Benedict Cumberbatch Interview

By Thom Yorke

It seems like a lot more than seven years have gone by since Benedict Cumberbatch first donned his deerstalker as Sherlock Holmes, the alarmingly incisive yet socially inept detective in the BBC series that catapulted his Hollywood career. That’s because, in the ensuing time, the London-born actor has graduated from fan-girl obsession to franchise superstar, while steadily appearing in a succession of prestige projects in theater, film, and television. His mix of gravitas and humility works exceptionally well in fantastical worlds: as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013); as Smaug the dragon and the Necromancer in The Hobbit film series (2012, 2013, 2014); and as Dr. Stephen Strange in Marvel’s Doctor Strange (2016), a role to which he will return in next year’s Avengers: Infinity War. Back on planet Earth, Cumberbatch has a knack for inhabiting the minds of geniuses, empathetically depicting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate in 2013; Alan Turing in The Imitation Game the following year (for which he earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations); and, most recently, Thomas Edison in The Current War, in theaters next year.

Now 41, Cumberbatch is considered one of the most accomplished and ambitious actors of his generation. It would be an understatement to suggest that he has a serious streak, but as his friend, the legendary Radiohead rocker Thom Yorke, is determined to prove, all men—no matter how focused—contain multitudes.

THOM YORKE: I don’t have any chronology to my questions. My approach is a bit more random, a bit more Just Seventeen [an out-of-print British teen magazine]. I actually want to start with the year you taught in a monastery in Darjeeling when you were 19. How was that experience?


BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH: It was in an exiled Tibetan community, just outside of Darjeeling, on the border. It was a little hill station town. I was one of five teachers who had done a training course. It was extraordinary, but it was quite an isolated experience.

YORKE: How long did you do that?

CUMBERBATCH: It was five months. I spent half a year working odd jobs to build up funds for the airfare and to pay for the course. You’re not paid for the teaching; you’re paid in experience. You’re surrounded by the monks and their lives. It was a small monastery, and the top floor was the temple. I was living on the bottom floor, which was pretty damp and had huge spiders. I think it was just near the end of the rainy season; I can’t remember, but it was cold. And because it was so high up, you would open your window, and the clouds were like dry ice rolling across your desk. Nature was ever present; that was gobsmackingly beautiful, as was the spirit and nature and philosophy and way of life of these monks.

YORKE: It sounds like you absorbed a lot of that, just by being there. You didn’t have to study it.

CUMBERBATCH: Exactly, it just seeped in. The personalities of the monks were louder than any lesson.


READ MUCH MORE HERE: https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/benedict-cumberbatch-november-2017-issue

EastEnders' Danny Dyer: 'I get stereotyped unlike posh boy Cumberbatch'

DIGITAL SPY
By Tom Eames
Wednesday, Mar 26 2014, 5:52am EDT

Danny Dyer has hit out at "snobbery" within showbiz circles and said that he struggles with "playing the game".

The EastEnders actor revealed that he feels stars such as Benedict Cumberbatch are taken more seriously than him, despite his acting background.

He told Woman magazine: "You've got actors like Benedict Cumberbatch - a great actor, but he's a posh boy playing posh boys. He does it well, and he doesn't get mocked for that.

"I play working class people, and I get mocked for it. I'm stereotyped, he's not. I've done plays at the National Theatre, come off stage and gone into the bar and I ain't got nothing in common with those people.

"When it comes to playing the game, I'm rubbish. The middle-class actors are better prepped at working the system, because they've got more in common with the decision makers."

Dyer, who plays Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter in EastEnders, also revealed that the show's bosses have asked him to tone down his remarks on Twitter now that he is working for the BBC.

Read more: http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/s2/eastenders/news/a560229/eastenders-danny-dyer-i-get-stereotyped-unlike-posh-boy-cumberbatch.html#ixzz2x7HTju8B 

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Benedict Cumberbatch Will Star as HAMLET at the Barbican, Aug 2015

BROADWAY WORLD.COM
March 20, 2014



According to the Daily Mail, Benedict Cumberbatch as solidified his place as HAMLET in the West End. The Shakespearean drama will run at the Barbican Theatre, beginning in August 2015 and will be produced by Sonia Friedman and directed by Lyndsey Turner.

Cumberbatch's recent film roster includes The Fifth Estate, 12 Years a Slave, and August: Osage County with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. His upcoming projects include The Imitation Game, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, Magik, The Penguins of Madagascar, Everest, The Lost City of Z and Flying Horse.

He is well known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the UK series "Sherlock". Other recent film credits include J.J. Abrams' Stark Trek Into Darkness.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Benedict-Cumberbatch-Will-Star-as-HAMLET-at-the-Barbican-Aug-2015-20140320#

Benedict Cumberbatch on Being a Workaholic, Coping With Fame and Avoiding Social Media (Exclusive Video)

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
5:38 PM PST 2/16/2014 by Scott Feinberg



Why does Benedict Cumberbatch prefer to shoot many takes of a scene? Why did he initially fear that Sherlock would be "cheap and cheesy"? What advice did the greatest actress of all offer him when he asked her to describe her "acting process"? And why does he fear that social media could "take over my life and probably ruin it"?

These are among the questions that the 37-year-old A-lister answered last week over the course of an hour-long conversation moderated by yours truly as part of In Conversation, a new series on which BAFTA-New York and The Hollywood Reporter are partnering -- and which THR is pleased to debut exclusively here. The conversation was taped in front of a BAFTA audience at New York's The Standard High Line hotel.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/sherlock-star-benedict-cumberbatch-being-680622

Benedict Cumberbatch steps out in a blue waistcoat, shirt and flat cap to have lunch with female friends

MAIL ON LINE
By TANIA WILLIS
PUBLISHED: 13:04 EST, 18 March 2014 | UPDATED: 08:07 EST, 19 March 2014



He regularly tops sexiest film star polls, so it is no wonder The Fifth Estate star was surrounded by females as he stepped out for lunch in London on Tuesday.

Benedict Cumberbatch was dressed to rival his dapper character Alan Turing as he emerged from a London restaurant in a denim shirt and navy fleck waistcoat, paired with a black flat cap.

Benedict, 37, still kept his look quirky with a white T-shirt with red cartoonish lettering underneath his shirt, and was joined by two female friends for the outing.

Benedict finished off his smart off duty look with black skinny jeans and pale blue brogue style shoes.

The former Sherlock actor has just finished filming The Imitation Game where he plays mathematician and British cryptographer Alan Turing, due out in 2014.

In an interview with T magazine the actor revealed he is tired of playing intellectually demanding roles, having played Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate and Sherlock in the BBC TV series with a stratospherically high IQ.

The British actor said: ‘I am so ready to play a really dumb character’



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2583683/Dapper-denim-Benedict-Cumberbatch-steps-blue-waistcoat-shirt-flat-cap-lunch-female-friends.html#ixzz2wPpZVSz2 
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Why Benedict Is Wrong to Censor His Cumberbitches

HUFFPOST UK
Victoria Sadler
12/2/14



His fans just can't get enough of him. Only this week, after generating near hysteria with his appearance at the Elementary Con in Birmingham, over 22,000 devoted fans clamoured for only 200 available tickets to see Benedict Cumberbatch record the last episode of the popular BBC Radio 4 comedy Cabin Pressure.

And if that attention wasn't enough, a couple of days ago the actor was also reportedly chased down the streets of London by adoring (and a little misguided, it has to be said) fans after seeing a performance of the terrific Coriolanus at the Donmar Warehouse.

Still, the internet's favourite actor has been terribly gracious towards his fans, despite the fact that some of their behaviour must be unsettling at best and deeply worrying at worst (god help the poor woman who becomes his girlfriend). But one area that he has picked his devotees up on is their chosen name.

The Cumberbitches. That's what the most devoted fans called themselves. I actually liked it. I thought it was great word play, sharp, instantly recognisable and just a little bit in your face. And as soon as the term was coined, it went viral as quickly as 'credit crunch.'

It's a term that dwarfs all the other attempts (usually led by the stars themselves) to give fanbases catchy names, like Kylie's Lovers and Rihanna's Navy. Cumberbitches is right up there with Gaga's Monsters. The term is so good that the person behind it really should think about going into PR.

Only the actor himself was reluctant to be too supportive of the name. "It's not even politeness," he told Caitlin Moran in an interview for the Times. "I won't allow you to be my bitches. I think it sets feminism back so many notches. You are... Cumberpeople."

http://emmagrant01.tumblr.com/post/20211252317/cumberbitches-assemble

But Cumberpeople, and other alternatives generated by fans in the face of this censure such as Cumberfans, Cumberbabes, Cumbercollective... No, they're just not anywhere near as brilliant as Cumberbitches.

But more than this, why should the Cumberbitches redefine themselves because the object of their affection says so? And more importantly, why is it anti-feminist to call yourself a bitch?

Of course I'm in the realms of a circular argument here as if Mr Cumberbatch's remarkably fanatical following want to be his bitch then no doubt their willingness to do anything he says would extend to renaming themselves at his pleasure. But let's put that small technicality aside for one moment!


READ MORE HERE: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/victoria-sadler/benedict-cumberbatch-cumberbitches_b_4769642.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

'Downton Abbey' moving on without Dan Stevens, says co-star

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Feb. 10, 2014 at 12:40 PM



"It's been interesting," Bonneville told the New York Post about life on the program since Stevens left.

"The show has taken on a different flavor. New characters have come in his wake," Bonneville said. "I had drinks with him a couple weeks ago. But miss him on the show? I think that's a bit too maudlin."

Bonneville can now be seen on the big screen in "The Monuments Men," as well as Season 4 of "Downton Abbey." Stevens recently starred in the film "The Fifth Estate.



Read more: http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2014/02/10/Downton-Abbey-moving-on-without-Dan-Stevens-says-co-star/UPI-45041392054023/#ixzz2t1asdC61

Whether you call them Cumberbitches, Cumberbabes or the Cumber Collective, the female fans of 'Sherlock' star Benedict Cumberbatch are legion

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
By Molly Friedman



Maybe it’s his height — 6 feet. Or his gently tousled brown curls. An accent always helps — his is British.

“Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch has a wildly passionate underground fan network — known in various circles of the Internet as Cumberbitches, Cumberbabes or, more recently, the Cumber Collective — that has grown from its faint beginnings in the U.K. to include rabid fans all across the globe.

The Collective is buzzing as “Sherlock” begins its new season on Sunday on PBS.

“His cheekbones are striking,” says Park Slope entertainment writer Meghan O’Keefe, 28, who finds Cumberbatch’s unique looks to be part of his draw. “It’s like someone tried to draw a handsome face, but the eyes are a little too small, the cheekbones are too big, the mouth is too big.”

O’Keefe first fell for the 37-year-old Englishman after catching a second season episode of “Sherlock” — then discovering to her delight that Cumberbatch had done other things.

“I went through a two-week span of watching everything he had done,” says O’Keefe. “I became obsessed. I’m like, ‘This is ridiculous. Why am I not leaving the house?’ ”

Cumberbatch doesn't have typical movie star looks, but takes roles that make the geek girls melt: a villainous space general in “Star Trek Into Darkness,” the evil dragon in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and the idiot savant extraordinaire in “Sherlock.”

“I love the elegance of his hands, his rich baritone voice, his humility, his politeness,” says fan Lea Marie, 38. “This man would cause me to go from cruising down the road at about 55 to slamming on the brakes, taking a right-hand turn and flying at 100 miles an hour directly into the fandom known as the Cumber Collective.”


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/benedict-cumberbatch-female-fans-legion-article-1.1579211#ixzz2qr9ccfgL

Dan Stevens: A year after his shock exit, he's still waiting for his big Hollywood break

MAIL ONLINE
By TOM LEONARD
PUBLISHED: 17:00 EST, 26 December 2013 | UPDATED: 17:00 EST, 26 December 2013

This time last year, we were still reeling with shock at the unexpected demise of Downton Abbey’s handsome Matthew Crawley, the man who was to be the saviour of the Grantham earldom.

Millions of viewers watched in disbelief when Matthew died in the wreck of his car after crashing on the way back to Downton after seeing his beloved Lady Mary and their newborn son in hospital.

The savage twist had been a well-kept secret, which gave added impact to the element of surprise.

The series has had its ups and downs since then — some of which have been blamed on the plot upset of Matthew’s brutal end and the departure of Dan Stevens, who played him.

Stevens had blown a huge hole in the most beloved TV drama of recent times after deciding he was leaving the Granthams and their stuffy Edwardian manners to move to New York and try to advance his acting career in the New World.

There were whispers that the rest of the cast were less than pleased, particularly when, as it turned out, this year’s fourth series suffered a dip in ratings without Matthew the pin-up boy.

Julian Fellowes had toyed with the idea of writing a plot line that involved Matthew moving to New York on business, leaving Downton’s huge oak door slightly ajar so that he could return for the odd episode when his other commitments allowed, but Stevens didn’t want to come back, so that was that.

Stevens himself is unapologetic. ‘I made my decision for myself, but I didn’t make it alone,’ he has explained. 

‘It felt the right thing to do. Also, it excited me to follow my instinct which said this is the right time. It’s just a nice feeling to have when you can trust yourself.

‘I’d had a great three years in Downton. Fond memories, lovely cast, but it was just time. We didn’t expect it to be such a success and when we came together for the second series, we were all a bit shell-shocked. And by series three, it almost seemed ridiculous how big the show had become.

‘I gave them plenty of warning — it wasn’t like I slammed the door and walked out. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to face. On paper, it looked mad to walk away, but it felt like the right time. I’ve got an appetite to learn new things. There was no rancour. Julian was very gracious about it’.

In spite of Matthew Crawley’s demise, Downton remains immensely successful on both sides of the Atlantic.

Whether the same can be said of 31-year-old Stevens is another matter.

For young British actors, the lure of the U.S. is hard to resist, especially if they have already been love-bombed by fans.

And for some it works out wonderfully. Benedict Cumberbatch, for instance, first came to the attention of American audiences as the  star of the BBC drama  series Sherlock.

Suddenly, he seems to be everywhere: the villain in the latest Star Trek film, in the Edwardian TV drama Parade’s End — a U.S.-UK collaboration — and even as the voice of Smaug the dragon in the new Hobbit film.

The dreadful film The Fifth Estate, in which Cumberbatch played Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, was a rare flop on his recent CV. But for Stevens — who appeared in it as a Guardian journalist — it was probably the acting highlight of his year.

His other recent release, Summer In February, was another Edwardian period piece, this time about a Cornish artists’ colony. As with The Fifth Estate, it was drubbed by the critics and withered at the box office. Even supportive tweets from famous friends of Stevens such as Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah and Stephen Fry couldn’t save it.

The public school-educated actor originally moved to New York for only six months to make his Broadway debut alongside Hollywood star Jessica Chastain in the Victorian period play The Heiress.

Many reviewers were enthusiastic, but the all-powerful New York Times critic Ben Brantley damned Stevens with faint praise, saying his performance was ‘shiny, well spoken and lacking in discernible undercurrents’.

Instead of moving back to Britain at the end of the run, Stevens stayed — with his wife, South African singer Susie Hariet, and their children, Willow, four, and Aubrey, one. They now live in a fashionable part of Brooklyn, with the Manhattan skyline looming across the  East River.

READ MORE HERE: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2529566/So-Dan-REALLY-happy-ditched-Downton-A-year-shock-exit-hes-waiting-big-Hollywood-break.html

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AT GQ ANNIVERSARY, HAIR FOR A GENTLEMAN

CELEBRITY RED CARPET
by Kathy Saunders
Wednesday November 13, 2013 - 13h30

Benedict Cumberbatch has one of the finer examples of gentlemanly hair. Whether on television, the red carpet or the silver screen, it's always styled to perfection and usually teamed with some kind of sharp suit or smart-casual ensemble, emphaisis on the smart.

At the recent GQ 25th anniversary party in London, Benedict wasn't about to break this particularly suave habit. He even went for a two-tone suit. This was perhaps a brave wardrobe selection though a sharp all-black combination might have looked a little less patchy.

Then again, that whole adorably wonky thing he has going on has become something of a trademark.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.celebrityredcarpet.co.uk/article/benedict-cumberbatch-at-gq-anniversary-hair-for-a-gentleman_a4944/1

DON'T MESS WITH THIS BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH FAN

http://www.clickonline.com/movies/dont-mess-with-this-benedict-cumberbatch-fan/20821/

Benedict Cumberbatch Is A Romantic: Would Take Girlfriend If Stranded On Deserted Island And ‘Spend The Rest Of My Life With’ Her

KPOPSTARZ

October 24, 2013

Benedict Cumberbatch would take his girlfriend with him if he was stranded on a deserted island. Benedict Cumberbatch revealed his romantic side (his girlfriend would be a lucky lady!) during his recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything).

Benedict Cumberbatch, 37, suggested he would take his girlfriend with him if he was stranded on a desert island when asked on Reddit, but didn't name names, writes Now magazine, according to Fashion & Style.

What a romantic!

"[I'd take] my family," Cumberbatch wrote on Reddit. "And my partner of the moment - whomever I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

What else would the "Sherlock" star take?

Ever so practical, he said he would also need "a scuba diving kit. If it's not people that am allowed. Additional equipment would be a kindle with a never ending memory of books. And a survival handbook."

Rumors about Benedict Cumberbatch's dating life and possible girlfriends has recently been abuzz on the internet.

Cumberbatch recently opened up about the persistent dating rumors to TIME magazine, Fashion & Style reports.

"Every time I'm seen at a bar with a girl, I get photographed," Cumberbatch said. "Anyone who has a computer knows my entire dating history."

"I get it," he added. "Paparazzi is an inescapable, immovable obstacle."

READ MORE HERE: http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/46725/20131024/benedict-cumberbatch-girlfriend-reddit.htm

Benedict Cumberbatch: Did Assange kill WikiLeaks movie?

Roxanne Roberts The Washington Post

10/22/13, 1:12 PM EDT |

So, that Julian Assange movie is officially a flop. The Internet is abuzz with theories about why “The Fifth Estate” bombed at the box office, bringing in a minuscule $1.7 million on opening weekend. Maybe no one cares about WikiLeaks, or Benedict Cumberbatch-as-Assange can’t carry a movie. The most-posed theory: The real-life Julian Assange’s attempted takedown could have been the deciding factor. A look at how the WikiLeaks founder launched his own personal anti-”Fifth Estate” campaign this month:

Oct. 10: Assange writes a long open letter to Cumberbatch: “I believe you are a good person, but I do not believe that this film is a good film,” and adds that the movie is riddled with errors.

Oct. 13: According to the Hollywood Reporter, Assange tells the Hollywood Foreign Press Association the movie is “doomed to fail because its anti-WikiLeaks stance doesn’t give moviegoers the kind of underdog story they want.”

READ MORE HERE: http://www.news-herald.com/arts-and-entertainment/20131022/did-assange-kill-wikileaks-movie

'The Fifth Estate': What Critics Are Saying About Benedict Cumberbatch

By Kevin P. Sullivan (@KPSull)
MTV

Benedict Cumberbatch has become identified as one of the most beloved and respected actors working today in an absurdly short amount of time, and this weekend, he gets his first shot at supporting a weighty real-life drama, the WikiLeaks film "The Fifth Estate."

Critics are generally split on the effectiveness of the film in portraying the ripped-from-the-headlines story, but Cumberbatch is receiving praise for his mannered performance as the eccentric Julian Assange. To get a better idea of how his work is being reviewed, here's a round up of critical reactions to "The Fifth Estate"

"Cumberbatch, in stringy long white-blonde hair that looks a bit too much like the wig it is, does a commanding impersonation of Assange's imperiousness, his whole louche Continental narcissism. His Julian is handsome in a scowling way, with a pout of aggrievement fixed on his soft, pale, babyish features, and the actor lowers his voice to a slightly slurry bass register, as if he were so full of venom that it had depressed him." — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

"Given the talents of Cumberbatch and Brühl, whose credits include 'Good Bye, Lenin,' 'Inglourious Basterds' and the current 'Rush,' it is no surprise that the interplay between Assange and Domscheit-Berg, the way their relationship shifted from engaged collaborators to enraged antagonists, is the film's greatest strength. ... Obsessed and arrogant, committed and charismatic, Assange is certainly a complicated, compelling character, and Cumberbatch does a convincing job of creating a lone wolf provocateur who speaks in slogans like 'change is contagious' and never doubts he is on the side of the angels. Guardian editor David Leigh, whose book is one of the film's sources, has been quoted as saying Cumberbatch's imperturbable performance is 'creepily like the Julian I knew,' and it is the heart of the film as well." — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

READ MORE HERE: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1715796/fifth-estate-benedict-cumberbatch-reviews.jhtml

Benedict Cumberatch Beaten & Covered In Blood In Latest Little Favour Trailer (WATCH)

ENTERTAINMENT WISE
By Shaun Kitchener On October 17, 2013



Produced by SunnyMarch, the company he runs with three others, the movie raised its budget via Indiegogo, a popular crowdfunding platform. It successfully made £86,240 in twelve days, easily surpassing its target of £25,000.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/129664/Benedict-Cumberatch-Beaten-Covered-In-Blood-In-Latest-Little-Favour-Trailer-WATCH

Benedict Cumberbatch: USA Today video - the many voices of Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch To Carry On Playing Sherlock 'Forever'?

Martin and Benedict were spotted filming scenes for series three earlier this year (WENN)

E.

By Deepika Rajani

On October 15, 2013

Revealing that the actor and Martin Freeman, who plays his trusted sidekick Watson have already signed up for a fourth series, The Radio Times reported co-creator Steven Moffat saying:

"We had to inform the BBC that Martin and Benedict had commissioned a new series. They signed themselves up. They both announced that they were carrying on – so that’s good."

Claiming to know that Benedict who can currently be seen in the film, The Fifth Estate, is keen to carry on the role of the iconic Baker Street detective for as long as he possibly can, Moffat continued:

"Benedict, at some red carpet event somewhere, said he was carrying on forever. Martin, at another one, said, ‘Yep, series four is happening’."

Believing that the BBC won't turn down Benedict and Martin and their wishes to carry on filming the show, Moffat who also plays an important figure when it comes to the workings of Doctor Who, said:

"The BBC can do what they like. They're massively powerful, don't provoke them! But I assume that unless we've really screwed up Sherlock [series three] – which we haven't – it's a big success and it will carry on, so long as Benedict and Martin want to do it."

Meanwhile, Benedict has teased more details about how his character Sherlock faked his own death at the end of the last series of the hit BBC drama.

Read more at http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/129457/Benedict-Cumberbatch-To-Carry-On-Playing-Sherlock-Forever#1URPH2UAiWJi0VGG.99

Benedict Cumberbatch, just as lovely as you think he is / NEWS

WOMAN CITIZEN

Anna Sayfa

13 October, 2013

TORONTO — Benedict Cumberbatch sweeps into an empty hotel ballroom, cutting a natty figure in a black-and-white glen plaid jacket, checked shirt and striped canvas sneakers. “I see you have your festival bag,” he says confidingly, taking note of the crumpled Toronto International Film Festival tote at an interlocutor's feet. It’s a substitute for the one that broke at customs, overstuffed with a laptop and sundry travel necessities.

“That’s exactly what happens to me,” he offers enthusiastically. “Because I’m packing all the time. I’m always killing really perfectly good bits of luggage by shoving loads of stuff in them, and then the seams break, handles drop off, you know.”

Sure, we know. But, let it be stipulated, no one can really know what it’s like to be Cumberbatch, who has had a year that has been, well, especially packed. The 37-year-old Brit, who has been a cult heartthrob among the PBS-BBC-plummy-literary-adaptation set, played the Necromancer in last year’s “Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” But he truly burst into mass popular consciousness this past summer, when he thoroughly dominated the role of Khan in “Star Trek Into Darkness.” On Oct. 18, he will star as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in “The Fifth Estate” and has supporting roles in two high-profile films arriving soon: “12 Years a Slave,” directed by Steve McQueen, and “August: Osage County,” adapted from Tracy Letts’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

“A packed year, exactly,” Cumberbatch says with a reflective sigh. “It’s been amazing. It’s been amazing. But two years really, because ‘Trek’ we filmed the beginning of last year, and before that — God, it winds back quite a ways. I mean, literally, just sort of the height of what I could ever imagine myself being asked to do as an actor has been going on pretty much now for about four or five years.”

Cumberbatch speaks at a breathless clip, his words spilling out in a joyous, oncoming rush that suggests he really is thrilled to be here, however tempting it would be to read his gee-whiz protestations as the practiced act of a canny ingenue. He is, quite simply — and this is for all those self-proclaimed Cumberb**ches out there who have designated him an unlikely pin-up idol — just as chiseled, engaging, well-mannered and disarmingly modest as they imagine in their wintry, wind-tossed fantasies.

He comes by it honestly. Cumberbatch is the son of two actors — Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham — who grew up in London and is as at home in the posh precincts of Burke’s Peerage (an ancestor was a consul under Queen Victoria) as in the klieg-lighted world of Show People. (So how did Cumberbatch end up with his last name? It was his father’s surname; Carlton a middle name turned stage name. So Benedict has simply reclaimed the family name.) But his career has followed contours that even his parents couldn’t prepare him for. He’s done high-profile work in such highly regarded films as “Atonement,” “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and “War Horse,” as well as on television, in “Hawking,” “Sherlock” and “Parade’s End.” He’s a celebrated figure of the London stage: In 2010 he earned kudos for his performance in a revival of Terence Rattigan’s “After the Dance,” and the following year he won an Olivier Award, along with fellow Sherlock Jonny Lee Miller, for his work in an experimental version of “Frankenstein,” adapted by Danny Boyle. It was “After the Dance,” he says, that marked the turning point when the phone started ringing. It hasn’t stopped.

“I knew when I started out that I wanted something very different from what Mom and Dad had anyway, but I didn’t know quite what — I didn’t know how it would manifest — but even they look at it and go, ‘Whoa,’ ” Cumberbatch says. “It’s beyond everyone’s sort of expectation. But also the workload and everything, it’s different to their game.”

It’s enough to turn a boy’s head. But Cumberbatch, along with such contemporaries as Michael Fassbender, is forging the kind of career that actors covet these days, combining recurring roles in huge franchises like “Star Trek” and “The Hobbit” with artier indie fare. His role model, he says, is James McAvoy (his one-time co-star in “Starter for 10”), who along with Fassbender appears in the “X-Men” movies.

“I know James really well. I’ve sort of been working with him for a while, and I just love what he did,” Cumberbatch explains. “He let the game come to him. It’s about the quality of his work, and I wanted the same thing. I didn’t want to go and try and force myself on people. I wanted people to go, ‘Oh, that guy could be quite interesting,’ and that’s sort of what’s happening.”

READ THE REST HERE: http://www.womencitizen.com/entertainment-23/benedict-cumberbatch-just-as-lovely-as-you-think-he-is-news-399.html

Benedict Cumberbatch on Jimmy Fallon - video