Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch CBE (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. His most famous roles include Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock (2010–2017), Peter Guillam in the spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011),^[1] Stephen Hawking in Hawking (2004), William Pitt in Amazing Grace (2006), and his Academy Award-nominated role as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.^[2] He was nominated for another Academy Award for his role as Phil Burbank in The Power of the Dog in 2022.

Benedict Cumberbatch CBE
Cumberbatch at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2014
Born	Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (1976-07-19) July 19, 1976 (age 48) Hammersmith, London, England
Alma mater	University of Manchester London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Celebrity
Years active	1999–present
Works	Performances
Spouse	Sophie Hunter ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	3
Parents	Timothy Carlton (father) Wanda Ventham (mother)
Family	Henry Carlton Cumberbatch (grandfather) Henry Arnold Cumberbatch (great-grandfather) Robert William Cumberbatch (great-great-grandfather)
Awards	Full list
Signature

He also played Stephen Ezard in The Last Enemy (2008), Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007), Bernard in Small Island (2009),^[3] as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness,

He voiced the character Smaug, and the Necromancer in The Hobbit (2012).^[4] Cumberbatch played Julian Assange in the 2013 movie The Fifth Estate, however his most known role is for his role as Doctor Strange, one of the the Avengers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He ranked #1 in Empire Magazine's "100 Sexiest Movie Stars" in 2013. He was named one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine in 2014.^[5]

Career

In 2000 Cumberbatch acted on TV for the first time in an episode of Heartbeat, and was on the show again in 2004.^[6] He began acting in theatre in 2001.^[7] He played Ford in 12 Years a Slave. In 2013 Cumberbatch was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television at the Golden Globes.

Personal life

Benedict Cumberbatch was born to a family that was already wealthy. His parents were both actors, and his ancestor Abraham Cumberbatch started a sugar plantation in the British colony of Barbados which was worked by slaves.^[8][9] As an adult, he dated actress Olivia Poulet.^[10] On 5 November 2014, Cumberbatch announced his engagement to Sophie Hunter.^[11] On 14 February 2015, Cumberbatch married Hunter.^[12] They have three sons, Christopher Carlton (born 1 June 2015), Hal Auden (born 3 March 2017) and Finn (born 11 January 2019).

References

1. "Benedict Cumberbatch Joins Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy". 16 August 2010. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
2. "Benedict Cumberbatch On Alan Turing's Awkwardness And Sherlock's Sex Appeal". NPR. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
3. "Television Awards Winners in 2010". BAFTA. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
4. "Benedict Cumberbatch To Voice Smaug in 'The Hobbit'". Deadline.com. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
5. "Benedict Cumberbatch". Time.
6. Cherrington, Rosy (1 November 2014). "Telegraph". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
7. "Benedict Cumberbatch Biography". The Biography Channel. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
8. Hall, Ellie (2014-01-31). "NYC Commissioner's Ancestors Were Slaves Of Benedict Cumberbatch's Family". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
9. "Slave Past Haunts Rich and Famous". secretbarbados.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-11-04. Ancestors of the Hollywood heartthrob owned 250 slaves in Barbados – and were compensated to the tune of £3.6m (nearly US$5m) in today's prices when the British Empire abolished the iniquitous trade in the 1830s.
10. Eden, Richard (8 May 2010). "'Broody' actor Benedict Cumberbatch wants to be in the thick of it with Olivia Poulet". The Telegraph. London: The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
11. "Benedict Cumberbatch announces engagement to director Sophie Hunter". The Guardian. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
12. "Cumberbatch set to wed Sophie Hunter over Valentine's weekend". BBC. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.