Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch -Actor’s Biography-

 

Born 19th of July 1976

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 nominations 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 a son, Christopher Carlton born 2015.

Writers Note: Personal favorites Star Trek Into Darkness,  The Imitation Game, Small Island, Sherlock, Parade’s End and the short film Little Favor.

 

Film Roles

 

Benedict in The Imitation Game (2014)

Starter for Ten (2006) as William Pitt
Amazing Grace (2006) as Patrick Watts
Atonement (2007) as Paul Marshall
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) as William Carey
Burlesque Fairytales (2008) as Henry Clark
Creation (2009) as Joseph Hooker
Four Lions (2010) as Ed
Third Star (2010) as James
The Whistleblower (2010) as Nick Phillips
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) as Petter Guillam
Wreckers (2011) as David
War Horse (2011) as Major Stewart
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) as Smaug
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) as Khan
12 Years a Slave (2013) as William Ford
August: Osage County (2013) as Little Charlie
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) as Smaug
The Fifth Estate (2013) as Julian Assange
The Imitation Game (2014) as Alan Turning
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) as Smaug
Black Mass (2015) as Billy Bulger
Zoolander 2 (2016) as All
Doctor Strange  (2016) as Dr. Stephen Strange
Upcoming Projects: Magik (2016), Rogue Male (2017), Jungle Book (2018) and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2018)!

 

 

                                                           The Fifth Estate (2013) as Julian Assange

 

                                                           Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) as Khan

 

 

 

Television Roles

                                                     Of course we fans love him as Sherlock Holmes

Field of Gold (2002) as Jeremy
Tipping the Velvet (2002) as Freddy
Silent Witness (2002) as Warren Reid
Heartbeat (2003) as Charles/Toby
Cambridge Spies (2003) as Edward Hand
Spooks (2003) as Jim North
Fortysomething (2003) as Rory Slippery
Dunkirk (2004) as Lt. Jimmy Langley
Hawking (2004) as Stephen Hawking
Nathan Barley (2005) as Robin
To the Ends of the Earth (2005) as Edmund Talbot
Broken News (2005) as Will Parker
Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007) as Alexander Marsters
The Last Enemy (2008) as Stephen Ezard
Marple: Murder is Easy (2009) as Luke Fitzwilliam
The Turning Point (2009) as Guy Burgess
Small Island (2009) as Bernard
Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010) as Vincent Van Gogh
Sherlock (2010 – ) as Sherlock Holmes
Parade’s End (2012) as Christopher Tietjens
The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016) as Richard III

                                         Benedict Cumberbatch in Small Island. (2009) A touching performance!

 

 

Radio & Voice-Over Roles

Seven Women (2005) as Tovey
The Cocktail Party (2005) as Peter Quiipe
The Possessed (2006) as Nikolai Stavrogin
The Pillow Book (2008) as Tadanobu
The Last Days of Grace (2008) as GF
At War with Wellington (2008) as Duke of Wellington
Chatterton: The Allington Solution (2008) as Thomas Chatterton
Spellbound (2008) as Dr. Murchison
Cabin Pressure (2008 to 2014)
Good Evening (2009) as Dudley Moore
Rumpole (2009 – 2014) as Young Rumpole
Tom and Viv (2011) as T.S. Eliot
Copenhagen (2013) as Werner Heisenberg
Neverwhere (2013) as Angel Islington
Rumpole and the Old Boy Net (2014) as Rumpole
Rumpole and the Sleeping Partners (2014) as Rumpole
My Dear Bessie (2015) as Chris

 

Stage Roles

Benedict on stage in Frankenstein (2011)

A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream (2002)
Love’s Labour’s Lost (2002)
Oh What Lovely War (2002)
As You Like It (2002)
Romeo and Juliet (2002)
The Lady by the Sea (2004)
Hedda Gabler (2005)
Period of Adjustment (2007)
Rhinoceros (2007)
The Arsonists (2007)
The City (2008)
After the Dance (2010)
The Children’s Monologues gala (2010)
Frankenstein (2011)

Cumberbatch was part of a cast featuring members of the Royal National Theatre Company in 50 Years on Stage, the Royal National Theatre’s landmark event for its 50th anniversary on 2 November 2013. He played Rosencrantz in a selected scene from Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Hamlet (2015) He earned his third Laurence Olivier Awards nomination for the role.