Benedict Cumberbatch admires J.J. Abrams' sense of mystery.

The 36-year-old star understands why the 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' director wants to preserve the mystery surrounding the sequel's plot, especially his own villainous character John Harrison, and thinks fans of the cult sci-fi franchise are being too gluttonous in their hunger to discover all the film's secrets.

Benedict said: ''What's so brilliant is that he keeps things so close to his chest. It's not paranoia, it's not absurd control. It's about giving the audience what they secretly want. We all seek out who's playing what, what's going to happen.

''But, like a kid with a box of chocolates, once you've eaten them all you feel sick. We all do it. We all glut. And J.J. knows it.''

The 'War Horse' star spilled some further information himself, however, hinting his alter ego would prove a tricky nemesis for Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his clever manipulation of the hero would provide interesting plot twists.

Benedict revealed: ''He's sort of superhuman, pretty much unbeatable. Brainy and brawny. He manipulates situations. He's incarcerated when Kirk is talking to him and yet he still gets Kirk to do his work for him. He pushes him into a corner where the only route to salvation is cooperation.''

He also revealed having to ''quite literally work my arse off [in the gym]'' was worth the hassle as the finished product will be ''genuinely interesting and scary''.