Benedict Cumberbatch

Who is Benedict Cumberbatch?

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English film, television, theatre and voice actor.

Cumberbatch's first West End theatre performance was for Sir Richard Eyre's revival of Hedda Gabler as George Tesman in 2005. Since then, he has appeared in the Royal National Theatre productions After the Dance and Danny Boyle's Frankenstein. His first starring role on television was as the title character in Hawking in 2004. He has portrayed Sherlock Holmes in the television series Sherlock since 2010 and has led the ensemble cast of Sir Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Parade's End in 2012. His first major film role was William Pitt the Younger in Amazing Grace in 2006. He has also appeared in the films Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Steven Spielberg's War Horse. Since 2012, he has portrayed the characters of Smaug and the Necromancer through voice and motion capture in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy. In 2013, he starred in films Star Trek Into Darkness, 12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate, and August: Osage County.

He has received two Olivier Award nominations winning one for Best Actor, four BAFTA nominations, two Emmy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination, among several others. In November 2013, he was honoured by BAFTA Los Angeles with a Britannia Award for "British Artist of the Year" for his "masterful performances in television, film and theatre." In March 2014, Cumberbatch was included in The Sunday Times "100 Makers of the 21st Century" list citing him as the "next Sir Laurence Olivier." In April 2014, Time magazine included Cumberbatch in its annual TIME 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World".