We had a chance to sit down with Benedict Cumberbatch when the Sherlock star was in Toronto earlier this fall to promote his role as the superspy wolf Agent Classified in Penguins of Madagascar (out Nov. 26).

And in case you thought you knew everything there is to know about the Internet’s boyfriend, here are eight factoids that may come as a surprise.

1. He would like to do more comedy: “To be honest, Sherlock is funny to read. Martin (Freeman) is funny, we can be funny together ... Sherlock is intended to be humorous at times. So I do love my comedy ... But I would like to do a straight comedy or a surreal comedy.”

2. He has big ambitions: “What would I like to try that I haven’t done? Eating while skydiving. I’d like to try disguising myself in drag. I’d like to try more sleep. I would love to do more comedy. Did I mention that?”

3. If you show up to meet him at a film premiere, the odds are good that he’ll stop and say, ‘Hi’: “The people outside have been waiting for ages. My work is to present a film to an audience that’s watching it for the first time, so that’s my primary focus. But, if there’s time, I will always honour the fact that there are many devoted fans out there. It just makes people happy and that’s a great thing to do. But it also makes me happy. There’s no such thing as pure altruism; I get a kick out of it as well.”

4. His first interaction with Penguins co-star John Malkovich went like this... “The first time I met him we were doing publicity and I got to ask him what it was like playing a psychotic octopus called Dave. He’s the founder of the Steppenwolf Theatre company, one of my idols of the stage and screen and that was my first interaction with the legend that is John Malkovich. He treated the question as seriously as if we’d asked him to explain the crossover between journalism and philosophy in the late ’60s.”

5. Agent Classified will be made into a toy: “It will be biodegradable, sweatshop-free and safe to swallow. I better stop now before I get fired.”

6. His secret to success: “A little bit of heartache, a lot of luck, a lot of work. It just depends.”

7. He’ll try anything (when it comes to acting): “People ask, ‘What is it like to try something you’ve never done before?’ It just means the options are a little bit more interesting and varied. That way you have a shot at longevity rather than being known for one thing. Plus, it’s a good workout.”

8. He’s a true method actor: “The four months I spent in Yellowstone (National Park) really paid off in terms of where I took my voice when playing Agent Classified. I was able to go to a whole new level of wolf.”

Twitter: @markhdaniell

mark.daniell@sunmedia.ca