Roadside Attractions(LOS ANGELES) — From everyday business man to Cold War spy – that’s the character Benedict Cumberbatch plays in his new film The Courier, out Friday. It’s based on a remarkable true story, and Cumberbatch tells ABC Audio he was fascinated by the story of this man, Greville Wynne, who said “Yes” when his country came calling.

“[It] doesn’t matter how flat or dull or every day or routine your life is, you can suddenly be called step up to the plate and have an unexpected challenge in life, even in the middle of your life,” the 44-year-old actor says.

“We’re seeing that now left, right and center, which makes, despite its historical potency, it makes it very current and relevant film I feel,” he adds. 

Unlike the very visible calls to action that Cumberbatch mentions, Wynne wasn’t as obvious. In fact, he was a man you probably wouldn’t look twice at in the street and that’s exactly the point.

“The people who do practice spy craft are every day folk, they are people who you will sit next to on a bus or a tube or, you know, get the taxi they just got out of, people you’ll brush past in the street,” he explains. “They don’t scream out James Bond to George Smiley even. They go unnoticed and they go home to live normal lives.”  

Marvel Studios(LOS ANGELES) — Just two weeks after WandaVision wrapped on Disney+ comes today’s debut of the second Marvel Cinematic Universe spin-off, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. 

The series — obviously centering on Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Falcon and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, the formerly brainwashed assassin known as The Winter Soldier — takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. 

That film ended with a very old Steve Rogers passing his Captain America shield and mantel to Wilson, and a central part of the series is Sam’s doubt he’s worthy of it.

The show also hinges on what the world is like after The Blip: when half the world’s population suddenly reappeared, five years after Thanos snapped them out of existence. 

Director Kari Skogland is a veteran of shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and The Walking Dead, but the six-episode series was her first jump into the MCU. She tells ABC Audio that Mackie and Stan made her job easier.

“Oh, my gosh, it was so fun because they are also very good friends in life…They love to crack each other up. And so from that perspective, really, I just had to sit back and watch.”

Head writer Malcolm Spellman said the series is in the vein of classic buddy films, known in the industry as “two-handers.” 

“On the spectrum of ‘buddy two handers’, you have Defiant Ones and 48 Hours on the dramatic end, and there’s an arc that takes you all the way to the most comedic end with Rush Hour and Ride Along; somewhere in between there lives Lethal Weapon 1 and Bad Boys. And that was sort of a created such an easy bullseye for this … creative team to aim at.”

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.