Cumberbatch's Unconventional 'Trek' Audition

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Sherlock Holmes star Benedict Cumberbatch taps into his dark side as the villain John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness, in IMAX 3D and theaters this week, and the Brit star sets the record straight with ET whether or not he's a true Trekkie – and if he really auditioned for the role with an iPhone video!

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"I was in a panic," explains Cumberbatch in his mesmerizing, deep-seated rumble of a voice. "I could not find a single casting director or camera set up to do my lines [during our holiday break]. … So it was sort of desperate measures and desperate times. … I was literally crouched down in one corner of the kitchen with my two god-children asleep in the background somewhere, and my unborn, new godson Jake – he was madly kicking away whilst [making] the tape. He gave it a little thump of support."

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Star Trek Into Darkness finds the Enterprise crew called back to Earth to battle Harrison (Cumberbatch), an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture this one-man weapon of mass destruction and our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death.