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Benedict Cumberbatch

ACTOR · BORN 1976

Benedict Cumberbatch

Born
19 July 1976, Hammersmith, London, England, UK
Known for
Sherlock (2010), 1917 (2019), Mowgli (2018), The Roses (2025)

27 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

Benedict Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an actor best known for Sherlock, 1917 and Mowgli.

Benedict Cumberbatch over the years

Benedict Cumberbatch in 2008 (age 32)
2008 · age 32Rev Stan from London, UK, CC BY 2.0
Benedict Cumberbatch in 2025 (age 49)
2025 · age 49Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0

27 Interesting Facts About Benedict Cumberbatch

Interesting Facts (4)

  1. #001

    His female fans were originally known as "Cumberbitches", but are now known as the "CumberCollective" or "Cumberpeople". Cumberbatch is uncomfortable with the term "Cumberbitches" because he says it is non-inclusive and pejorative.

    Benedict Cumberbatch — a scene
    Benedict Cumberbatch: a sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0

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  2. #002

    Three of his roles have connections to Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy originated the role of Mr. Spock, played Sherlock Holmes on stage, and in the 1970s released a song called "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins".

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  3. #003

    His voice has been creatively described by journalist Caitlin Moran as a jaguar hiding in a cello. According to a film critic, his voice is so sepulchrally resonant that it could have been synthesized from the combined timbres of Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Alan Rickman holding an elocution contest down a well. The "jaguar hiding in a cello" comparison apparently also clicked with the creative people at Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC. Cumberbatch voiced several commercials for Jaguar automobiles.

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  4. #004

    He subscribed to Buddhist philosophy and has expressed his affinity for meditation and mindfulness.

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Production Story (1)

  1. #005

    While recording a Doctor Who audio drama for Big Finish Productions (Doctor Who: Forty-Five), he was given a longer lunch break than usual so he could audition for Sherlock (2010).

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Behind the Scenes (4)

  1. #006

    He unexpectedly got dual voice roles on The Simpsons (1989) when he visited 20th Century Fox's studio for a completely unrelated appointment. He voiced the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, patterned after Hugh Grant's character in Love Actually (2003), and had done an Alan Rickman impression to voice Snape for the Special Valentine Episode that aired in February 2013.

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  2. #007

    He lost a notable amount of weight for his role as Sherlock Holmes, his goal being to portray Holmes as a character with such high intelligence that it manifests itself in a physical, "mind-over-matter" sort of way.

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  3. #008

    On the day before filming the pilot of Sherlock (2010), his hair turned green because of the dye used to turn his hair black. Thankfully, his hair was fixed and filming went on as planned.

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  4. #009

    He met Professor Stephen Hawking twice before filming Hawking (2004) to prepare for the role. He subsequently provided the voice of the physicist in Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (2010) and Stephen Hawking's Grand Design (2012), both of which aired on Discovery Channel.

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Characters & Cast (3)

  1. #010

    His parents, Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, also played his character's parents on Sherlock (2010).

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  2. #011

    He has played two very different villains named "Khan": Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and the voice of the sadistic Bengal tiger Shere Khan in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018).

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  3. #012

    His character Sherlock Holmes' warm relationship with Mrs. Hudson is influenced by Cumberbatch's own real-life relationship with Una Stubbs, as she was good friends with his mother and she saw him grow up.

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Easter Eggs & References (1)

  1. #013

    In the episode A Scandal in Belgravia (2012), Sherlock Holmes encounters the mysterious dominatrix Irene Adler. Coincidentally, Irene is the middle name of his wife, Sophie Hunter.

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Career & Awards (3)

  1. #014

    One of his first ever acting roles was playing Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream when he was 13 years old.

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  2. #015

    He received one of his earliest reviews when he played Nick Bottom in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The review said, "Cumberbatch's 'Bottom' will be long remembered."

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  3. #016

    He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the performing arts and to charity. He is an actor in London, England.

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Life & Family (11)

  1. #017

    He posted a video of himself accepting the "Ice Bucket Challenge" to raise research funds for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Gehrig is not the only famous person to suffer from this disease: it also affected Stephen Hawking, whom Cumberbatch has played.

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  2. #018

    He is good friends with Jonny Lee Miller, with whom he shared the central roles of Victor Frankenstein and his Creature in Danny Boyle's stage production National Theatre Live: Frankenstein (2011). Coincidentally, Miller was cast as Sherlock Holmes in Elementary (2012), and Cumberbatch has been playing the legendary detective in Sherlock (2010) since July 2010.

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  3. #019

    He is good friends with Robert Rinder, whom he met while they were both students at the University of Manchester. He officiated at Rinder's marriage to his partner after being ordained by the Universal Life Church. In return, Rinder was one of three best men at his wedding to Sophie Hunter.

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  4. #020

    Cumberbatch and Alan Turing, whom he portrays in The Imitation Game (2014), are actually related in real life. According to the family history site Ancestry, the two are 17th cousins with family relations dating back to the 14th century. Both are said to be related to John Beaufort, the first Earl of Somerset, through Cumberbatch's and Turing's respective paternal lines.

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  5. #021

    During his gap year, before studying Drama at Manchester University, he spent some time volunteering as an English teacher at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Darjeeling, India. The pupils were mostly Tibetans.

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  6. #022

    In a video interview with NewsHub of New Zealand, Cumberbatch revealed that he spent the lockdown there with both his parents, his wife and his three sons, since he was in the country filming The Power of the Dog (2021) with director Dame Jane Campion when the pandemic began to spread across the world in February 2020.

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  7. #023

    Genealogists have identified Benedict Cumberbatch as a third cousin of King Richard III, whom he portrayed in The Hollow Crown (2012). He attended King Richard III's reburial and read a poem on March 26, 2015. Not only is he a cousin of Richard's, but he is also Richard's 16th great-nephew, being a descendant of Richard's brother Edward and his mistress.

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  8. #024

    He struck and injured a cyclist in a road accident while driving his Lamborghini Urus on a country lane on the Isle of Wight. When he pulled over to check on him, the road victim suddenly jumped up and slapped Cumberbatch before realizing who he was.

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  9. #025

    He experienced a terrifying carjacking in South Africa while filming To the Ends of the Earth (2005). He wrote about the experience in an article for The Prince's Trust, for which he is an ambassador.

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  10. #026

    Benedict's favorite television series include The Wire (2002), The Office (2005), The West Wing (1999), Mad Men (2007), The Sopranos (1999), Breaking Bad (2008) and The Killing (2011).

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  11. #027

    Benedict's favorite filmmakers are Stanley Kubrick, Michael Winterbottom, Steven Soderbergh, John Hughes and Sir Alfred Hitchcock.

    Benedict Cumberbatch — behind the scenes
    Benedict Cumberbatch: behind the scenesImage: Wikimedia Commons · Fat Les (bellaphon) from London, UK derivative works: RanZag ( talk ), CC BY 2.0

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
  • IMDb IMDb name page (biography and trivia)

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