Benedict Cumberbatch feared a crow might "peck his eye out" when one had to eat food off his chest in his new film

Speaking on TV show Lorraine, he said: "There was a moment where a crow had to hop on me, and that was quite nerve-wracking.

"They put a bit of plastic on my face, because he had to hop on my chest and peck at some food on my chest.

"They carry this weight of story and myth in reality.

"You see them in the flesh and think, 'Are you going to come and peck my eye out?' "

Despite his concerns, Benedict believes crows are "magical birds".

He added: "They're extraordinary, magical birds, and they're very, very smart."

Benedict portrays a dad struggling to cope with his wife's death in the new drama movie, which is a big screen adaptation of Max Porter's novel Grief Is the Thing with Feathers.

In real life, the Sherlock actor has children Christopher, 10, Hal, eight, and Finn, six, with his wife Sophie Hunter, and Benedict admits he tries to remain calm while parenting, but one simple thing can send him "over the edge".

Asked what "petty things" can tip him, he joked: "My immediate family have got a long list, I think. I tip quite easily.

"I tend to be someone who stays calm, stays calm and then it's like, 'Will you put that sock on!'

"It's just one thing that drives me over the edge."

Earlier this month, Benedict admitted his emotions have become "paper thin" since he became a father.

He told The Times newspaper: "[Fatherhood made my] emotions paper thin. That's what changes how you act, when you become a father.

"It isn't necessarily crossovers between your experience and the character's, it's that you become an unfettered channel to stuff that you weren't before.

"Barbie makes you cry and other things make you angry."