Benedict Cumberbatch is opening up about a terrifying experience that helped shape his life in an unusual way over 20 years ago.

The 48-year-old actor was in his 20s when he was on the set of the 2004 BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth in South Africa.

He was on a driving excursion with some friends during his downtime when the car they were in got a flat tire.

While they were on the side of the road, they were robbed and abducted by six men and forced into a car.

They were driven around in the car for hours before being let out and ordered to sit execution style before the abductors fled.

Although the actor and his friends were not physically harmed, it changed him irrevocably, he revealed in a new Variety interview where he also opened up about his worries about aging.

Benedict Cumberbatch is opening up about a terrifying experience that helped shape his life in an unusual way over 20 years ago.

The 48-year-old actor was in his 20s when he was on the set of the 2004 BBC miniseries To the Ends of the Earth in South Africa

‘It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one. It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience,’ he said.

The experience turned him into an ‘adrenaline junkie’ who used to unwind by going skydiving and participating in extreme sports. 

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‘The near-death stuff turbo-fueled all that. It made me go, “Oh, right, yeah, I could die at any moment,”‘ Cumberbatch admitted.

‘I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks. But apart from my parents, I didn’t have any real dependents at that point,’ he admitted.

The actor is now the father of three children – sons Christopher, 9, Hal, 7 and Finn, 6 – with wife Sophie Hunter, who celebrate their 10th anniversary on Valentine’s Day.

He admitted that being a family man has, ‘changed,’ his thrill-seeking ways, adding, ‘that sobers you.’

‘I’ve looked over the edge. It’s made me comfortable with what lies beneath it. And I’ve accepted that that’s the end of all our stories,’ Cumberbatch said.

He added of fatherhood, ‘The minute you have kids this sense of time sinks in far more profoundly.

‘It gave me a sense of time, but not necessarily a good one. It made me impatient to live a life less ordinary, and I’m still dealing with that impatience,’ he said

The experience turned him into an ‘adrenaline junkie’ who used to unwind by going skydiving and participating in extreme sports.

‘I was throwing myself out of planes, taking all sorts of risks. But apart from my parents, I didn’t have any real dependents at that point,’ he admitted

He added of his youngest, who just turned six years old earlier this month, ‘I’m like, ‘I will be in my 60s when he’s 21,’ you know? It’s crazy. It’s gone so fast. 

‘So there’s a huge shift in priorities, and it makes you value what you do with your life in a very different way,’ he added.

The actor continued, ‘It does weigh on me. When you become a parent, your thoughts turn more towards mortality.’

The actor is getting ready to return as Doctor Strange in the highly-anticipated Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday.