Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch CBE is an English actor and film producer who has performed in film, television, theatre and radio. The son of actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, he graduated from the University of Manchester and continued his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, obtaining a Master of Arts in Classical Acting. He first performed at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in Shakespearean productions and has portrayed George Tesman in Richard Eyre's revival...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth19 July 1976
CityLondon, England
Every job is incredibly different, and I love it because you're picking up skill sets and experiences. It's the university of life.
I'd love to do a noir. I think Steve McQueen is so cool. But a classic film is a classic film, and perhaps the fantasy of being those characters should be left alone. You're treading on very thin ice.
It does get strange when you realize people will hang around for hours to get a glimpse of you doing scenes outside.
I'm a Prince of Wales Trust ambassador, so I'm all about giving youth an education, a voice and a chance to not take the wrong road.
I have actual acting scars.
Even the cerebral characters I play seem to have physical quirks. They're all "physically inhabited," for lack off a better expression. For instance, Sherlock Holmes has very particular physical gestures which are drawn out in such detail.
I was always performing, doing silly voices. The teachers realized I could go one of two ways: be creative or destructive.
I'm not loyal to one genre. I want to mix it up.
I struggle to learn by rote. I've had meltdowns on set. Which is embarrassing and shameful.
The story [in 12 Years a Slave] serves as a metaphor for the fear of having your family taken away, and for being abused in such a horrific way. I lost it a lot of times watching that film, particularly when seeing the grace of the man when he finally makes it back home aged, changed, forever brutalized, and yet he apologizes to his family for his long absence. That was such a profoundly moving moment capturing the triumph of dignity over the disgraceful behavior of those involved in the slave trade.
I wasn't born into land or titles, or new money, or an oil rig.
I was thrilled with how the first series of 'Sherlock' was received. It was such great fun to film, which makes it so rewarding when something you enjoy is so well received.
I never was obsessive about anything I watched when I was a kid, except maybe 'The A-Team' and 'Airwolf' And I loved 'Knight Rider' and then later 'Baywatch.'
One of the best things about being an actor is that it's a meritocracy.