Benedict Cumberbatch
Born: 1976-07-19 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK
Known For: Acting
Biography
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born July 19, 1976) is an English actor. Known for his roles on the screen and stage, he has received various accolades throughout his career, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Television Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. Cumberbatch won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Frankenstein and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Sherlock. His performances in the dramas The Imitation Game (2014) and The Power of the Dog (2021) earned him nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award, all for Best Actor in a Leading Role. For playing the title role in five-part drama miniseries Patrick Melrose, he won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 2014 Time magazine included him in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2015 he was appointed a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2015 Birthday Honours for services to the performing arts and to charity. A graduate of the Victoria University of Manchester, Cumberbatch continued his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, obtaining a Master of Arts in Classical Acting. He first performed at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in Shakespearean productions and made his West End debut in Richard Eyre's revival of Hedda Gabler in 2005. Since then, he has starred in the Royal National Theatre productions After the Dance (2010) and Frankenstein (2011). In 2015, he played the title role in Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre. Cumberbatch's television work includes his performance as Stephen Hawking in the television film Hawking in 2004. He gained worldwide recognition for his performance as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock from 2010 to 2017. He has also headlined Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Parade's End (2012), The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016), Patrick Melrose (2018), and Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019). In films, Cumberbatch has starred in Amazing Grace (2006) as William Pitt the Younger, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) as Khan, 12 Years a Slave (2013) as William Prince Ford, The Fifth Estate (2013) as Julian Assange, and The Imitation Game (2014) as Alan Turing. He also acted in the historical dramas The Current War (2017), 1917 (2019) and The Courier (2020), and received critical acclaim for his performance in Jane Campion's Western drama The Power of the Dog (2021). From 2012 to 2014, through voice and motion capture, he played the characters of Smaug and Sauron in The Hobbit film series. Cumberbatch portrays Dr. Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, beginning with Doctor Strange (2016), and also voiced the character in the animated series What If...? (2021).
Filmography
2026
2025
- The Phoenician Scheme as Uncle Nubar
- The Roses as Theo Rose
- Together for Palestine as Self
- The Thing with Feathers as Dad
2024
- We Live in Time ... (Executive Producer)
- Eric as Vincent
- The Book of Clarence as Benjamin
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More as Henry Sugar / Max Engelman / Harry (archive footage)
- Placebo: This Search for Meaning as Self
2023
- Poison as Harry Pope
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar as Henry Sugar / Make-Up Artist
- The End We Start From as AB
- Mog's Christmas as Mr. Thomas (voice)
- Arctic: Our Frozen Planet as Narrator
- James Blunt: One Brit Wonder as Self (archive footage)
2022
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Doctor Stephen Strange
- Minions & More Volume 1 as The Grinch (voice)
- Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge as Self
- Super/Natural as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Self - Doctor Stephen Strange
- The Tiger Who Came to Tea as Daddy (voice)
- Behind the Scenes with Jane Campion as Self (archive footage)
- Reframing the West: Behind the Scenes of Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog
2021
- Spider-Man: No Way Home as Doctor Strange
- What If...? as Doctor Strange (voice)
- Marvel Studios Legends as Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange (archive footage) (uncredited)
- The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank
- The Mauritanian as Lt. Stuart Couch
- The Electrical Life of Louis Wain as Louis Wain
- Letters Live from the Archive: Union Chapel as Self
- Marvel Studios' 2021 Disney+ Day Special as Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange (voice) (archive footage)
- Letters Live from the Archive: Freemasons’ Hall
2020
- The Courier as Greville Wynne
- Antarctica as Self - Narrator
- Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King as Self
2019
- The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self
- Avengers: Endgame as Doctor Strange
- Good Omens as Satan (voice)
- 1917 as Colonel MacKenzie
- Between Two Ferns: The Movie as Benedict Cumberbatch
- Brexit: The Uncivil War as Dominic Cummings
- The Dog Days of Winter as The Grinch (voice)
- Cindy-Lou's Yule Log as The Grinch
2018
- Avengers: Infinity War as Doctor Strange
- The Grinch as Grinch (voice)
- Patrick Melrose as Patrick Melrose
- Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle as Shere Khan (voice)
- The Current War as Thomas Edison
- The Child in Time as Stephen Lewis
2017
- Thor: Ragnarok as Doctor Strange
- Walk with Me as Narrator (voice)
2016
- Doctor Strange as Dr. Stephen Strange
- Zoolander 2 as All
- Sherlock: The Abominable Bride as Sherlock Holmes
- Mark Gatiss: A Study in Sherlock as Himself
- Shakespeare Live! From the RSC as Self - Performer
- Naples '44 as Norman Lewis (voice)
2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self - Guest
- Black Mass as Billy Bulger
- National Theatre Live: Hamlet as Hamlet
2014
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self - Guest
- Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- The Imitation Game as Alan Turing
- Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies as Smaug / Sauron (voice)
- Penguins of Madagascar as Classified (voice)
- 9 Kisses as Man at Costume Party
- Unlocking Sherlock as Himself / Sherlock Holmes
- The Penguins of Madagascar - Operation: Penguin Takeover as Agent Classified (voice)
- Cristiano Ronaldo: World at His Feet as Narrator
- How to Be Sherlock Holmes: The Many Faces of a Master Detective as Self
- Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet 3D as Narrator (Voice)
2013
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug as Smaug / Sauron
- Star Trek Into Darkness as John Harrison / Khan
- 12 Years a Slave as William Ford
- August: Osage County as Little Charles Aiken
- The Fifth Estate as Julian Assange
- Jerusalem as Narrator (voice)
- National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage as Rosencrantz
- Little Favour as Wallace
- Sherlock: Many Happy Returns as Sherlock Holmes
2012
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as Necromancer
- Why did you come to Japan? as Self
- The Hollow Crown as Richard
- Parade's End as Christopher Tietjens
- Stephen Hawking's Grand Design as Narrator (voice)
- WWI's Tunnels of Death: The Big Dig as Narrator (Voice)
- Sherlock: Uncovered as Sherlock, Self
- Girlfriend in a Coma as Dante (voice)
- Frankenstein: A Modern Myth as Self / Frankenstein / The Monster
- The Dreams of William Golding as Reader
2011
- The Jonathan Ross Show as Self
- War Horse as Maj. Jamie Stewart
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as Peter Guillam
- National Theatre Live: Frankenstein as The Creature / Victor Frankenstein
- Wreckers as David
- The Rattigan Enigma by Benedict Cumberbatch
2010
- Conan as Self - Guest
- Sherlock as Sherlock Holmes
- Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking as Stephen Hawking
- Four Lions as Negotiator
- The Whistleblower as Nick Kaufman
- Third Star as James
- Van Gogh: Painted with Words as Vincent Van Gogh
- Unlocking Sherlock as Himself
- Burlesque Fairytales as Henry Clark
2009
- South Pacific as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Small Island as Bernard
- Creation as Joseph Dalton Hooker
- The Turning Point as Guy Burgess
2008
- The Other Boleyn Girl as William Carey
- The Last Enemy as Stephen Ezard
2007
- The Graham Norton Show as Self
- Atonement as Paul Marshall
- Stuart: A Life Backwards as Alexander Masters
- Inseparable as Joe / Charlie
2006
- The One Show as Self - Guest
- Starter for 10 as Patrick Watts
- Amazing Grace as William Pitt
2005
- Nathan Barley as Robin
- To the Ends of the Earth as Edmund Talbot
- Broken News as Will Parker
- The Man Who Predicted 9/11 as Narrator (voice)
2004
- Agatha Christie's Marple as Luke Fitzwilliam
- Dunkirk as Lt Jimmy Langley
- Hawking as Stephen Hawking
2003
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self - Guest
- Fortysomething as Rory Slippery
- Cambridge Spies as Edward Hand
- To Kill a King as Royalist
2002
- Top Gear as Self
- Spooks as Jim North
- Timeshift as self
- Tipping the Velvet as Freddy
- Fields of Gold as Jeremy
- Hills Like White Elephants as The Man
1997
- The View as Self
- Leute heute as Self
1996
- The Daily Show as Self
- Silent Witness as Warren Reid
1993
- GMTV as Self
1992
- Heartbeat as Toby Fisher
1990
- Have I Got News for You as Self - Host
1989
- The Simpsons as Severus Snape / Prime Minister (voice)
1988
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark as Self
1975
- Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
1953
- The Oscars as Self