There’s a lot we don’t know about the planet we live on – and that’s okay. But as the climate crisis continues to splinter our relationship with Earth, actor Benedict Cumberbatch is ready to teach us the various ways in which humans can work with nature, instead of against it, for a prosperous future.
This was the optimistic undertaking by Benedict and executive producer Jonnie Hughes for documentary film, How To Live On Earth.
Jonnie acknowledges it’s “a big title and a high concept” but the mission isn’t to bombard the viewer with the problems we’re facing. Instead, he invites people to listen to what’s going on and evaluate how certain decisions could change things for the better. The result is an uplifting response to a serious issue, giving hope that we can all contribute.
The documentary, available on YouTube, began filming in 2024 and spans 11 locations around the world, featuring people from all walks of life: farmers, scientists, economists, nutritionists and even prison inmates.
From elephant conservation in Chad to hand pollination of fruit trees in China, these untold stories and missions showcase the ways in which people are connecting with nature and how vital they’ve become.
Protecting Earth’s future
In the Amazon rainforest, where 80% of the forest has been cleared for cattle ranching, Sam Kass meets with communities who are embracing sustainable practices and agroforestry, before investigating alternatives to animal protein. Elsewhere, Dan O’Neill is trekking through the Calakmul forest in Mexico, using cameras to find hidden life and DNA sampling to understand the complex nature between animals and their environment. It’s a fascinating domino effect and humans can all play a part in protecting the fragile ecosystem.
It’s an enlightening watch, says presenter and narrator Benedict, who says he was keen to help any way he could.
“I was blown away by some of the footage,” Benedict, 50, tells TV WEEK. “And for me, it’s about reframing how we look at nature not as a political football or to be all doom and gloom about, but how there is a message of hope of how to live better on Earth.”
Why Benedict accepts ‘a certain responsibility’
As an actor, Benedict says he’s aware of the “hypocrisy” of being involved in a “high consumption energy inefficient industry”. But he’s doing his part to make it better through the Green Rider movement.
“I’m very aware of that and the levelling of the term hypocrisy, in terms of me being part of that system and to do with personal choices,” the Oscar nominee explains of being in the entertainment industry. “So, you know, I accept a certain amount of responsibility for that and adjust my behaviour accordingly.”
“But also, I’m trying to work within those systems to right their wrongs as well with Green Rider, where we take into consideration how we can involve better practices. [Such as] upcycling materials and how we can use fewer polluting energies. We can use generators that plug into the grid rather than diesel… how we scale up the use of electric transportation and the production of power within studio complexes on rooftops, and so on.”
“Looking after where I work and how I work, but also how I live as a human and valuing what nature gives me is integral,” he adds, asserting, “we’re not asking people to be saints” through this documentary.
“It’s much better if we all try and do something or invest an interest in one of these aspects the film talks about – how to feed the future, how to revalue nature and how to feel human and connected to nature,” The Imitation Game star says. “It’s better that ninety nine percent of imperfect people do something than one person being perfect.”
A cherished childhood
For both Benedict and Jonnie, the benefits of nature have been ingrained in them from an early age when they watched Sir David Attenborough on TV. But it was also immersed into their lives by their own fathers.
“I would sit with my dad on the sofa and watch Sir David; I was hooked,” Jonnie says. “I wanted to be him and that’s why I got into the career I’ve had. Then I worked with him, which was just fantastic.”
Benedict adds that seeing his three boys – Christopher, Hal and Finn, whom he shares with wife Sophie Hunter, become interested in nature is a heartwarming recall back to his own childhood.
“My dad [Timothy Carlton], who’s a very keen amateur ornithologist, got me into bird watching from a young age,” Benedict says. “During the covid lockdown, he was with my family and children in New Zealand. To see that generational connection reinvigorated and my love of what he’s given me as a child blossoming in my own children, it’s so important. We have to lean into that ancestral knowledge, because it’s dying.”
How To Live On Earth is available September 20 on YouTube
