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Benedict Cumberbatch

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Benedict Cumberbatch
File:Benedict Cumberbtach.jpg
Born
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch

(1976-07-19) 19 July 1976 (age 48)
London, England
OccupationActor
Years active2001–present
Parent(s)Timothy Carlton
Wanda Ventham

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include: Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking (2004); William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace (2006); the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy (2008); Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007); Bernard in Small Island (2009); and Sherlock Holmes in the modern BBC adaptation series Sherlock (2010).

Early life and education

Cumberbatch was born in London, England, the son of actors Timothy Carlton (birth name Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch) and Wanda Ventham.

Cumberbatch was educated at two independent schools, Brambletye School in West Sussex and Harrow School in northwest London, where he began performing as an actor. After graduation, he took a gap year to teach English in a Tibetan monastery. He then attended the University of Manchester, where he studied drama.[1] After graduating, Cumberbatch continued his training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career

Theatre

Since 2001, Cumberbatch has had major roles in a dozen classic plays at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, Almeida Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, and the National Theatre. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance as Tesman in Hedda Gabler, a role he performed at the Almeida Theatre on 16 March 2005, as well as at the Duke of York's Theatre when it transferred to the West End on 19 May 2005.

Cumberbatch acted in The Children’s Monologues, a star-studded theatrical event at London's Old Vic Theatre on 14 November 2010. The show was produced by Dramatic Need.[2] In February 2011, he began playing, on alternate nights, both Dr Frankenstein and his creature, opposite Jonny Lee Miller, in the stage adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at the National Theatre.[3][4] Frankenstein was broadcast to cinemas as a part of National Theatre Live in March 2011.[5] Both The Children’s Monologues and Frankenstein are directed by Danny Boyle.

Television

Cumberbatch's television roles include two separate guest roles in Heartbeat (2000, 2004), Freddy in Tipping the Velvet (2002), Edward Hand in Cambridge Spies (2003), and Rory in the ITV comedy drama series Fortysomething (2003). He was also featured in Spooks and Silent Witness.

In 2004, he starred as Stephen Hawking in Hawking. He was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor and won the Golden Nymph for Television Films – Best Performance by an Actor. He also appeared in the BCC miniseries Dunkirk as Lieutenant Jimmy Langley.

In 2005, Cumberbatch starred as the protagonist Edmund Talbot in the miniseries To The Ends of the Earth, based on William Golding's trilogy. Director David Attwood said:

We found Benedict Cumberbatch fairly early. We needed a very good actor, someone young enough to be believable as an aristocratic, an almost slightly dislikeable character who is an adolescent in terms of his views of the world, his upbringing. But we also needed someone who could hold the screen for four and half hours, in every scene. We needed someone with experience who was not only a very good actor, but also with terrific comic timing. Benedict was the ideal answer to that.[6]

Producer Lynn Horsford added:

Benedict was remarkable. He carried the Golding novels with him on set and constantly referred to them. We needed him every single day and he just didn't stop, nor complain. He simply became Edmund Talbot. And that commitment spread to every cast member. The process of making this film echoed the journey the characters went on in the story—we really got to know each other during our four months on location and we became very close.[6]

He also made brief appearances in the comedy sketch show Broken News in 2005.

Cumberbatch next starred alongside Tom Hardy in the television adaptation of the book Stuart: A Life Backwards, which aired on the BBC in September 2007. In 2008, he starred in the BBC miniseries drama The Last Enemy, for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film. In December 2008, Cumberbatch appeared in an unreleased pilot for The Dark Side of the Earth, a fantasy film in development, as Max, a Victorian paranoid about germs who lives inside a sealed bio-suit.[7][8]

In 2009, Cumberbatch starred in Marple: Murder Is Easy as Luke Fitzwilliam. Also in 2009, he played Bernard in the TV adaptation of Small Island; the performance earned him a nomination for BAFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.[9]

Cumberbatch narrated the 6-part series South Pacific (U.S. title: Wild Pacific), which aired May to June 2009 on BBC 2. In May 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of John Mortimer's novel Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders. Cumberbatch played the "young Rumpole", and Timothy West took the part of the "old Rumpole".

Cumberbatch, a fan of long-running British science fiction show Doctor Who, suggested in a July 2010 interview that he would be interested in appearing as a main or recurring character on the show, run by Sherlock producer and personal friend Steven Moffat.[10] In 2008 he had discussed with David Tennant taking over the part of The Doctor but had decided not to try for the role.[11]

In 2010, Cumberbatch portrayed Vincent van Gogh in Van Gogh: Painted with Words. The Telegraph called his performance "[a] treat ... vividly bringing Van Gogh to impassioned, blue-eyed life."[12] Also in 2010, Cumberbatch began playing Sherlock Holmes in the first series of the BBC television programme Sherlock, to critical acclaim.[13][14]

Film

In 2006, Cumberbatch played William Pitt in Amazing Grace. The film is the story of William Wilberforce's intense and lengthy political fight in the late 18th century to eliminate slave trade in the British Empire. Pitt was Wilberforce's closest friend and staunchest political ally, and became Prime Minister at an early age. The role garnered Cumberbatch a nomination for the London Film Critics Circle British Breakthrough Acting Award.

Cumberbatch subsequently appeared in major roles in Atonement (2007) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). In 2009, he appeared in the Darwin bio-pic Creation as Darwin's friend Joseph Hooker. In 2010, he appeared in The Whistleblower.

He is scheduled to appear in Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2011). He is also slated to play Peter Guillam in the 2012 adaptation of the John le Carré novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson, also starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy.[15]

Personal life

Cumberbatch was in a romantic relationship with actress Olivia Poulet, whom he met at university, for over 12 years.[16][17] In March 2011 they separated.[18]

List of credits

Film credits

Year Title Role Awards and nominations
2002 Hills Like White Elephants (short) The Man
2003 To Kill a King Royalist
2006 Starter for 10 Patrick Watts
2006 Amazing Grace William Pitt the Younger London Film Critics Circle Award for British Breakthrough – Acting (Nominated)
2007 Inseparable (short) Joe/Charlie
2007 Atonement Paul Marshall
2008 The Other Boleyn Girl William Carey
2008 Burlesque Fairytales Henry Clark
2009 Creation Joseph Hooker
2010 Four Lions Ed
2010 Third Star James
2010 The Whistleblower Nick Philips
2011 War Horse Major Stewart
2011 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Peter Guillam

Television credits

Year Title Role Notes Awards and nominations
2002 Fields of Gold Jeremy TV film
2002 Tipping the Velvet Freddy Drama serial
2002 Silent Witness Warren Reid Drama series; 2 episodes
2003 Cambridge Spies Edward Hand Drama serial; 1 episode
2003 Spooks Jim North Drama series; 1 episode
2003 Fortysomething Rory Comedy drama
2004 Dunkirk Lt. Jimmy Langley Docu-drama
2004 Hawking Stephen Hawking TV film Golden Nymph for Television Films – Best Performance by an Actor (Won)
BAFTA Television Awards – Best Actor (Nominated)
2005 To the Ends of the Earth Edmund Talbot Drama serial
2005 Broken News Will Parker Comedy series; 3 episodes
2005 Nathan Barley Robin Comedy series; 2 episodes
2007 Stuart: A Life Backwards Alexander Masters TV film
2008 The Last Enemy Stephen Ezard Drama serial Satellite Award – Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film (Nominated)
2009 Marple: Murder Is Easy Luke Fitzwilliam TV film
2009 Small Island Bernard Bligh Drama serial BAFTA Television Award – Best Supporting Actor (Nominated)[9]
2010– Sherlock Sherlock Holmes Drama series Crime Thriller Awards – Best Actor (Won)
National Television Awards – Outstanding Drama Performance (Nominated)
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards – Best Actor (Won)

BAFTA Television Award – Best Leading Actor (Nominated)

2010 Van Gogh: Painted with Words Vincent van Gogh Docu-drama

Theatre credits

Year Title Role Venue Awards and nominations
2001 Love's Labour's Lost Ferdinand Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2001 A Midsummer Night's Dream Demetrius Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002 As You Like It Orlando Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002 Romeo and Juliet Benvolio Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002 Oh, What a Lovely War! Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2004 The Lady from the Sea Lyngstrand Almeida Theatre
2005 Hedda Gabler Tesman Almeida Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre 		Olivier Award – Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Nominated)
2006 Period of Adjustment George Almeida Theatre
2007 Rhinoceros Bérenger Royal Court Theatre
2007 The Arsonists Eisenring Royal Court Theatre
2008 The City Chris Royal Court Theatre
2010 After the Dance David Scott-Fowler National Theatre
2011 Frankenstein The Creature/Victor Frankenstein National Theatre

Voice credits

Year Title Role Format Awards and nominations
2004 The Raj Quartet Demetrius BBC Radio 4 series
2008 Casanova Narrator Audiobook
2008 Death in a White Tie Narrator Audiobook
2008– Cabin Pressure Capt. Martin Crieff BBC Radio 4 comedy series
2009 South Pacific Narrator TV documentary
2009 Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders Young Rumpole BBC Radio 4 series
2009 Metamorphosis Narrator BBC Radio 7
2010 Stephen Hawking's Universe Narrator Discovery Channel/Channel 4 series
2010 Sherlock Holmes: The Rediscovered Railway and Other Stories Narrator Audiobook
2011 Tom and Viv TS Eliot BBC Radio 7

References

  1. ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch on playing Sherlock Holmes". The Guardian. 17 July 2010.
  2. ^ "The Children's Monologues". Dramaticneed.org. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Frankenstein". NationalTheatre. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  4. ^ A Monster Double Act for Danny Boyle's Frankenstein, Mail Online. 29 October 2010.
  5. ^ http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/63286/productions/frankenstein.html
  6. ^ a b To the Ends of the Earth – Production Notes at Masterpiece Theatre
  7. ^ "The Dark Side of the Earth". Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  8. ^ "The Dark Side of the Earth Podcasts: 10. Cumbersome". Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Television Awards Winners in 2010". BAFTA. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Cumberbatch hints at 'Doctor Who' role". Digital Spy. 22 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  11. ^ "Sherlock star reveals he was offered Doctor Who role... but turned it down". Daily Mail. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  12. ^ "Easter TV Highlights". The Telegraph. 1 April 2010.
  13. ^ "BBC Drama announces Sherlock, a new crime drama for BBC One". BBC. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
  14. ^ "TV Review: Sherlock and Orchestra United". The Guardian. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  15. ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch Joins Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy". 16 August 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  16. ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch - stepping into the lead". Evening Standard. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  17. ^ Eden, Richard (8 May 2010). "'Broody' actor Benedict Cumberbatch wants to be in the thick of it with Olivia Poulet". Retrieved 20 January 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |source= ignored (help)
  18. ^ Kay, Richard (17 March 2011). "Sherlock Holmes' star Benedict Cumberbatch splits from university sweetheart after ten years together". Mail Online. Retrieved 17 March 2011.

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