Iron Man gives Benedict Cumberbatch the fright of his life on US chat show

And on the cusp of the Avengers film's release, we bet he's pretty tired. So what better way to give him a bolt of energy than scaring the bejesus out of him? That's exactly what Ellen DeGeneres chose to do when the Sherlock actor appeared on her US chat show.

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There Cumberbatch was, blithely chatting away about Doctor Strange and the fact he "scares very easily" (ha!) when a table next to him burst open and out sprung Iron Man. And when we say Iron Man, we mean an actor dressed as the Marvel superhero, not Robert Downey Jr himself...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JYqTSSH6IA

Cumberbatch can't quite believe what's happened and utters the odd expletive, but we'd say he took it pretty well. "It's just really good that I'm not a trained assassin or martial arts expert because he'd be dead," he quipped. "I need to lie down."

And while Cumberbatch's reaction will no doubt exist in gif form for all eternity, take a look at Ellen – the host was in on the prank, but she barely flinched at the spectacle taking place just inches away from her. Nerves of steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wdmEmh3ruk

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