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Date of Birth

19 July 1976, London, England, UK

Birth Name

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch

Nickname

Ben

Height

6' 0½" (1.84 m)

Mini Biography

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). He will also be the voices of both Smaug the Dragon and the Necromancer in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

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 school, he took a gap year to teach English in a Tibet monastery. He then attended the University of Manchester, where he studied drama. After graduating, Cumberbatch continued his training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Source

The Mini Biography is from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Cumberbatch. IMDb is not affiliated with, and neither endorses, nor is endorsed by Wikipedia or any of the authors who contributed to this article. The Wikipedia content may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional or other terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details. This webpage may use the Freebase schema, licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/.

Trade Mark

Bold blue eyes

Rich, deep, baritone voice

Trivia

Trained at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Met Professor Stephen Hawking twice before filming Hawking (2004) (TV) to prepare for the role.

Son of actor Timothy Carlton and actress Wanda Ventham.

He went to Harrow, one of the most prestigious public schools in the country. Benedict's first ever acting role was when he was still at school. He played Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in the Shakespeare play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". During his gap year before going to Manchester University, he spent some time teaching English at a Tibetan monastery.

His grandmother paid for his high tuition fee at Harrow.

He experienced a terrifying car jacking in South Africa while he filmed "To the Ends of the Earth" (2005). He wrote about the experience in an article for 'The Princes Trust'.

Personal Quotes

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.'"

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.

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.

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.

[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.

[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."

Where Are They Now

(March 2005) Beginning his run in Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" at the Almeida Theater, London, England, UK.

(April 2005) Playing George Tesman in Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" opposite Eve Best at the Almeida Theater, London, England, UK.

(February 2007) Currently co-starring in the film Amazing Grace (2006), playing "William Pitt the Younger".

(January 2009) London and Cardiff, filming a 3-part "Sherlock" (2010) series.

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