Deadly to judge character you are portraying: Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch, who will be seen playing Thomas Edison in upcoming 'The Current War,' believes that he will leave it to others to debate whether the light bulb inventor was a genius scientist or a robber baron.

Talking at a press conference at the Toronto Film Festival, Cumberbatch said, "It's deadly to judge your character if you're portraying someone you have to inhabit with a certain understanding and empathy."

Adding, "I leave it to other people to judge characters I play. I find it very hard not to be defensive. I have no vanity about my characters."

He also expressed sympathy for Edison as he battled the same challenges of celebrity that Cumberbatch knows as a stage and screen star.

The 'Sherlock' star also shared that it was interesting for him to examine ideas of fame.

Adding, "How that can poison integrity, about how you can lose the ideal in the machinations, jealousies and emotions which are very human, despite your best instincts not to - those seem to me to be very human flaws. I still have a great deal of sympathy for him (Edison), even though he didn't go about it the right way."

Helmed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, 'The Current War' also stars Katherine Waterston, Tom Holland, Michael Shannon and Nicolas Hoult.

The flick is slated to hit the screens on January 19, 2018.