Benedict Garrett did not know who Amitabh Bachchan was; calls Salman Khan, Pawan Kalyan's bodyguards' machine guns distracting | Interview

In an interview with Hindustan Times, British actor Benedict Garrett talks about why he'd rather not know about Indian stars' fame before working with them.

Mumbai-based British actor Benedict Garrett has been working in India since 2022 and has collaborated with some of the country's biggest names. He has shared the screen with Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Yash, Pawan Kalyan, Vijay Deverakonda, Vijay Sethupathi and others throughout his career. In an interview with Hindustan Times, the actor, however, admits that he did not realise the extent of most of his co-stars’ stardom while sooting with them. Bodyguards carrying machine guns and fawning on set was the giveaway.

Amitabh Bachchan and Benedict Garrett in a 2022 ad for Dabur Lal.

Benedict Garrett did not know who Amitabh Bachchan was

In 2022, Benedict starred in an ad for Dabur Lal featuring Amitabh, but did not know anything about the Bollywood veteran’s stardom. “I had begun to watch a little of Indian cinema before coming here, but it’s not something I grew up with,” he explains, adding, “So, when I landed, I remember doing an advert with Amitabh Bachchan in my first year. At the time, my agent said, he’s like the king of Bollywood. Oh, okay, I didn’t know. Because I wasn’t really fully aware.”

The actor says he has been lucky over the last four-and-a-half years to have worked with Indian actors who taught him a great deal. “10 years ago, if you’d asked me about living in India, I never would’ve thought it. I’d consider visiting it, but would never live here, necessarily. So, having worked with so many big names, I have to pinch myself to believe it. I’ve been very fortunate and lucky to work with not just big names, but interesting people to learn from, to talk to, to watch, and perform with, which has been really helpful in my acting career as well,” he adds.

When Salman Khan, Pawan Kalyan’s bodyguards’ guns distracted him

Benedict, who acted in films such as Baby John, Jawan, Toxic and Hari Hara Veera Mallu, says that he likes being ignorant about his co-stars’ stardom, no matter who he’s acting with, because it means he doesn’t turn up to set like a fanboy. “I worked with Salman Khan, and yeah, with Yash and Pawan Kalyan. I prefer not to almost know. But I have to be honest anyway. When I turn up, I just try to be professional,” he says, adding, “I don’t want to fawn over. I just try to be like a co-worker with anybody. I try not to let that get in the way.”

The actor then chuckles and adds, “It can be a little bit difficult when there's a whole team of bodyguards and somebody holding a machine gun on the side. So, it can be a little bit distracting sometimes. But that was the case with Pawan Kalyan, and with Salman Khan, some people with big guns. 
But apart from that, it's relatively, fairly a normal process.”

Benedict’s next film Ranabaali is hitting screens on October 16. He also has the Marathi sports drama Khashaba, an independent Hindi legal drama shot in Australia, Prashanth Neel’s Telugu film Dragon with Jr NTR, and a few other films. “You know, you end up working with some amazing productions and people on some low-budget films, too. We have new directors, young people who are coming through. So, I just want to open myself to all sorts of opportunities and see what’s out there,” he rounds off.