Benedict Cumberbatch has branded the film industry "grossly wasteful".

The Doctor Strange star is convinced Hollywood needs to improve standards when it comes to recycling, energy efficiency and waste - insisting simple measure such as banning single-use plastic bottles would be a big help.

During an appearance on Ruthie's Table 4 podcast, he explained: "It just slowly, slowly, you have to meet people where they are on these issues in filmmaking.

"It's a grossly wasteful industry … So let me think about set builds that aren't recycled, think about transport, think about food, think about housing but also light and energy.

"The amount of wattage you need to sort of create daylight and consistent light in a studio environment. It's a lot of energy."

However, Cumberbatch admitted actors who try to address green issues in the movie industry often find themselves the subject of criticism.

He explained: "The first people to stick their head above the parapet to talk about anything to do with climate and excessive use of things, or hypocrisy, or systems that don't work, get slammed if they're actors, because they're ferried about."

Cumberbatch went on to insist he's trying his best to instigate change in his role as a producer, saying: "It is a systemic thing. But as a producer, I'm really hot on that.

"I try to push the green initiative, the green handshake into every agreement I can ...

"Whether it's just a gentlemanly discussion about: 'Can we not have any single-use plastic? Really, I think we're beyond.

"You don't have to give the crew plastic bottles. If you're in the middle of a desert and you can't get glass bottles there, fair enough, but we're in the 21st century."

During the podcast, the actor also talked about his physical transformation to play superhero Doctor Strange in the 2016 movie of the same name revealing he had to work out and eat five meals a day to meet his calorie intake quota, and he found it "horrific:.

He said: "The exercise is great, and the end result is that you feel strong and you feel confident. You hold yourself better. You have a stamina through the exercise and the food that makes you last through the gig. But it is horrific. I don't like it personally. I think it's horrific, eating beyond your appetite.

"|Going back to responsibility and resourcefulness and sustainability, it's just like, what am I doing? I could feed a family with the amount I'm eating."