Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch was born on the 19 July 1976, in London, to ‘Timothy Carlton and ‘Wanda Ventham.

Most of Benedict Cumberbatch’s early days during his youth, were spent in boarding schools. He received his education from Brambletye School in West Sussex and from Harrow School

He was an arts scholar at the Harrow School and was a member of The Rattigan Society, which was the foremost club of dramatic arts in his school at the time. Benedict Cumberbatch made his acting debut at the age of 12, starring as ‘Titania’ in the famous play ‘A midsummer Night’s Dream’.

He continued his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and he graduated with a MA degree in Classical Acting.

Benedict Cumberbatch started his theatre career in 2001 and played major roles in several classic plays. In 2005, his performance as ‘George Tesman’ in the play ‘Hedda Gabler’ was highly appreciated and he was nominated for Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

He helmed the revival of ‘Terrance Rattigan’s’ famous play ‘After the Dance’. The play was directed by ‘Thea Sharrock’ at the ‘Royal National Theater’. The adaptation won 4 Olivier Awards and was awarded ‘Best Revival’ as well.

Some of the other major plays that Cumberbatch was part of are: Danny Boyle's 'The Children's Monologues' (2010) and Danny Boyle's stage production of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' (2011). For his performance in 'Frankenstein', he achieved the "Triple Crown of London Theatre" by winning the ‘Oliver Award’, ‘Evening Standard Award’ and the ‘Critics’ Circle Theatre Award’.

In 2015, he played Shakespeare's Hamlet at London's Barbican Theatre and earned his third Laurence Olivier Awards nomination for the role.

Benedict Cumberbatch appeared on the TV show ‘Tipping the Velvet’, in 2002. He then played the role of Edward Han’ on the TV show ‘Cambridge Spies’, in 2003. In the same year, he also starred as ‘Rory’ in the comedy drama series, ‘Fortysomething’.

He landed his first major role in television in the year 2004. He was selected to play the role of Stephen Hawking in the hit TV series ‘Hawking’. Benedict was nominated for the ‘BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor’ for his performance as ‘Stephen Hawking’. He won the ‘Golden Nymph’ for television films in the category of ‘Best Performance by an Actor’ too. Benedict Cumberbatch also provided the voice for ‘Stephen Hawking’ for the first episode of ‘Curiosity’, which is a Television drama series.

In 2005, he was offered the role of ‘Edmund Talbot’ in the TV miniseries ‘To the Ends of the Earth’, which he readily accepted. He also made guest appearance in the Comedy show ‘Broken news’ and ‘Nathan Barley’ in the same year.

In 2007, Benedict Cumberbatch starred alongside ‘Tom Hardy’ in the TV adaptation of ‘Stuart: A Life Backwards’. The show aired on BBC in September 2007.

He played the lead role in a hit BBC miniseries, ‘The Last Enemy’, in 2008. His performance as the lead character, earned him a ‘Satellite Award’ nomination for the ‘Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film’ in the same year.