Benedict Cumberbatch

Birthday: 19 July 1976, Hammersmith, London, England, UK

Birth Name: Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch

Height: 183 cm

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch was born and raised in London, England. His parents, Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton (Timothy Carlton Congdon Cumberbatch), are both actors. He is a grandson of submarine commander Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, and a great-grandson of diplomat Henry Arnold Cumberbatch CMG. Cumberbatch attended Brambletye School and Harrow School. Whilst at Harrow, he had an arts scholarship and painted large oil canvases. It's also where he began acting. After he finished school, he took a year off to volunteer as an English teacher in a Tibetan monastery in Darjeeling, India. On his return, he studied drama at Manchester University. He continued his training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art graduating with an M.A. in Classical Acting. By the time he had completed his studies, he already had an agent.Cumberbatch has worked in theatre, television, film and radio. His breakthrough on the big screen came in 2004 when he portrayed Stephen Hawking in the television movie Hawking (2004). In 2010, he became a household name as Sherlock Holmes on the British television series Sherlock (2010). In 2011, he appeared in two Oscar-nominated films - War Horse (2011) and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). He followed this with acclaimed roles in the science fiction fiction film Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), the Oscar-winning drama 12 Years a Slave (2013), The Fifth Estate (2013) and August: Osage County (2013). In 2014, he portrayed Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (2014) which earned him a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.Cumberbatch was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2015 Birthday Honours for his services to the performing arts and to charity.Cumberbatch's engagement to theatre and opera director Sophie Hunter, whom he has known for 17 years, was announced in the "Forthcoming Marriages" section of The Times newspaper on November 5, 2014. On February 14, 2015, the couple married at the 12th century Church of St. Peter and St. Paul on the Isle of Wight followed by a reception at Mottistone Manor. They have two sons, Christopher Carlton (born 2015) and Hal Auden (born 2017). Show less «

[on Martin Freeman playing Bilbo Baggins] It was great. I got to hang out with him, and I kept a str...Show more »

[on Martin Freeman playing Bilbo Baggins] It was great. I got to hang out with him, and I kept a straight face for a bit and then I started giggling because I know Martin, I don't know Bilbo. For Martin to be sitting there playing Bilbo is amazing. He's going to be amazing, he's going to be fantastic in this film. Show less «

[on delivering a successful performance] It's rather like a sportsman, where you hit a sweet spot an...Show more »

[on delivering a successful performance] It's rather like a sportsman, where you hit a sweet spot and think, "Oh, that felt good." You don't necessarily know why it is. It's pretty fleeting, and I guess that's how it should be, because the minute you try to hold on to it, it's too precious, and you start to try to reinvigorate the ghost of what you've done rather than keep evolving it. Show less «

I can tell you I'm a huge fan of Downton Abbey (2010) and what I said was quite, quite clearly - to ...Show more »

I can tell you I'm a huge fan of Downton Abbey (2010) and what I said was quite, quite clearly - to most intelligent New York Times readers - a joke. [on the comments he made about Downton Abbey (2010) on the New York Times] Show less «

Hollywood-style stardom was never my goal, yet it seems to be happening due to particular projects. ...Show more »

Hollywood-style stardom was never my goal, yet it seems to be happening due to particular projects. I don't seek. I don't avoid. I just follow my path, doing my best. Show less «

[on the character Christopher Tietjens in Parade's End (2012)] What makes him heroic is the idea tha...Show more »

[on the character Christopher Tietjens in Parade's End (2012)] What makes him heroic is the idea that he stands for what he believes in with utter transparency, and to hell with the consequences of living by what he believes. Show less «

Every time I'm seen at a bar with a girl, I get photographed. Anyone who has a computer knows my ent...Show more »

Every time I'm seen at a bar with a girl, I get photographed. Anyone who has a computer knows my entire dating history. I get it. Paparazzi is an inescapable, immovable obstacle. Show less «

People forget about books. They're always just turning on the television, but reading a good book is...Show more »

People forget about books. They're always just turning on the television, but reading a good book is the most nourishing thing you can do. Show less «

It's the standard actors' joke - "What are you doing after this?" "Oh, if Spielberg doesn't call the...Show more »

It's the standard actors' joke - "What are you doing after this?" "Oh, if Spielberg doesn't call then I'm going to go on holiday." But a week after I'd said that, I got the call to say I had the job. It's one of those moments you never forget - I just fell off my chair. Which is not a good start to the horseriding. Show less «

[on The Imitation Game (2014)] Often, as an actor, you draw on your own experience or memories, but ...Show more »

[on The Imitation Game (2014)] Often, as an actor, you draw on your own experience or memories, but I really didn't have to here. [Turing] got under my skin. It was just so pitiful. Imagining the physical weakness, the vulnerability, the exhaustion, how the hormones affected his emotional state. It was all ungovernable. Show less «

I am very flattered. I have also become a verb as in "I have cumberbatched the UK audience" apparent...Show more »

I am very flattered. I have also become a verb as in "I have cumberbatched the UK audience" apparently. Who knows, by the end of the year I might become a swear word too! It's crazy and fun and very flattering. Show less «

[on selfies] What a tragic waste of engagement. Enjoy the moment. Do something more worthwhile with ...Show more »

[on selfies] What a tragic waste of engagement. Enjoy the moment. Do something more worthwhile with your time, anything. Stare out the window and think about life. Show less «

Like all of these things, like a lot of art, you do the work and you let go. You understand how the ...Show more »

Like all of these things, like a lot of art, you do the work and you let go. You understand how the thing works and then you let go of it. It should be something you breathe or you feel, not something that you force or try to control. Looking for happiness is a sure way to sadness, I think. You have to take each moment as it comes. Show less «

[on Alan Turing's royal pardon] The only person that should be pardoning anybody is him. Hopefully, ...Show more »

[on Alan Turing's royal pardon] The only person that should be pardoning anybody is him. Hopefully, the film will bring to the fore what an extraordinary human being he was and how appalling (his treatment by the government was). It's a really shameful, disgraceful part of our history. Show less «

[on being invited by Madonna to her London home to discuss playing Duke of Windsor (aka "Edward VIII...Show more »

[on being invited by Madonna to her London home to discuss playing Duke of Windsor (aka "Edward VIII") in W.E. (2011)] I'd whizzed round on my bike and thought we were going to have a read-through and a chat, but she wanted a full-on dress rehearsal... So I ended up in a suit and tie with Madonna operating the camera herself. Show less «

[on being abducted in South Africa in 2005] It taught me that you come into this world as you leave ...Show more »

[on being abducted in South Africa in 2005] It taught me that you come into this world as you leave it, on your own. It's made me want to live a life slightly less ordinary. Show less «

[on his Hobbit character] It was publicized that I 'voice' Smaug, and I thought, "Fucking hell. My v...Show more »

[on his Hobbit character] It was publicized that I 'voice' Smaug, and I thought, "Fucking hell. My voice, my motions - I worked my arse off to create that dragon!". Show less «

People say, "This is your moment." Well, I hate to say it, but I don't believe in moments. I don't b...Show more »

People say, "This is your moment." Well, I hate to say it, but I don't believe in moments. I don't believe in one-offs. I believe in something continuing and continuing, and I want to be doing this job for the next 50 years if I live that long. Show less «

What matters to me is the quality and the variety of the work. I'm in it for the long game. I'm inte...Show more »

What matters to me is the quality and the variety of the work. I'm in it for the long game. I'm interested in working in 40 years' time, and turning round and talking to an actor on set and telling them stories about working with Judi Dench and Michael Gambon. So any talk of "man of the moment" hype, heat, whatever, I just smile wryly. It's the same shit with "sexiest whatever" - I was around 10 years before that as an actor and no one took the same face seriously. It's all projection. Show less «

The rule of law is being overrun so fast, eroding our civil liberties in a way that fundamentalists ...Show more »

The rule of law is being overrun so fast, eroding our civil liberties in a way that fundamentalists could possibly cherish. Yet there is a very real threat, for the other liberty that we could have taken away is our life, at any point, through the act of terrorism. I think intelligence services have really struggled post-Iraq with credibility, and I feel for them to a certain degree. They are trying to protect our right to exist. Show less «

[on declining to reprise his much-acclaimed role in "After the Dance" on Broadway] I've never really...Show more »

[on declining to reprise his much-acclaimed role in "After the Dance" on Broadway] I've never really made a head-over-heart decision like that before but there's a bit of momentum and I'd like to keep myself available for films. (September 2011) Show less «

[on Stephen Hawking] He's such a presence and you have to really know what you want to say to him or...Show more »

[on Stephen Hawking] He's such a presence and you have to really know what you want to say to him or ask him because it takes such a huge, phenomenal effort for him to communicate with you. You think, "I really don't want to waste this man's time." I was myself rather than thinking, "I'm a stupid actor; how on earth can I impress someone like this? I don't know what to say to make me feel worthy of playing this man.". Show less «

Sometimes as an actor you're looking for the infinite. If you can hold that, if you can remember tha...Show more »

Sometimes as an actor you're looking for the infinite. If you can hold that, if you can remember that in the chaos, [it will] anchor you and give you grace and ease. Show less «

The only thing that may unite all forms of acting in a sense is no matter what preparation you do, n...Show more »

The only thing that may unite all forms of acting in a sense is no matter what preparation you do, no matter what transformative process you go through, you are always yourself. You are always inside your own skin - you are who you are no matter what the actions of the movement or the effect. You have to have an essential element of you, and that is also what is in the present. Once you're in the present and you're not worried about the wig, or the special-effects suit, or the dialogue, or the accent, or the moral responsibility, when you are lost in the moment and you're in the present is when the stuff that's really good comes on screen. Until that point, you've put in a lot of hard work to then let go, and all of us experience moments - and they're rare in every job I find - where you feel free of any kind of self-consciousness. Show less «

[on his role in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)] I don't really believe in good and evil. I don't rea...Show more »

[on his role in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)] I don't really believe in good and evil. I don't really believe in heroes and villains. His reasons for what he does are quite profoundly persuasive. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, and the fact that he's a shadow self of Kirk - same coin, different sides - is what makes him interesting to play. Show less «

[on Sherlock (2010) fan-fiction] I suppose my bodily proportions are quite flattering. I'm ripped, d...Show more »

[on Sherlock (2010) fan-fiction] I suppose my bodily proportions are quite flattering. I'm ripped, doing something I wouldn't normally do with my body, or having done to it, involving Watson. So that's as far as I'll hit about that one, but it's all there on the Web if you want to find it. I was amazed at the level of artistry; people have spent hours doing it. And there's some really weird cross breeding stuff that goes on. The news got out that I was playing Smaug in "Hobbit" and suddenly there were lots of dragons with purple scarves flying around so it's crazy, it's crazy. Show less «

I don't live beyond my means. I enjoy luxury and I enjoy the privilege of it, when I can afford it, ...Show more »

I don't live beyond my means. I enjoy luxury and I enjoy the privilege of it, when I can afford it, and I'm in the situation where it's been given to me, but I'm very conscious of what is wasteful. Show less «

I've been very lucky at what's happened in my career to date, but playing something as far from me a...Show more »

I've been very lucky at what's happened in my career to date, but playing something as far from me as possible is an ambition of mine - anything from a mutated baddy in a comic book action thriller, to a detective. If anything, I'd like Gary Oldman's career: he's the perfect example of it. I've love to have a really broad sweep of characters - to be able to do something edgy, surprising and unfashionable. (May 2005) Show less «

I've seen and swam and climbed and lived and driven and filmed. Should it all end tomorrow, I can de...Show more »

I've seen and swam and climbed and lived and driven and filmed. Should it all end tomorrow, I can definitely say there would be no regrets. I am very lucky, and I know it. I really have lived 5,000 times over. (May 2013) Show less «

I've never been an activist, but I've always been politically aware. I protested against budget cuts...Show more »

I've never been an activist, but I've always been politically aware. I protested against budget cuts and cuts to education. I marched against the Iraq war. All that protesting was just swept aside to pave the way for an illegal war, and the results of that war were made very, very plain by those leaked war logs. Show less «

[on his look] It's the blessing of having a weird face - somewhere between an otter and something pe...Show more »

[on his look] It's the blessing of having a weird face - somewhere between an otter and something people find vaguely attractive. Show less «

[on The Hobbit] Growing up, my dad read it to me, and it was a real treat, a feast for a child's ima...Show more »

[on The Hobbit] Growing up, my dad read it to me, and it was a real treat, a feast for a child's imagination. He did an amazing Smaug, and hobbits, and Gandalf as well - it's the audiobook that will never exist. Show less «

[his advice from co-star Meryl Streep] I asked her how she approached the multiple layers of her par...Show more »

[his advice from co-star Meryl Streep] I asked her how she approached the multiple layers of her part. And she said, "I don't know. I don't have a process. It changes with every job, doesn't it?" And I thought, "Oh, thank God, to hear her say it. This whole thing about technique or method? It's bullshit." People say, "Oh, you're so precise." But within that I work very hard to give every part a heartbeat. I learned a lot from just watching Meryl in repose. It was a bit like a Sherlock deduction actually. Show less «

It's an amazing thing to find somebody you love, let alone somebody who loves you back in the same w...Show more »

It's an amazing thing to find somebody you love, let alone somebody who loves you back in the same way and degree. Not everyone can do that in a lifetime. It's a minor miracle, considering how busy Sophie (Hunter) and I are, that we met in this way. So Sophie is someone I am incredibly grateful for and very excited about. Show less «

[on his offensive faux pas of using the term "colored actors" instead of "actors of color" in an int...Show more »

[on his offensive faux pas of using the term "colored actors" instead of "actors of color" in an interview] I'm devastated to have caused offence by using this outmoded terminology. I offer my sincere apologies. I make no excuse for my being an idiot and know the damage is done. I can only hope this incident will highlight the need for correct usage of terminology that is accurate and inoffensive. The most shaming aspect of this for me is that I was talking about racial inequality in the performing arts in the UK and the need for rapid improvements in our industry when I used the term. I feel the complete fool I am and while I am sorry to have offended people and to learn from my mistakes in such a public manner please be assured I have. I apologize again to anyone who I offended for this thoughtless use of inappropriate language about an issue which affects friends of mine and which I care about deeply. Show less «

I've always had an eye on longevity; I've got loads more goals to achieve. It's not like I've comple...Show more »

I've always had an eye on longevity; I've got loads more goals to achieve. It's not like I've completely conquered the whole thing. That's a lifetime's objective, not an overnight thing. Show less «

[on The Fifth Estate (2013)] So many people I speak to say, "Oh, I really wanted to see that." So ma...Show more »

[on The Fifth Estate (2013)] So many people I speak to say, "Oh, I really wanted to see that." So maybe people weren't aware of it?... I don't know. I'm not in publicity or marketing. That's them, I just do what I do. I was very pleased with that film and I think over time it will be seen. But I don't offer any understanding for why that happened... I don't regret it. You can't wish you hadn't done something after doing it. Show less «

[on fame] You can't imagine fame. You can only ever see it from an outsider and comment on it with t...Show more »

[on fame] You can't imagine fame. You can only ever see it from an outsider and comment on it with the rueful wisdom of a non participant. When it happens to you, it doesn't matter what age or how, it is a very steep learning curve. The important thing to realize in all of it is that life is short, to protect the ones you love, and not expose yourself to too much abuse or narcissistic reflection gazing and move on. If fame affords me the type of ability to do the kind of work I'm being offered, who am I to complain about the downsides. It's all relative. And this are obviously very high class problems. The way privacy becomes an every shrinking island is inevitable but also manageable and it doesn't necessary have to get that way. Show less «

[on the need for a female and then a homosexual president in the United States] You need to have a f...Show more »

[on the need for a female and then a homosexual president in the United States] You need to have a female president next, and then after that, a gay president. That's the full journey from Obama's legacy onwards. There's a great Morrissey lyric from "America Is Not the World" from You Are the Quarry that goes, "In America, the land of the free, they said / And of opportunity, in a just and truthful way / But where the president is never black, female or gay, and until that day / You've got nothing to say to me, to help me believe." It's quite an old song from before Obama took office, but you've done black, then you need to do female, then the next, gay. Show less «

Worst thing about my profession? The press, obviously. Don't write that, eh?

[his would-be response to Julian Assange about movie portrayal of him] Well, somebody is going to do...Show more »

[his would-be response to Julian Assange about movie portrayal of him] Well, somebody is going to do it, wouldn't you rather it's someone who has your ear, who could steer the film to a place that's more accurate or balanced? The tabloid image of him, what he fears is going to be promoted - that weird, white-haired guy wanted for rape - is so far from what we did. Show less «

[on his Sherlock (2010) series] It's a rare challenge, both for the audience and an actor, to take p...Show more »

[on his Sherlock (2010) series] It's a rare challenge, both for the audience and an actor, to take part in something with this level of intelligence and wit. You have to really enjoy it. It's a form of mental and physical gymnastics. Show less «

Cumberbatch - it sounds like a fart in a bath, doesn't it? What a fluffy old name. I can never say i...Show more »

Cumberbatch - it sounds like a fart in a bath, doesn't it? What a fluffy old name. I can never say it on a Monday morning. When I became an actor, Mum wasn't keen on me keeping it. Show less «

[on what he learned in 2014] I learnt where my home is. I learnt where my heart is, where my center ...Show more »

[on what he learned in 2014] I learnt where my home is. I learnt where my heart is, where my center is, where my now and forevermore is, and she's called Sophie Hunter, my fiancée. Show less «

I'm a homebody. I love to stay in at night, light a fire, have a whiskey and watch a movie or read a...Show more »

I'm a homebody. I love to stay in at night, light a fire, have a whiskey and watch a movie or read a good book. Show less «

[on initially using his father's stage name "Carlton"] When I started, I just assumed I couldn't be ...Show more »

[on initially using his father's stage name "Carlton"] When I started, I just assumed I couldn't be called Benedict Cumberbatch... but then, one day, I told someone in the business what I was really called and they said, "That's great, that's something you can use to stand out.". Show less «

[on Downton Abbey (2010), interviewed on Reader's Digest, 16 August 2012] We're remembering that the...Show more »

[on Downton Abbey (2010), interviewed on Reader's Digest, 16 August 2012] We're remembering that there was a world before the First World War. We're living in a culture now that's revering, or having a nostalgia trip with, the beginning of the 1900s. Although Downton traded a lot on the sentiment in the last series... but we won't talk about that series because it was, in my opinion, f***ing atrocious. Show less «

Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch's FILMOGRAPHY

Benedict Cumberbatch'S roles

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