--- title: Benedict Cumberbatch and Jimmy Fallon Mad Lib Theater Video description: Cumberbatch and Fallon could not avoid cracking up during the scene canonical: https://time.com/4558451/benedict-cumberbatch-jimmy-fallon-mad-lib-theater/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-04T16:10:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:38:24.560Z og:title: Benedict Cumberbatch and Jimmy Fallon Do Mad Lib Theater og:description: Cumberbatch and Fallon could not avoid cracking up during the scene og:url: https://time.com/4558451/benedict-cumberbatch-jimmy-fallon-mad-lib-theater/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Benedict Cumberbatch and Jimmy Fallon Do Mad Lib Theater twitter:description: Cumberbatch and Fallon could not avoid cracking up during the scene twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Benedict Cumberbatch and Jimmy Fallon Crack Each Other Up in This Police Interrogation Scene by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 4, 2016 4:10 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 4, 2016 4:10 PM UTC Benedict [Cumberbatch](http://time.com/4496007/doctor-strange-benedict-cumberbatch-transformation/?iid=sr-link3) is an Oscar-nominated actor, so when he stopped by _The Tonight Show_ during his [_Doctor Strange_](http://time.com/4555486/doctor-strange-review-benedict-cumberbatch/?iid=sr-link1) press tour, Jimmy Fallon had no choice but to ask him to join him for the latest installment of Mad Lib Theater. In advance of their theater performance, Fallon asked Cumberbatch to help him play a game of Mad-Libs, asking for a series of exclamations, adjectives, names, plural object, a number and body parts (little toe, Benedict?). The pair then inserted the chosen Cumberbatch words into a script that transformed the hodgepodge of responses into a very dramatic scene that they acted out together. The scene unfolded in a police interrogation room with Cumberbatch (with his [American accent](http://time.com/4542437/doctor-strange-google-maps-sanctum-santorum/?iid=sr-link8)) playing cop to Fallon’s suspected egg robber inexplicably named “Mrs. Tate.” Their play got sillier and sillier as it went along. While Fallon is known for his inability to avoid breaking character (they sang an entire [song about it on _SNL_](http://time.com/3710753/snl-40-andy-samberg-adam-sandler-laugh-breaks/?iid=sr-link1)), even Cumberbatch couldn’t avoid cracking up while trying to recite patently ridiculous lines about “gyrating half a millimeter from the crime scene.” Watch the full clip above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4558451/benedict-cumberbatch-jimmy-fallon-mad-lib-theater/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4558451/benedict-cumberbatch-jimmy-fallon-mad-lib-theater/"},"headline":"Benedict Cumberbatch and Jimmy Fallon Crack Each Other Up in This Police Interrogation Scene","datePublished":"2016-11-04T16:10:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:38:24.560Z","description":"These two could not stop cracking up","url":"https://time.com/4558451/benedict-cumberbatch-jimmy-fallon-mad-lib-theater/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","movies","jimmy fallon","Benedict Cumberbatch","The Tonight Show","doctor strange"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4558451/benedict-cumberbatch-jimmy-fallon-mad-lib-theater/","name":"Benedict Cumberbatch and Jimmy Fallon Crack Each Other Up in This Police Interrogation Scene"}}]}] ```