizabal contributed to this report.