Cumberbatch sorry for using term 'colored'

What was he thinking?

Benedict Cumberbatch, the Oscar-nominated and beloved British actor (The Imitation Game) apologized Monday for an embarrassing faux pas in which he referred to non-white actors as "colored."

And he said it while being interviewed by Tavis Smiley, the liberal political commentator whose talk show on PBS is widely admired.

Cumberbatch said it last week while discussing diversity in the entertainment industry with Smiley. It came up because all of the acting Oscar nominations last week went to white actors.

But Cumberbatch said it so fast, you can barely hear it in the video.

He said that "as far as colored actors go," there were more opportunities in the USA than in Britain, "and that's something that needs to change."

Indeed, several non-white British actors are becoming stars in the USA, including Idris Elba (The Wire), David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo (Selma), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave).

Just call him an "idiot," Cumberbatch said Monday.

In a statement, he apologized for his "thoughtless use of inappropriate language," reported the Associated Press and multiple British media.

"I'm devastated to have caused offense by using this outmoded terminology," he said. "I offer my sincere apologies. I make no excuse for my being an idiot and know the damage is done."

The British anti-racism charity, Show Racism the Red Card, said it welcomed Cumberbatch's comments on diversity but said the term he used was "outdated."

But Cumberbatch, some of his fellow Brits noted, is supposed to be good with words; how could he have gone so wrong?

Smiley told USA TODAY he believes Cumberbatch's heart is in the right place.

"Sometimes words get in the way, but what was abundantly clear to me, and I trust to viewers who saw the conversation, is that Benedict Cumberbatch is in solidarity with persons of color who are still staggeringly underrepresented in the film and entertainment industry,"​ he said in an e-mailed statement.

Could the term, which the British spell as "coloured," be less toxic over there than over here? Apparently not, because the anti-racism charity noted that Cumberbatch's stumble highlighted the "evolution of language," according to The Guardian.

What makes this doubly embarrassing for Cumberbatch is his own family's ancestors include slave owners in Barbados. Last year, a New York City commissioner, Stacey Cumberbatch, told The New York Times she has the same name because Cumberbatch's fifth great-grandfather owned her ancestors.

In any case, Cumberbatch had supporters on Twitter. It's not likely this episode will hurt his chances in the competition for best-actor Oscar, playing Nazi code-breaking genius Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.