Julian Assange refused to meet Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Cumberbatch is a big fan of Julian Assange, but the WikiLeaks founder is no fan of the actor. Assange refused to meet Cumberbatch or help him with his portrayal of him for the film The Fifth Estate, which has just finished shooting. "He didn't want to condone the film because he thought - hopefully erroneously when he sees the end product - that the project would castigate him and portray a negative side of his enterprise," the busy Cumberbatch told me when we talked at the Corinthia Hotel in London, where he was promoting Star Trek Into Darkness. He didn't want to meet me because he feels the source materials we've based the movie on were poisonous to his account of the events. When he sees it I hope he feels that it's more balanced. I think he will. I hope he will. The Fifth Estate tells Assange's story from 2007-2010 and ends with the leaking of the U.S. diplomatic cables. "We're still trying to understand the impact of WikiLeaks and what he has given the world with that extraordinary idea to create an anonymous whistle-blowing website," said Cumberbatch. It was an amazing thing to reinvestigate someone who has been mired in controversy and actually realise that he was profoundly gifted and should be celebrated.