Benedict Cumberbatch recorded his 'Star Trek Into Darkness' audition on his iPhone.

The 36-year-old actor was thrilled when requested by director J.J. Abrams to send an audition tape for the role of villain John Harrison in the sci-fi sequel but panicked when he realised he didn't have a camera to record on.

Leaping at the opportunity, Benedict used his initiative and turned to his Apple device and with the help of his friends created an atmospheric clip for the filmmaker.

He said: ''I couldn't find anywhere to film. It was the middle of Christmas, my own camera wasn't working and everyone had gone away on holiday.

''At last I looked at my iPhone and thought, 'Hmm, these things are quite good ...' So I called my best friend Adam Ackland, the father of my godson, went round to his kitchen and I sort of crouched under the one light with Adam's wife Alice balancing the iPhone between two chairs and Adam reading the off-lines in the corner.

''And that's how we did the audition - very sort of Boy's Own, really.''

Although Benedict admits he wasn't initially a fan of the intergalactic franchise when he landed the role - preferring its rival 'Star Wars' - his mind was swayed after watching the 2009 reboot movie, which reminded him of why he tuned into the original TV series in the first place.

He recalled to Britain's HELLO! magazine: ''I was watching the movie and suddenly thought, 'Why am I feeling so sentimental?' Then I started to backtrack to times when I had caught the show on television and I realised what an extraordinary phenomenon the world of 'Star Trek' is. It is something that just seeps into you without knowing it.

''At the core of it all, it's about humans and how to be human and how, hopefully, to aspire to a more democratic world than we have. There's beautiful stuff in 'Star Trek'.''