Watch Iron Man scare the hell out of Benedict Cumberbatch on Ellen

Doctor Strange typically doesn’t falter in the face of insurmountable evil, but what does it take to reduce the man behind the hero to a quivering mess of fear? Judging by Benedict Cumberbatch’s hilarious brush with terror on Friday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the answer is a grown adult wearing a cheap Iron Man costume.

Notorious for scaring celebrity guests on her long-running talk series, DeGeneres set her sights on the Avengers: Infinity War star for her latest gag.

“You’ve done just about everything. You have not done a horror film, right? Do you want to do a horror film?” she asks her guest. He responds: “Kind of. Well, as in, somebody was saying to me, ‘What haven’t you done that you’d like to do,’ and I guess I’d like to do a horror or a musical. Maybe both. Maybe a horrifying musical. It might be if I sing.”

“Do you, in general, like to go to scary movies?” DeGeneres continues. “I scare very easy, and I have a rampant imagination… [but] you know it’s like, okay, that’s fake blood. Although I’m still very susceptible.”

A member of DeGeneres’ staff (clad in Iron Man gear) then jumps out from the table between the pair, scaring the hell out of Cumberbatch.

“Oh, f— off!” Cumberbatch screams. “You’ve got to stop doing that. It’s getting tired, but clearly not on me… I should know that happens on this show!”

The Ellen DeGeneres Show airs weekdays. Check your local listings for showtimes in your area, and watch the hilarious exchange between Cumberbatch and Iron Man above.