Benedict Cumberbatch Fun Facts, Quotes and Tweets
28th January 2017
Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch appears in Elbow's new video for Gentle Storm. A recreation of Godley & Creme's 1985 Cry video, the promo was actually directed by Kevin Godley.
23rd October 2016
Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch will host the next episode of Saturday Night Live on 5 November (16), which will be the show’s final episode before the presidential election. It marks Cumberbatch's debut as host of the comedy sketch show, and he will be joined by musical guest Solange Knowles.
27th March 2016
Quote: "As an actor you are looking for the infinite. If you can hold that, if you can remember that in the chaos, it will anchor you and give you grace and ease. I’d always been fascinated by the idea of meditation. Sensory awareness is heightened and more sharply focused, which is an essential part of acting." Benedict Cumberbatch reveals how Buddhism spurred him on to excel in his career.
14th September 2015
Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie have had their son Christened on the U.K.'s Isle of Wight. The pair was photographed outside the service in the village of Mottistone on Sunday (13Sep15), where the Sherlock star was holding son Christopher's changing bag, while his wife carried the three-month-old into the church shielded by an umbrella.
12th July 2015
Fact: Actor Benedict Cumberbatch was among the first stars to congratulate 2015 Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic after his win against Roger Federer on Sunday (12Jul15) by greeting the Serbian ace in the reception room at Centre Court following the trophy presentation ceremony. Djokovic beat Federer 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 to defend his title at the annual London tournament.
8th March 2015
Fact: Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch and his Sherlock Holmes co-star Louise Brealey have signed up to appear on the London stage and read out historic correspondence from notable figures in a new series of Letters Live. The actors will read out old letters alongside an array of performers at Freemasons' Hall from 31 March (15) for five consecutive nights. In a statement, Cumberbatch says, "Letters Live makes us pause and imagine the lives behind the letters read and the circumstances of their origin. It's a privilege to read this most ancient of communications live to an audience."
2nd March 2015
Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch has whisked his pregnant new wife Sophie Hunter off to Bora Bora for their honeymoon. The couple exchanged vows on the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England, last month (Feb15), but had to delay plans for the traditional post-marriage vacation until after the Oscars, where The Imitation Game star was nominated for Best Actor. The Cumberbatches have since been spotted on the French Polynesian island.
18th February 2015
Quote: "I started off as Benedict Carlton, which is my middle name, my Grandfather's name. Cumberbatch sounds like a fart in a bath. It is even funnier in an English accent. But an agent who was wiser than me told me it was a good name. People have had fun with it and they continue to!" British star Benedict Cumberbatch yearned to change his unusual surname when he first launched his acting career.
13th February 2015
Quote: "When we actually worked together on Atonement, I think he... spent quite a lot of time trying to teach me tennis, which did not work. (He was) better than me. I don't remember him being particularly good, but he certainly thought he was good!" Actress Keira Knightley pokes fun at her Atonement and The Imitation Game co-star Benedict Cumberbatch's sporting skills, or lack thereof.
21st January 2015
Fact: Oscar-nominated Benedict Cumberbatch tested out a string of new names as part of a skit on Monday night's (19Jan15) Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the U.S. to see whether his deep British tones still sounded good while introducing himself at a bar with bizarre monikers. As well as "Fred" and "Tim", The Imitation Game star also tried out "Luigi MCPenis", "Groot", "Cody Arabia", "Jeff Jeff", "The Hamburgler", "certified public accountant David Weinstein", "Magic Mike", "Queen Laftifah" and vengeful The Princess Bride character "Inigo Montoya".
15th January 2015
Quote: "To ring my parents who are both actors and tell them that their only son has been nominated for an Oscar... is one of the proudest moments of my life." Benedict Cumberbatch was thrilled to share news of his Best Actor Academy Award nomination for The Imitation Game on Thursday (15Jan15).
9th December 2014
Quote: "There's a lot of work to be done, and I'm just at the beginning of it all, so I'm not going to talk much about it. But I mean it's a thrilling gig to get, and I just can't wait. I'm very excited." Benedict Cumberbatch on officially landing the role of Doctor Strange in Marvel's upcoming blockbuster.
1st December 2014
Quote: "If we can keep the quality up, I can't imagine that I will ever get tired of being Sherlock. I'd love to play him as an old man." Benedict Cumberbatch has no plans to quit playing Sherlock Holmes on Tv.
12th November 2014
Quote: "It's what I would have done if I wasn't famous. It's a normal thing to do in my country. It was a way of telling our friends, who we hadn't been able to tell, before (they saw) some grainy shot of a ring on her finger." British actor Benedict Cumberbatch explains his decision to announce his engagement to theatre director/actress Sophie Hunter by posting a formal notice in Britain's The Times newspaper.
12th November 2014
Quote: "We're so happy, and we just wanted to let everyone know how happy we are. One of the most incredible things about getting engaged, which we had no idea would be coming back our way, is the amount of love that just comes flooding back. I thought it was just all about us declaring that we were in love and getting married, but actually it's the world going, 'We love you too!' It's amazing. Family, friends, the world... it's amazing." British actor Benedict Cumberbatch is pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of support following his engagement announcement. The star revealed he had proposed to theatre director/actress Sophie Hunter in a formal notice in Britain's The Times newspaper last week (05Nov14).
10th November 2014
Quote: "A little bit of drawing. I do a little bit of pen and ink but canvas work has been a little while off, I need space and a bit more time. But yeah, I love sketching still, really love that." Benedict Cumberbatch stays grounded by drawing in his spare time.
7th November 2014
Tweet: "Thanks to everyone who is congratulating me but its another Sophie who is marrying Benedict Cumberbatch. Nice one guys haha." Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner corrects fans who have mistaken Benedict Cumberbatch's new fiancee Sophie Turner for herself. The Sherlock star announced his engagement to the actress/director on Wednesday (05Nov14).
16th October 2014
Quote: "They either want to make John into a sort of cute little toy, or me into a cute toy, or we’re f**king on a bed, chained together. It’s always, like, one of them is tired, one comes back from work, the other is horny, a lump appears in his trousers, and then they’re at it. It’s usually me getting it. I’m biting Watson’s dog tags." Benedict Cumberbatch on the vivid imagination of Sherlock fans who like to imagine the actor's sleuth character and his sidekick Dr. John Watson are gay.
11th August 2014
Quote: "I've been very, very fortunate that there's something going on behind my eyes, so that it looks like I'm... encompassing the brilliance of their minds and ability to concentrate." Benedict Cumberbatch reveals his secret to playing smart guys like Julian Assange and Sherlock Holmes.
11th August 2014
Quote: "It's something that's been in my life for a long time. I was offered it at school and turned it down to do my 'A' levels (school exams) and try and get some decent grades... I'm of an age now where I think it's now or never." Actor Benedict Cumberbatch on portraying tragic Shakespearean hero Hamlet onstage next year (15).
27th July 2014
Fact: Comedian and Lord Of The Rings superfan Stephen Colbert dressed up in a Middle Earth costume on Saturday (26Jul14) as he stepped onstage at the San Diego Comic-Con event in California to moderate a panel discussion with The Hobbit stars Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis and Benedict Cumberbatch and filmmaker Peter Jackson.
25th July 2014
Quote: "You have to go undercover for a long time. I worked in Yellowstone (National Park) as a wolf for a while. It got a bit hairy, no pun intended, when I became the alpha. And I realized quickly the other wolves where Christian Bale and Daniel Day-Lewis." Benedict Cumberbatch jokes about method acting for his new role as a wolf in animated film Penguins of Madagascar.
21st July 2014
Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch's codebreaking drama The Imitation Game has been chosen to open the BFI London Film Festival in October (14). The Sherlock star portrays British computer expert Alan Turing, who cracked the German Enigma codes during World War Ii. Keira Knightley also stars as fellow codebreaker Joan Clarke.
8th May 2014
Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch used napkins to hide his face from photographers in New York on Wednesday (07May14). He was at lunch with Dakota Johnson, upcoming star of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, and they both put paper towels on their face and used sunglasses to secure the disguise in place.
26th March 2014
Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet will run at London's Barbican venue between August and October, 2015. The show will mark the British actor's first return to the stage since his acclaimed turn in Danny Boyle's 2011 production of Frankenstein.
10th December 2013
Quote: "He definitely sowed the seed. He's a great, great, great voice artist... and so he kind of installed a love for literature in me. That was the first time I'd ever heard the written word and just this explosion of an imaginary landscape in my head, I thought, 'Wow, that can come off a page in black and white? This is insane... I owe a lot to my dad... This feels a little bit like homage to him." Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch recalled his father Timothy Carlton's readings from J.R.R. Tolkien's books when he was a child as he took on the voice of the title character in The Hobbit sequel The Desolation Of Smaug.
6th December 2013
Quote: "I've been trapped with men in elevators who kinda go, 'I used to really like your mum... She's really hot!' What do I say? If I say, 'No she's not,' then that's really insulting to my mum." Benedict Cumberbatch keeps bumping into fans of his actress mother Wanda Ventham.
6th December 2013
Quote: "It was a huge secret and I had to sort of bury it all the time... I was being a bit kind of vague about it..., and then J.J. two days ago went, 'Maybe we shouldn't have done that,' and I think, 'Oh my God, months of our lives of white lies; I'm going straight to hell for that'." Benedict Cumberbatch on learning that Star Trek Into Darkness director J.J. Abrams regrets keeping the true identity of the film's villain, Kahn, top secret.
17th September 2013
Fact: British actor Benedict Cumberbatch wrote his university thesis about revered director Stanley Kubrick and "how within a diverse subject matter his worldview is still very unified".
16th September 2013
Quote: "It transports me. It gives me a mental landscape that is very inspiring. It gives me a space in my head where I can imagine great emotion and depth." British actor Benedict Cumberbatch enjoys escaping his hectic lifestyle by listening to Icelandic band Sigur Ros.
16th September 2013
Fact: British actor Benedict Cumberbatch spent his gap year before heading to university teaching at a Tibetan monastery.
16th September 2013
Quote: "I've kept a couple that are stunning, that are just really beautiful drawings, and the rest I've had to give away. And I've told fans, 'Look, I'm very flattered, but what do you expect me to do with it? Think about it. Would you want your room surrounded by drawings of you?' It's a bit weird." Actor Benedict Cumberbatch urges devotees to keep their portraits of him for their own use.
5th September 2013
Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch is to be honoured with the Britannia Award for British Actor of the Year at the upcoming Bafta L.A. annual awards gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on 9 November (13). Previous recipients of the accolade include Daniel Craig, Kate Winslet, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Blunt and Rachel Weisz.
2nd August 2013
Quote: "I adore her. I think she's phenomenal. It's just a joy to see someone so ridiculously adept... She really is from the same mold as Meryl Streep. She's one of those actors that will continue to amuse, bemuse, move, frustrate, terrify." Actor Benedict Cumberbatch on his Crimson Peak co-star Jessica Chastain.
2nd August 2013
Fact: Star Trek actor Benedict Cumberbatch has a vacation retreat in Greece.
21st May 2013
Quote: "Every time I take Sherlock out of the box, I have to put the f**king hair dye on." Actor Benedict Cumberbatch loathes colouring his auburn locks black for his role as the supersleuth in hit Bbc series Sherlock.
21st May 2013
Quote: "It's strange to be 36 and still explaining the weirdness of my name." British actor Benedict Cumberbatch is adjusting to his growing fame in the U.S. following his star turn as a villain in the new Star Trek Into Darkness movie.
19th May 2013
Quote: "I'm aching to get back on the stage. It's weird in this culture that we have this idea that we own people: 'Oh, we're going to lose him to Hollywood.' No, you're not. I've got a suitcase and my home and life are in London. I'm just thrilled that Hollywood appreciates what I'm doing at the moment." Star Trek Into Darkness actor Benedict Cumberbatch is eager to sign up for a play in his native Britain.
10th May 2013
Quote: "I was signing something and heard Zachary say something very complimentary and I started to cry. I was looking down and this fan said, 'Are you Ok?' I said, 'Yeah, it's really windy out here, my eyes are stinging.'" British actor Benedict Cumberbatch was reduced to tears by a compliment from his Star Trek Into Darkness co-star Zachary Quinto.
5th May 2013
Quote: "He's great - he's a very fully-rounded human being... He's a director, a musician, a wit. He can beatbox, he can stand up to the mic and be as sharp as any comic." British actor Benedict Cumberbatch reveals his Star Trek Into Darkness director J.J. Abrams' unlikely beatboxing skill.
4th April 2013
Quote: "It was the first time I'd really intensely shape-shifted. To go up from a 38 (inch) chest to a 42, I was eating 4,000 calories a day and training two hours a day, as well as (enduring) stunt rehearsals and fight choreography. It was the most physical demand that's ever been made of me for the screen." British actor Benedict Cumberbatch embarked on a mammoth food binge to bulk up for his role in Star Trek Into Darkness.
14th December 2012
Quote: "I wasn't that interested in seeing a Star Trek movie, I'll be honest. I love it but I just wasn't that interested. And people said, 'No, you should just go and see it. It's a great film.' And lo and behold, the Trekkie in me was reborn." Benedict Cumberbatch initially had no intention of watching J. J. Abrams' 2009 sci-fi blockbuster. The British actor is now set to play a mysterious villain in its sequel.
30th October 2012
Fact: Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, Harry Potter star Emma Watson and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's sister Pippa Middleton are among the famous faces who have been included on Tatler magazine's Little Black Book List, a rundown of the most eligible celebrities.
19th June 2012
Quote: "I've done more exposing things in the past and that was without doubt the most nervous I've ever been - it was terrifying. I seemed relaxed? Maybe because I downed some of the prop beforehand." Benedict Cumberbatch was nervous during his debut appearance as a catwalk model in London last Friday (15Jun12). The dashing Sherlock star took to the stage with a cigar and a glass of whiskey.
15th June 2012
Fact: British actor Benedict Cumberbatch made his debut appearance as a catwalk model in London on Friday (15Jun12). The War Horse star often wears designs by Spencer Hart and he was invited to model the tailor's latest work at his London Collections: Men show. Other stars who are fans of Spencer Hart's menswear include Jay Z, David Bowie, and Robbie Williams.
13th June 2012
Quote: "Do I like being thought of as attractive? I don't know anyone on Earth who doesn't but I do find it funny. I look in a mirror and I see all the faults I've lived with for 35 years and yet people go kind of nuts for certain things about me. It's not me being humble. I just think it's weird." British actor Benedict Cumberbatch is baffled by fans lusting after him.
29th May 2012
Quote: "I don't know about being the sexiest man in the world. I am barely the sexiest man in my flat and I'm the only guy living there. It makes me laugh because I see all the faults - I have spent 35 years of my life with myself. But I am very flattered. I don't know how else to take it but to be flattered and giggle." Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch on landing first place in a poll of showbiz's sexiest men.
11th January 2012
Tweet: "I'm very excited to work with him again. He's so very funny, Ben. I don't know if you remember his character, but he was so funny. Like King of the Geeks, but he did it so well, and I found a lot of that hard to get through because he was so funny. I like him very much." Alice Eve is excited to reunite with Benedict Cumberbatch in the upcoming Star Trek sequel after they worked together in the 2006 comedy Starter for 10.
Benedict Cumberbatch
