Trivia

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

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

Has central heterochromia as well as sectoral heterochromia, the groovy but harmless genetic mutation that his friend James McAvoy describes in X-Men: First Class (2011). Central heterochromia is where each eye has multiple colors - in his case, each has a dissimilar but nearly identical combination of blue, green and gold. Sectoral heterochromia is where one eye has a spot (or sector) of dissimilar coloration; his right eye has a brown freckle of color that, while small, is typical of sectoral heterochromia.

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.

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.

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

Known for donating his own drawings and sketches for charities and fundraisers.

Famous for his Alan Rickman impressions.

He always wanted to pursue acting, however he entertained the idea of a law degree because of how hard his parents worked to give him an education. When he discovered that law was just as competitive, he decided to go with his passion.

In 2013, he was ranked fifth place in the "Most Fascinating People in Britain" list of Tatler magazine, ranking higher than the Duchess of Cambridge and just below Queen Elizabeth II.

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 ambassador.

His great-grandfather, Henry Arnold Cumberbatch, was Queen Victoria's Consul General in Turkey and Lebanon, and was a member of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for his services to foreign and Commonwealth affairs.

Is a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr. with whom he shares the iconic role of Sherlock Holmes.

Fond of extreme sports like skydiving, hot-air ballooning, scuba diving and snowboarding.

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 from Hugh Grant's character in Love Actually (2003)) and did an Alan Rickman impression to voice Snape for the Special Valentine Episode that aired February 2013.

Four out of five films in which he appeared in 2013 received Academy Award nominations: 12 Years a Slave (2013), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), August: Osage County (2013) and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013).

His grandfather, Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, was a decorated submarine officer of both World Wars and a prominent figure of London high society.

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

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 its non-inclusive and pejorative.

In an interview, Dame Julie Andrews named Cumberbatch as one of the actors she is fond of.

Good friends with Keira Knightley, Alice Eve, Martin Freeman, James McAvoy, Tom Hardy, Matthew Goode, Zachary Quinto and Tom Hiddleston. Friends with Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Cumberbatch and Alan Turing, who 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 and Turing's respective paternal lines.

Attended Harrow, one of the oldest, most-respected and expensive all-male boarding schools in the United Kingdom. Painted oil canvases and was a member of the rugby team while he was studying at Harrow.

In 2012, he won a Laurence Olivier Award, London Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Award for his performance in Danny Boyle's stage production National Theatre Live: Frankenstein (2011) at the Royal National Theatre wherein he played Victor Frankenstein and his Creature in alternating nights.

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

Ranked #1 in Empire magazine's "100 Sexiest Movie Stars" in 2013.

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

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

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).

Became good friends with Gary Oldman on the scenery of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011).

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.

Received his Master's degree in Classical Acting for the Professional Theatre at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), the United Kingdom's oldest drama school.

Benedict's favorite movies include Ghostbusters (1984), Annie Hall (1977), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Wings of Desire (1987), Bicycle Thieves (1948), Badlands (1973), Elephant (2003), The Shining (1980), Let the Right One In (2008), Zoolander (2001), Withnail and I (1987), Brief Encounter (1945), I Am Love (2009), Michael Clayton (2007), A Prophet (2009), The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and Inception (2010).

As of 2022, has appeared in five films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Atonement (2007), War Horse (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013), The Imitation Game (2014), 1917 (2019) and The Power of the Dog (2021). Of those, 12 Years a Slave (2013) is a winner in the category.

Traditionally announced his engagement to theatre director partner Sophie Hunter, who he has known for 17 years, in the "Forthcoming Marriages" section of The Times newspaper. He presented her with a 3.5 carat, Edwardian-inspired cushion-cut, yellow diamond ring adorned with a hundred smaller diamonds all around the head, bezel and shank. Its estimated value is $450,000. (November 2014)

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

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.

Son of actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham.

In 2013, he was included in Entertainment Weekly's New Hollywood feature which listed the "Top 50 Coolest, Most Creative Entertainers Blowing Up TV, Movies, Music and Books".

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.

Benedict Cumberbatch is good friends with Eddie Redmayne. Both actors have portrayed Professor Stephen Hawking in different productions: Cumberbatch in Hawking (2004), and Redmayne in The Theory of Everything (2014). Both actors also received their first Academy Award nominations together, playing real life characters: Redmayne for his role as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014), and Cumberbatch for his role as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (2014).

Has mostly English ancestry, with small or distant amounts (to varying degrees) of Welsh, Scottish, Cornish, French, Swiss-French, Swedish, German and Dutch. His paternal grandfather, British Royal Navy and submarine commander Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, was born in Izmir, Turkey and his paternal grandmother, Pauline Ellen Laing (Congdon), was born in Dhoolie, Rangajan, Assam, India (their families were from England). His great-grandfather, diplomat Henry Alfred Cumberbatch, was born in Berdyans'k, Zaporiz'ka oblast, Ukraine, and was Queen Victoria's consul general in Turkey and Lebanon. Henry's own father, Robert William Cumberbatch, was also a diplomat, serving as Consul in the Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire.

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".

Was on the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. (2014)

Graced the cover of Time magazine in October 2013, and again in November 2014.

Has numerous connections outside the franchise to fellow Star Trek cast members. He played Stephen Hawking, who had previously played himself on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). He shares the role of Sherlock Holmes with both Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Plummer. Fellow cast member Karl Urban appeared in the last two Lord of the Rings films, while Cumberbatch appears in the prequel trilogy based on The Hobbit.

Has an older half-sister, Tracy Tabernacle, now Tracy Peacock, from his mother's first marriage to James Tabernacle.

In 2005, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Jørgen Tesman in Henrik Ibesen's play entitled "Hedda Gabler".

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.

Cumberbatch married theatre director partner Sophie Hunter at the 12th century Church of St. Peter and St. Paul on the Isle of Wight followed by a reception at Mottistone Manor, on February 14, 2015.