The chameleon man.
He was able to become a Dragon, Sherlock Holmes, Van Gogh and even a sexy Otter.
He has the most unpronounceable surname
in Hollywood. But you just need to hear “Cumberbatch” one time to immediately name a
couple of favorite characters. Being aristocratic to the core, this actor is not afraid to
laugh at himself and pose new challenges.
Why was Ben being mocked at school?
How did an actor almost die several times?
And what is the reason for the quarrel
between Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman?
Welcome to the Biographer channel. Sit back! The
most interesting details about the life and career of Benedict Cumberbatch are waiting for you. And
don't forget to click on the subscription button and the bell - you will find a lot of interesting
things about your favorite actors and much more. Subscribe, and let’s start.
Childhood
Benedict Timothy Carlton
Cumberbatch was born on July 19, 1976 in London. The future star's parents,
Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, were actors.
His first role was in the Daily Mirror, under
the title ‘Wanda's Little Wonder’, when he was four days old. Therefore, it was not surprising
that later the boy was keen on theatrical art. “Celebrities from TV” often came to
their house, but they rarely had fun. More often they worked. One of the memories of
the future actor's parents was how his mother was recognized in the frozen peas department.
That's what I thought fame was" he said.
He mentioned he had a "great childhood,"
though he was "over-gregarious" and "prone to moments of hyperactivity, then
exhaustion and bad temperedness.
“I was very inquisitive. I was very
talkative. Slightly eccentric, I think. An old soul, as one of my teachers described
me. I had a great amount of energy. I was an only child, so I loathed conflict.”
His parents wanted Benedict to get a good classical education. Perhaps one of the
reasons was the family's rich ancestry: Benedict is a descendant of King Richard III of
the royal Plantagenet dynasty. Ben started his studies at a private school in West Sussex, but
later moved to Harrow School, which was famous and very prestigious. The boarding school was
famous for its age-old traditions. Therefore, the pupils were obliged to learn a variety
of skills that every gentleman should have.
“I was lucky enough to be in an environment that
focused it into craft and acting and music and rugby and other sports. As opposed to going ‘This
is a problem child, we need to do something about him’. I think I was desperately insecure for all
sorts of reasons and tried to compensate for that. I was petrified by the idea of
what other people thought of me.”
The school, founded in the 16th century,
has brought up many outstanding persons and statesmen. Winston Churchill, John Galsworthy,
Richard Curtis, and believe it or not-Mycroft Holmes studied there. Ben describes the
experience as "a bit embarrassing.". The only thing he remembers with pleasure is playing
rugby, because he was macho at the same time.
And also, he speaks warmly about his family.
The Sherlock star shared that he was inspired by acting after watching performances by
his mother, the Only Fools and Horses, but was discouraged from the “ridiculous
choice of occupation" by his parents. After finding out about their son's interest in
the acting, Timothy and Wanda tried to dissuade him. “My parents discouraged it, of course
they did," he admitted. They predicted his career as a lawyer, instead of a theater studio.
Perhaps due to the fact that Ben's parents did not support him in his desire to continue the family
business, he did not act at an early age. Later, he admitted that he was glad of that.
“I wasn’t a child actor, I’m happy about that. Nothing against people like
my good cast members who have been, but I’m happy I had the experience I had.”
But the love of art won. From an early age, Benedict became interested in theater and went
to a drama club. He even dropped out of sports at school to plunge into acting and painting in
more detail. That led to ridicule from classmates who suggested that since Cumberbatch was
fond of art, he was definitely gay.
As you all know, the actor's surname often
causes tricky modifications and jokes.
In a 2007 interview, he said that Cumberbatch is
a real family name. Initially, he took the name Carlton, but did not achieve any success
with it. And when he changed his agent, his new agent advised him to choose another one.
“:...I thought Benedict Cumberbatch sounded a bit bumbly and messy, but they said it's a great
name, it will get people talking about you.”
But on Jimmy Kimmel's show, for the sake of a
joke, he decided to try on other options. He introduced himself to the invisible interlocutor
as Yo Yo Ma, George Costanza, Sanjay Gupta and John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.
First steps in acting
At Harrow School, Benedict tried himself
as an actor. In a school play “A Midsummer Night's Dream” a twelve-year-old boy played
the Queen of the Fairies - Titania.
After graduation, the young man paused his studies
and decided to see the world. An interesting experience was a year of teaching English at
a Tibetan monastery in Darjeeling in India. Later the actor would repeat more than once that
it was a special spiritual experience for him
"I worked for six months to drum up the finance
as it was voluntary — there was no income,"..."I could actually stay with monks in their
home and watch them at work and at prayer, and get the chance to teach
them and interact with them."
On weekends, not busy with teaching, the
actor was looking for adventures: he rafted down the Kali Gandaki River, crossing the desert
province of Rajasthan during the rainy season, and one day decided to climb the Himalayas.
They tried their luck, together with three friends, but all had altitude sickness.
Gradually, the group was reduced to two people.
Cumberbatch recalls:
“I started to have really weird, fucked-up dreams, and felt things were happening in my sleep. I
wasn’t sure if I was conscious or awake.”
The actor recalled that on the way they
ran out of food and were forced to drink rainwater collected from moss, as they were afraid
to drink from rivers. After spending the night on the hay in an abandoned barn, risky descents
on slippery boulders and fighting with leeches, the guys were very happy about the appearance
of traces of animal droppings on the paths.
When they reached the local
settlement, they, being hungry, were served the best-tasting meal they'd ever
had—unwashed greens and a bowl of eggs—after which Cumberbatch immediately got dysentery.
After that, he returned to his home country and entered the University of Manchester, where he
studied theater arts for 4 years. And after that, he continued his education at the London
Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where he received a master's degree in
Classical Acting for Professional Theater.
Recalling his years spent at Manchester
University, the actor believes that “roughed it" more than Oxbridge to study drama.
"I wanted something a bit more racy, a bit more different, a bit more
egalitarian,"... "I had a thoroughly healthy – and unhealthy – mix of friends."
At the same university, Ben had his first serious affair - with Olivia Poulet.
The young man began his professional career in 2001, mainly as a theater actor. With his
training and his love for performing he got roles in theatre plays at the Regent’s Park
Open Air Theatre. Later, he proved himself in the theaters “Royal Court”, “Alameida '', as well
as the Royal National Theater, where he got mainly the main roles. The path to the Royal Theater
took Benedict about ten years of work and gave him not only experience, but also recognition: the
actor was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award in the category "Best Supporting Role" for the
role of Tesman in the production of "Hedda Gabler" at the Aldmeida Theater.
Cinematography
The first television experience was in 2000,
while participating in the series “Heartbeat". Then the actor continued his attempts to appeared on the screens in cameos
of the TV series “Silent Witness”, “Fields of Gold”, “Tipping the Velvet”
The first full-length film in Cumberbatch's list was Mike Barker's drama “To Kill a
King”, 2003. There he got a small role, but his appearance on the big screen
was a serious start for the future.
In the same year, Benedict appeared in
Hugh Laurie's project “Fortysomething”, portraying the pedantic and boring son of the
main character, played by Laurie himself.
That was the first significant role
of an actor with a solid timing. The series clearly showed that Cumberbatch had
not yet developed the famous posture and strong voice. But fans would be pleased with the work.
Although the family comedy failed in the ratings, and therefore the series was closed.
2004 brought the actor his first popularity. The autobiographical film of the same name about
the young Stephen Hawking, where the actor got the main role, released. That was the first attempt
to embody the role of the famous physicist on the screen and it was a success. There Ben
already appeared before us as a mature actor, but even more soft and elegant.
Critics praised the film: the picture was nominated for the British Academy
Television Awards in the category "Best Dramatic Film" in 2005; Benedict Cumberbatch received the
"Golden Nymph" of the Monte Carlo Festival as "Best Actor", and was also nominated for
the BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor
From that moment on, the door to British cinema
was opened for the actor. He began to actively participate in mini-series and feature films,
becoming a local star. But with an emphasis on the roles of aristocrats and scoundrels,
which Ben received for the next five years.
In 2005, the viewer was able to see Cumberbatch
in the adventure series produced by the BBC - “To the Ends of the Earth”. The story told about
the world of class differences hiding under the appearance of decency and politeness, which
was given through the form of an aging ship.
The actor perfectly fit into the role of the
young aristocrat Edmund Talbot, a multifaceted and controversial character. In that movie he
showed his strengths: a fully developed character given a variety of emotional and physical tasks
that indicate the actor's range, nuances that illustrate the thought (and research) behind
Cumberbatch's acting choices, and a starring role showing he can carry a production.
Cumberbatch worked on the set every day for four months. Attwood commented on his choice
of the main actor by saying that he is
“...a good actor, someone young enough
to be believable as aristocratic, an almost slightly dislikeable character who is an
adolescent in terms of his views of the world, his upbringing . . . someone who could hold the screen
for four and a half hours, in every scene.”
By the way, that was the first role of Benedict
on the screen, in which there was a sex scene.
In a BBC press release issued
before the miniseries’ broadcast, Cumberbatch described the story as a
“sort of rock and roll 1812 period drama about a young man’s gap year . . . filth, dirt,
discovery, sex, drugs, dancing, love, spiritual “Starter for 10” together with James McAvoy, where
the actor got a rare just comedic role for him.
Then we met Ben in the historical biographical
drama “Amazing Grace” directed by Michael Apted. The actor got the role of William Pitt
the Younger, who became the youngest Prime Minister of Great Britain. The film told about
the fight of the main character, played by the charismatic Ioan Gruffudd, with the slave-owning
system of Britain in the early 19th century.
Critics praised the work positively.
Wally Hammond writing for Time Out singled out Benedict Cumberbatch's performance for
praise saying his performance "quietly upstaged" the fine performance of Gruffudd. The film
won the Christopher Award for the Best Film, and Benedict was nominated for the ALFS Award.
2007 was a productive year for the actor: two films with his participation were
released, having a high rating as a result.
“Atonement” directed by Joe Wright was a
military melodrama with a not very happy ending. Benedict gets a small role of the
“chocolate” millionaire Paul Marshall, a man down-to-earth, boring and sometimes horny. The actor coped with the role perfectly, working
out every second of the allotted time.
In addition, Cumberbatch had the opportunity
to work together with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. The picture did well at the box office
and received attention from the audience.
"Atonement" received 2 Golden Globe Awards in
the categories "Best Film" and "Best Music". In addition, the film received 14 nominations for the
BAFTA Award, in two of which it managed to win, including the nomination for "Best Film".
The second film was a biographical picture “Stuart: A Life Backwards" directed by David
Attwood, based on the book by Alexander Masters. The author described the life story of his
friend, who went through a difficult path from a criminal and a drug addict to a key figure in
the creation of a homeless assistance center.
Benedict's role was to portray the
writer's personality and their friendship with the main character, played by Tom Hardy.
In addition to full-length works, Cumberbatch appeared in the drama series “Inseparable”, where
he got an interesting role: he played two twin brothers with radically different characters.
In 2008, the audience was able to see Benedict in the acclaimed historical drama “The
Other Boleyn Girl” by Justin Chadwick. The actor's role was small and not very
attractive - the honorable nobleman William Carey, who was disappointed drunk because
of the betrayal of the bride Mary Boleyn.
Unfortunately, Cumberbatch remained overshadowed
by the bright acting of Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. And yet he was lucky to
get a role in a work of that magnitude.
In December of the same year, the actor appeared
in the pilot episode of the fantasy film “The Dark Side of the Moon”, which was never released.
The next year could be called quite successful in Benedict's career. A BBC TV drama “The Last
Enemy” was released, which was highly appreciated by both critics and ordinary viewers.
Iain B. MacDonald's dystopia consisted of five parts, and Cumberbatch got the main role in it. He
got the image of the mathematical genius Stephen Ezard, a hermit with signs of obsessive-compulsive
disorder. Does it remind you of anyone?
Ben was nominated for the Satellite
Award as the best actor in a miniseries or a TV movie for his work.
The second film of 2009 with the participation of Benedict - “Creation” by
Jon Amiel, was met with more restraint than the previous one. Cumberbatch got only a small
supporting role of Charles Darwin's friend.
In addition, Benedict managed to play
in the film "Marple: Murder Is Easy", as well as to play the role of Bernard in
the two-part TV adaptation of "Small Island". For that role, he was nominated for the
BAFTA TV Awards as Best Supporting Actor.
In parallel, Cumberbatch did not forget about the
theater. At Sky Arts Theatre Live, he acted in a play about Winston Churchill called The Turning
Point, playing the role of Guy Burgess.
In 2010, the viewer saw
Cumberbatch in several projects.
He got the episodic role of Nick Kaufman in
the film "The Whistleblower", appeared in the British film "Four Lions", playing a negotiator,
and also voiced the Discovery documentary series "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking".
Also during that period, Ben got the main role in Hattie Dalton's film “Third Star". He got a
complex dramatic image of James dying of cancer, who went on a trip with his best friends.
And it was in that picture that Ben had the opportunity to show his dramatic
talent. The role was filled with a lot of depth and emotions, pain and hope.
The touching story received a nomination in the category “Best Film” at the festival in Sao
Paulo. And The Observer's Philip French called the film "competent", though "rather familiar
and predictable, though not dislikable"
And how can we forget about Benedict's
attempt to portray an outstanding artist?
Another of his works was
the documentary “Van Gogh: Painted with Words”, where the actor got
the main role of Vincent Van Gogh.
The picture was based on the artist's personal
letters with his brother and other people, trying to portray Vincent's inner world as naturally as
possible. Cumberbatch's image in that role came out highly educated, but emotionally exhausted.
As a result, the film was awarded the Rockie Awards for the best documentary film about
art at the Banff World Media Festival.
Perhaps thanks to the actor's previous
experience: the roles of aristocrats, hermits, brilliant and non-standard personalities, Benedict
would be able to brilliantly play the next role.
The role that brought him worldwide fame and
the chance to be on the Hollywood red carpet.
Sherlock
Benedict's perseverance and talent ensured his popularity
at home. But outside of European cinema, not many people still knew about the actor.
Everything changed when the BBC launched a new large-scale project based on the
famous works of Arthur Conan Doyle.
Before casting for the main role, Mark
Gatiss, who was the screenwriter and chief producer of the series, made a condition: no
Hollywood celebrities. That's why Benedict fit perfectly. The showrunners were very interested
in his video CV, and after a personal meeting, the actor was immediately given the role.
Interestingly, Cumberbatch became the first and last contender for the role.
After him, no one was considered.
The selection of Holmes' faithful friend
was more difficult. Many up-and-coming actors want to get that role, including
Matt Smith from the series Doctor Who.
The decision was influenced by chance:
Martin Freeman and Cumberbatch talked so enthusiastically during the casting that
the directors decided to hire him.
It was very important for the actors to find
a common language and complement each other. It was especially successful on the screen.
To prepare for the role, Ben had to work hard: he had to lose weight and become more bony, as
well as learn to play the violin. The actor coped with the first task with the help of yoga and
swimming, and the Australian actress and violinist Eos Chater helped him with the second.
His role as the socially awkward and compulsive, but brilliant tech-savvy detective is captivating
from the moment he's introduced on screen.An interesting idea was the illustration of the
investigation process: the viewers can see the thoughts of the detective on the screen
and to get in the process themselves.
In an interview, Benedict emphasized that
the new version of Sherlock was an attempt to modernize the source material, while
remaining true to the roots of history.
“It didn’t feel like you were just resurrecting
that character for the hell of it. It felt like a very reverent re-examination of him through
the 21st century, but with such adoration of the original material, loads of Easter eggs for
fans of the Conan Doyle novels…It was a winning formula. And when Martin [Freeman] came in to
audition and just raised my game massively, I thought, “That’s a great piece of chemistry.”
On July 25, 2010, the world saw the first series of a modern interpretation of the story of
a brilliant detective. The audience and film critics appreciated the experiment favorably,
and the series got the top positions.
Ben quickly gained huge popularity
and had fans around the world, which he was not ready for. Sherlock's followers
started calling themselves Cumberbitches,.....
despite the fact that the actor
himself liked other variants more: Cumberbabes or Cumberpeople. Soon
Ben got the status of a sex symbol.
"The immediate response on Twitter... this
thing of my name trending worldwide... I didn't understand,"... "I thought people
were going to abseil out of helicopters with cameras stuck to their heads and run
after me brandishing notepads and pens!"
"Sherlock" lasted four seasons, until 2017, each
of which was eagerly awaited by the audience. By the way, Sherlock and Mycroft's parents in the
series were played by Benedict's parents.
In 2014, Cumberbatch's acting in the
third season helped him to receive the Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a
Miniseries or Movie. It was “Sherlock” that launched his career as a major artist.
For a long time after the release of the last season, there was talk about the return
of the brilliant detective to the screens. But, according to the creators of the series,
Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, a lot depended on the availability of time of the main actors
of the franchise. The last episodes were already difficult to shoot, as it was hard to match the
schedules of Cumberbatch, Freeman and the crew.
In addition, in 2021, Una Stubbs, who plays Mrs.
Hudson, died at the age of 84. The producer of the project admitted that the cast and crew
might be "too sad" to make another one.
In 2018, there was a quarrel
between two on-screen friends.
Cumberbatch reacted to one of Martin's
interviews, in which Freeman stated that he no longer wanted to take part in the show
due to the strong reaction of viewers who criticized the last season. He described being
in the show as being a "mini-Beatles thing", explaining: "People’s expectations,
some of it’s not fun anymore. It’s not a thing to be enjoyed, it’s a thing
of: ‘'You better f***ing do this, otherwise, you’re a c***.' That’s not fun anymore."
Ben overreacted to the statements of the ex-partner, calling his complaints
“pathetic” in an interview.
"It’s pretty pathetic if that’s all it takes to
let you not want to take a grip of your reality. What, because of expectations? I don’t
necessarily agree with that...There’s a level of obsession where [the franchise] becomes
[the fans’] even though we’re the ones making it. But I just don’t feel affected by that
in the same way, I have to say."
After that, it was rumored that the relationship
between the actors was cool, and in real life it was difficult to call them friends.
"Benedict and Martin aren't mates and they don't spend time together away from the show. They're
professional and very polite to each other but there's not the warmth you'd expect after filming
together for six years. There isn't a huge desire to come back for another season."
— source reported The Sun newspaper back in January 2017
But at the same time, Freeman was invited to Ben's wedding by the best man, not by ordinary
guest, which could say a lot. And in 2019, after parting with his wife, Martin spent a huge
amount to purchase a house next to his colleague, so not everything was so clear.
And what was after that?
After the success of Sherlock, Benedict did not
get bored: The offers from leading directors in Europe and the USA began pouring in for him.
In 2011, he appeared in Tomas Alfredson's film "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", where
he co-starred with Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. Cumberbatch got the
role of Peter Guillam, the faithful assistant of the main character, who was played by Oldman.
While preparing for the role, the actor went to Morocco for kitesurfing training. In an interview,
Ben admitted that he always wanted to act a spy "any actor worth their salt would
jump at the chance", he says, "because it's all about mask shifting"
"I was in Essaouira and because my character was a spy originally stationed in North
Africa, I walked the streets alone at night imagining what it was like for him – the
oppressive doorways, the dark alleys."
After the premiere of the picture at the Venice
Festival, critics rated it unanimously positively. One of the most influential critics, Roger
Ebert, gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" received 3 nominations
for the Academy Award, among other numerous nominations. Ben was nominated for Best Supporting
Actor at the British Independent Film Awards.
In addition, Ben played well with Jonny Lee Miller
in Danny Boyle's play Frankenstein, in which they shared the same body. On the stage of the Royal
National Theater, the actors changed roles every evening, playing in turn Victor Frankenstein
and his Creation, which allowed to deepen the relationship between the main characters,
and better understand the characters.
An interesting situation occurred during
the performance. While playing on stage, Cumberbatch realized that the same people
who came from China were sitting in the front row every night. He asked them how they
found so much time and money for it. “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” they said. “We love you.”
Later, the play was shown in cinemas in Britain and around the world and brought both actors
the Evening Standard newspaper award in the category "Best Actor". The experts said that "it
would be insulting not to mention both actors". They also got the Laurence Olivier Award 2012
in the category "Best Actor in a Play".
Two more works that year were Steven Spielberg's
war drama "War Horse" and D. R. Hood's drama Wreckers, in which Ben got minor roles.
By that point, the relationship with actress Olivia Poulet had come to an end. The
couple had been together for 12 years. Therefore, Ben admitted that he had
not been alone since university
"When I was last single I wasn't the same person,
I was desperately backwards in coming forwards. But now I quite enjoy it. Naturally, I
miss the proximity of a partnership with someone I know and love – and I still love
Olivia to bits – but being single's fun."
It was difficult to say either it was the
growing popularity of the actor or their different views on the relationship played
a role. Olivia never became a celebrity, while Ben gradually became a global star. There
were rumors that the reason for the breakup was the actor's desire to become a father. Already
in 2010, he said that he was ready for that. ‘I have been broody for five years,’ the actor
admitted...'I would love to have the ability to juggle a career and have a young child.’
Cumberbatch was already healing his broken heart with another girl, Anna Jones. They
dated for a short time from 2011 to 2012. He came to the festival in Venice to promote
the film “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” with her. But after a few months the British
designer and the actor broke up.
Cumberbatch plunged into work.
In 2012, the viewer met the actor in the mini-series The Hollow Crown, which was
based on Shakespeare's “historical” plays. Ben got the role of King Richard 3. Judi
Dench was the actor's partner on the set. She played Cecily, the mother of the king.
In an interview, Benedict admitted that it was “terribly interesting” for him to work on
the role of a wicked and domineering king, and therefore the character turned
out to be realistic and cruel.
“Richard III is a tragedy, but you only
really appreciate that tragedy if you have seen Richard through all the plays and have
met the adolescent who becomes the despot who becomes the regretful, nightmare-haunted
wreck before he dies in battle.”
In addition to Richard, that year Ben had
to play another not very pleasant character: namely, to voice the main antagonist “Sauron”
in the first part of the famous “Hobbit”.
In the following parts of the trilogy, the
dragon Smaug was added to the role of Sauron.
