Benedict Cumberbatch- The Revolutionary Sherlock

Childhood

Benedict Cumberbatch was born on July 19, 1976 in London, England. His parents, Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham were actors. He spent his childhood in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Cumberbatch has a half-sister from his mother’s first marriage. He is distantly related to King Richard III, the last ruler of the Plantagenet dynasty.

Education

Cumberbatch studied at the Brambletye School, West Sussex. He was an Arts scholar at Harrow School. Cumberbatch acted in several Shakespearean plays in school and was a member of The Rattigan Society in Harrow. Cumberbatch debuted in acting in the play, ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ at the age of 12. He studied drama at the University of Manchester and trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He is an M.A. in Classical Acting.

Early Career

Benedict Cumberbatch started his acting career by performing at Regent's Park Open Air theatre, Royal National Theatres and Royal Court in 2001. He appeared in Shakespearean productions; Romeo and Juliet, Love's Labour's Lost and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Cumberbatch was shortlisted for the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a ‘Supporting Role’ in ‘Hedda Gabler’. The play signified his first West End appearance.

Cumberbatch appeared in television series; Heartbeat, Tipping the Velvet, Cambridge Spies and Forty Something. He got his break in television with the series, Hawking, where he plays the protagonist, Stephen Hawking in 2004. Cumberbatch bagged the Golden Nymph for Television Films – Best Performance by an Actor. He was shortlisted for the BAFTA TV Award in the category of ‘Best Actor’.

Heights

Cumberbatch acted in After the Dance produced by the Royal National Theatre. He revived the play, After the Dance. His acting was critically acclaimed and the play fared well commercially. It bagged four Olivier Awards. The year 2010 was quite eventful for Cumberbatch. He acted in the theatrical charity event, The Children's Monologues, produced by Dramatic Need. He starred in the stage production, Frankenstein in 2011. He achieved the “Triple Crown of London Theatre”, when he grabbed the Olivier Award, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his acting prowess in Frankenstein.

Cumberbatch was on the cast of Royal National Theatre’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, “50 Years on Stage”. He acted in the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which was screened on BBC Two and cinemas globally as an integral part of National Theatre Live.

Cumberbatch’s rise on the small screen was meteoric. He played the main lead in the mini-series, To the Ends of the Earth. He featured in comedies, Broken News and Nathan Barley on Channel 4 in 2005. Cumberbatch was spotted in A Life Backwards, an adaptation of Stuart on television in 2007 with Tom Hardy.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in Sherlock

Cumberbatch earned a nomination for the BAFTA Television Award in the category, ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role in the television version of Small Island. Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Vincent van Gogh in Van Gogh: Painted with Words in 2010 was highly praised by Telegraph. He acted as Sherlock Holmes in the television series, Sherlock, jointly aired on BBC/ PBS. His acting prowess was critically acclaimed. Cumberbatch bagged the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the show, His Last Vow. Cumberbatch won the Emmy Award for ‘Best Actor’ for his acting in Parade’s End in 2012.

Cumberbatch was nominated for the London Film Critics Circle “British Breakthrough Acting Award” for his role in Amazing Grace in 2006. He appeared in films; Atonement, The Other Boleyn Girl, Creation and The Whistleblower. Cumberbatch portrayed the character of ‘Major Jamie Stewart’ alongside Tom Hiddleston in War Horse by Steven Spielberg in 2011.

He gave the ‘voice and motion’ capture for Smaug the Dragon and An Unexpected Journey   in Peterr Jackson's Hobbit Trilogy in 2012. Moving from success to success, Cumberbatch featured in Star Trek Into Darkness. His three films, The Fifth Estate, 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage County had their premiere shows at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. Cumberbatch recorded the song, “Can't Keep it Inside” for the film, August: Osage County

. He gave the voice-over for the animated film, Madagascar. Cumberbatch was shortlisted for the Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, and Academy Award in the category, ‘Best Actor’ for his role in the film, The Imitation Game in 2014.

Michael Fassbender with Benedict Cumberbatch

Cumberbatch is famous for his radio productions for the BBC, especially Rumpole and Penge Bungalow Murders in 2009. He acted in Cabin Pressure on BBC. He featured in the play, Copenhagen on BBC Radio 3 in 2014. Cumberbatch, as a tribute to the 70^th Anniversary of the Normandy landings read the original radio bulletins for BBC Radio 4.

Cumberbatch recounted numerous documentaries for the Discovery and National Geographic. He recited for audio-books; The Tempest, Death in a White Tie, Casanova, Artists in Crime, The Making of Music and Sherlock Holmes. Cumberbatch lent his voice for commercials; Pimms, Sony and Jaguar.

Cumberbatch acted in a short film on the history of London for the opening ceremony of London Olympics 2012. He recited the WWI poetry and prose along with piano pieces at the “Cheltenham Festivals” for music and narrated Sherlock and Parade's End at The Centaur and 2012. Cumberbatch recounted the documentary film, Jerusalem about the ancient city in 2013. He did a voice over for Gordon Getty's opera Usher House. Cumberbatch recorded for “The Spire”, for Canongate Books. It was William Golding's first unabridged audio-book.

A man of many talents, Cumberbatch established a production house, “SunnyMarch Ltd” in partnership with Patrick Monroe, Ben Dillon and Adam Selves in 2013. The first project by the company was Little Favour, a short film in which Cumberbatch played the lead role.

Cumberbatch was the brand ambassador for Jaguar and Dunlop since 2014.

Cumberbatch made his come-back to the theatre as the protagonist in the Shakespearean play, “Hamlet” at the Barbican Theatre in 2015. He was listed for the British Academy Television Award for ‘Best Leading Actor’ for Sherlock in 2015.

Personal Life

Cumberbatch is married to theatre and opera director, Sophie Hunter. The couple were friends for 17 long years and finally tied the knot in 2015. They have a son, Christopher Carlton.

Cumberbatch is an ambassador for The Prince's Trust and Ambassador-cum-patron for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. He supports organisations, which use arts to help the disadvantaged sections of society. He raises funds for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association. Cumberbatch along with Prince Philip gave the Duke of Edinburgh's Award to 85 young people in 2014. He was actively involved in the fundraising event on cancer awareness for The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

The event was hosted by Prince William and Ralph Lauren. Cumberbatch supports the feminist movement. He is one of the members who started the “Save Soho” campaign, aimed and sustaining and nurturing historical venues for music and performing arts.

Recognitions

Cumberbatch was made the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2015 for his contributions to performing arts and to charity. Cumberbatch won the Laurence Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor’ for the play, ‘Frankenstein’. He was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor’ in a Miniseries or a movie for Sherlock four times. Cumberbatch bagged the Golden Nymph for Television Films – Best Performance by an Actor for his role in, Hawking. He attained the “Triple Crown of London Theatre”, when he grabbed the Olivier Award, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his acting prowess in Frankenstein. Cumberbatch earned a nomination for the BAFTA Television Award in the category, ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role in the television version of Small Island. Cumberbatch bagged the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the show, His Last Vow. He won the Emmy Award for ‘Best Actor’ for his acting in Parade’s End in 2012. He was listed for the British Academy Television Award for ‘Best Leading Actor’ for Sherlock in 2015.

He has also been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in 2016 for his performance as Sherlock Holmes in The Abominable Bride.

Cumberbatch has six British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations, five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and two Golden Globe Award nominations to his credit.

Cumberbatch featured among the “Most Influential People in the World” of Time Magazines’ yearly Time 100. He was ranked among the “100 Makers of the 21st Century” of The Sunday Times in 2014. He was declared as the contemporary ‘Laurence Olivier’. Cumberbatch was rated among GQ’s ‘50 best dressed’ British men. An otter was named ‘Benny’ after Benedict Cumberbatch in the Tennessee Aquarium. Cumberbatch’s wax figurine is displayed at Madame Tussauds in London.

Benedict Cumberbatch with Ellen Interview