12 Years On, Star Trek Star Reveals His Biggest Mistake on The Most Controversial Sequel

November 22, 2025, 9:25am

JJ Abrams‘ Star Trek: Into Darkness remains one of the most debated additions to the franchise, largely thanks to the divisive decision to remake The Wrath of Khan. The Khan twist may have been one of the worst-kept secrets in sci-fi movie history, but that didn’t stop a wave of discontent. As time has passed, some of the stronger opinions have softened, and there is more of a positive outlook on the 2013 release. Now, more than a decade later, one of its stars has shared what he calls the biggest mistake he made while on set.

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During a recent Ask Me Anything session on the /r/movies Reddit thread, Benedict Cumberbatch revealed that his biggest regret has nothing to do with Khan. He recalled when he fell victim to a hilarious on-set prank staged by some very mischievous co-stars. Asked by a fan on the thread, “What’s the funniest mistake you’ve ever made on the job?”, Cumberbatch responded with, “Believing that ‘Neutron Cream’ was a real thing on the set of Star Trek. Does that count? It was off camera but definitely on the job.”

While filming at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, Cumberbatch and other co-stars fell hook, line, and sinker for a tall tale involving fake science, and an entirely unnecessary safety precaution thanks to co-star Simon Pegg. The set video below reveals what happened:

As the video reveals, several actors on set including Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaner, Karl Urban, and John Cho were convinced by the devious Pegg (Scotty) that they needed to apply “Neutron cream” to protect themselves from so-called ‘neutron radiation’ while filming inside the laser room, which is of course in actuality, an entirely impossible sci-fi hazard.

We’re not sure what’s funnier, that the prankster was evidently able to use their acting abilities to sell the lie with such conviction, or that so many hard-working film stars believed the gag and began walking around with random blobs of cream on their faces. It’s certainly some classic Pegg-and-Pine inspired chaos, and we’re sure it made for some truly memorable moments on set.

Cumberbatch’s admission is especially funny since Star Trek into Darkness positioned his version of Khan as a cold, unfeeling superhuman – the ultimate villain – yet even he wasn’t immune to some light trolling. What makes this prank even better is the willingness of so many staff and crew to play along. The so-called neutron cream was helpfully supplied by Karen in the make-up department, with first assistant director Tommy Gormley helpfully adding that the actors should probably jump up and down a bit too to combat the effects of the Ions…

After detailing the prank, Cumberbatch followed up with another answer for the AMA crowd saying: “I have often called a character I’m acting with the actor’s name too many times to mention, which always breaks things up in a fun way. But of course, I know the internet is listening, so saying the word ‘penguin’ incorrectly over and over again in a nature documentary has to top the bill.”

He was, of course, referring to his infamous flubbing of the word while narrating the documentary series Strange Islands, in which he manages to mispronounce “penguin” in a multitude of ways, none of which are correct. The famous blunder became a meme for years, and as many fans have pointed out, the funniest part is how his butchering of the word ever got through postproduction.