Sherlock Holmes, Alan Turing and even a dragon from the Hobbit universe are all Benedict Cumberbatch. Read the biography of Britain’s most versatile and charismatic actor.
Benedict Cumberbatch is a famous British theater and film actor. Their bright appearance, unimaginable charisma, and innate talent made Cumberbatch a world celebrity.
Name: Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch
Date of birth: July 19, 1976
Occupation: theater and film actor
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Height: 183
Marital status: married
Childhood and youth
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch was born on July 19, 1976, in London to famous British actors Timothy Cumberbatch and Wanda Ventham. Benedict’s pedigree is very impressive – he is a descendant of King Richard III, his grandfather was an officer during the First and Second World Wars, and his great-grandfather was the consul general in Turkey and Lebanon.
Parents wanted Benedict to get the best education. The boy was sent to study at Harrow School. She was quite famous and very prestigious – Winston Churchill,
In addition to a good education, parents instilled in their son a love of art. From an early age, Benedict began to get involved in the theater and go to the theater club.
After leaving school, Benedict Cumberbatch decided to do a good deed and went to Tibet for a year to teach English in a mountain monastery. Communication with Tibetan monks had a beneficial effect on the young man and helped shape him as a person. After living in Tibet, Benedict returned to England and entered the University of Manchester. And then he received a second education at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Actor career
Benedict Cumberbatch began his career on the theater stage. Their bright appearance helped him look spectacular in any role. Benedict’s acting debut was the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where the boy appeared in the guise of the fairy queen, Titania.
Since 2001, Benedict has been a leading actor in major theaters in London, including the Open Air Theater in Ridge Park, the Royal Court, and even the Royal National Theatre. The play “Hedda Gabler” brought Benedict his first award – the prestigious theater award Laurence Olivier. It was presented to Cumberbatch by the Theater Society of London.
In parallel with the theater, the film career of the actor also developed. Since 2002, he began to participate in several television projects. Cumberbatch became a guest actor in the series “Heartbeat”, “Golden Fields”, “Velvet Legs” and others.
In 2003, Benedict starred in the comedy series A Little Over 40. He got the role of the son of the protagonist, so there were many episodes with the actor. And the father was played by a famous actor – Hugh Laurie. The project was not very successful and was soon closed.
In 2004, Benedict Cumberbatch landed the lead role in the feature film Hawking. The actor reincarnated as the famous physicist Stephen Hawking. The role brought Benedict not only popularity but also the BAFTA TV Awards for best acting and the main prize of the Monte Carlo Television Festival.
In 2005, the actor got the lead role in the mini-series Journey to the Ends of the Earth, based on the William Golding trilogy. Series director David Attwood was impressed by Cumberbatch’s dedication and was pleased with their collaboration.
Since then, Benedict Cumberbatch has become an actor in great demand. British directors dreamed of working with him, so the actor had no shortage of work. In 2006, Benedict starred in the TV series Hit the Top 10 with James McAvoy. And in 2007, the actor faced a difficult task – to play two diverse twins in the TV series Inseparable.
For his roles in The Last Enemy and Little Island, Cumberbatch received a Satellite Award nomination and a second BAFTA nomination.
In 2010, Benedict portrayed the famous artist Van Gogh in the film A Portrait Painted with Words. In November of the same year, Cumberbatch took part in one of the largest theatrical events – “Children’s Monologues” at the Old Vic Theatre.
A year later, the films “Frankenstein” and “Spy Get Out!” were released. Both films were well received by audiences and critics alike. Then two more successful projects – “War Horse” by Steven Spielberg and “Destroyers” by Diktinna Hood.
In 2012, a project dedicated to Shakespeare’s plays was released – the mini-series The Empty Crown. In it, Benedict played his distant relative Richard III. Along with him the series also starred Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston.
In the same year, the world saw the first film of the Hobbit trilogy. In this part, the Necromancer (also known as Sauron) spoke in the voice of Cumberbatch. And in the second part, Benedict became the dragon Smaug. Modern technology is so impressive that the computer image of the dragon repeats Cumberbatch’s facial expressions.
The image of the villain the actor is again an example of himself in the movie “Star Trek: Retribution”. And then he played the founder of WikiLeaks – Julian Assange.
In 2013, Benedict Cumberbatch starred in the Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave, where he played the role of a landowner, benevolent and indulgent towards his slaves. The film won an Oscar for Best Picture.
In August 2014, the premiere of the biographical film “The Imitation Game” took place. Benedict played the main role – of mathematician Alan Turing. The actor brilliantly coped with his role and received an Oscar nomination. Benedict’s colleague in the film was actress Keira Knightley.
In 2016, the film “Model Male 2” was released. The picture turned out to be the most controversial in the actor’s career. Fans were outraged by the role of Benedict, the thing is that he played a transgender model in the film.
But Cumberbatch managed to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of fans in the film of the Marvel Universe – Doctor Strange. The picture was the start of Cumberbatch’s “superhero” films. Soon the actor appeared in several more Marvel films.
In May 2018, Benedict Cumberbatch starred in the TV series Patrick Melrose. The actor dreamed of playing this character and was very worried during the auditions, but it turned out that the creators initially assumed that he would get the main role. Benedict even specifically went to a psychologist to get used to the role and convey the image of a playboy drug addict as accurately as possible.
New Sherlock
2010 was a significant year for Benedict Cumberbatch – he became the new Sherlock Holmes. The BBC decided to remake the famous story of Conan Doyle in a modern interpretation. The creators were against Hollywood actors in the series, so they decided to take a closer look at British actors who are only gaining popularity. Directors liked Cumberbatch’s video visit and invited the actor to a meeting. Tall, stately, with atypical facial features and the endurance of a real Briton – this was Cumberbatch and Sherlock, in the view of the writers.
But the actor for the role of Dr. Watson was looking for a long time. The partner of the famous detective could be Matt Smith, but the choice still fell on Martin Freeman. And all because Martin and Benedict began to communicate at the casting and the scriptwriters decided that since communication is so easy for them, there will be no problems in the frame.
And so it happened. The series from first series went to the top TV ratings. And the tandem of Cumberbatch and Freeman can rightly be called one of the best. Actors communicate well in everyday life. Each episode runs like a full movie, so fans have to wait a long time for the next episode with the adventures of Sherlock and Watson.
By the way, for the role in the series, Benedict Cumberbatch had to change his hair color. By nature, the actor has blond hair, and according to the plot, Sherlock is a brunette.
Personal life
The personal life of the actor is not replete with novels. Benedict’s first relationship was with actress Olivia Poulet. The actors met at the university and were together for 12 years. But in 2011, the couple officially announced their separation.
Then the actor was in a relationship with designer Anna Jones. But they were short-lived. After several months of a relationship, the couple broke up. In 2014, the actor was credited with an affair with Russian model Ekaterina Elizarova. Catherine herself in one of her interviews claimed that their relationship had been going on since 2012.
Over time, Benedict was so immersed in work that he had absolutely no time left for his personal life. And in the media, there were rumors about the unconventional orientation of the actor. However, they have put an end to Benedict’s affair with actress Sophie Hunter. They met on the set of the film Burlesque Tales in 2009.
For several years, the couple was good friends, and then a romantic relationship began between them. The lovers hid their relationship from the press but soon announced the upcoming wedding.
Benedict and Sophie followed the old British tradition of reporting their wedding in the newspaper. Many consider such an act a relic of the past, but Cumberbatch said that this gesture means a lot to him and he would have done the same without being famous. And in November 2014, an announcement appeared in the wedding section of the Times: “The engagement of Benedict, son of Wanda and Timothy Cumberbatch, residents of London, and Sophie, daughter of Katharina Hunter from Edinburgh and Charles Hunter from London, is announced.”
The wedding ceremony took place on February 14, 2015. It was attended only by relatives and friends of the couple. Among them were Tom Hiddleston, Martin Freeman, and Andrew Scott. At the time of the wedding, Sophie was already pregnant.
On June 1, 2015, was born the eldest son of Benedict and Sophie – Christopher. Soon the actor said that he was very glad that he had become a father and did not mind a few more “number babies”. After 2 years, the couple had another baby – he was named Hal. The public learned about his birth only a month later. And in September 2018, it became known that the couple was expecting their third child.
Filmography
- 2002 – Golden Fields
- 2002 – Velvet legs
- 2002 – Silent Witness
- 2002 – Hills like white elephants
- 2003 – Ghosts
- 2003 – Kill the King
- 2003 – Spies from Cambridge
- 2003 – A little over forty
- 2004 – Hawking
- 2004 – Dunkirk
- 2005 – Nathan Barley
- 2005 – Journey to the ends of the earth
- 2006 – Hit the top ten
- 2006 – Amazing lightness
- 2007 – Inseparable
- 2007 – Stewart: Past Life
- 2007 – Redemption
- 2008 – The Last Enemy
- 2008 – Another Boleyn Girl
- 2008 – Miss Marple Agatha Christie
- 2009 – Little Island
- 2009 – Origin
- 2010 – Four lions
- 2010 – Stukachka
- 2010 – A portrait painted with words
- 2010 – n. in. – Sherlock
- 2010 – Third star
- 2010 – Tales of Burlesque
- 2011 – Destroyers
- 2011 – Spy, get out!
- 2011 – Warhorse
- 2012 – End of the parade
- 2012 – Electric Cinema: How to behave
- 2012 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
- 2012 – Girlfriend in a coma
- 2013 – Star Trek: Retribution
- 2013 – 12 years a slave
- 2013 – Jerusalem
- 2013 – August: Osage County
- 2013 – The Fifth Power
- 2013 – A small favor
- 2013 – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- 2014 – Penguins of Madagascar
- 2014 – The Imitation Game
- 2014 – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- 2015 – Black Mass
- 2016 – Model Male No. 2
- 2016 – Hollow Crown: War of the Roses
- 2016 – Doctor Strange
- 2017 – Child in time
- 2017 – War of currents
- 2017 – Tor: Ragnarok
- 2018 – Avengers: Infinity War
- 2018 – Patrick Melrose
- 2018 – The Grinch
- 2018 – Mowgli
- 2019 – Avengers: Endgame
- 2019 – Descendants 3
