Mix Up Star: BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
Updated: May 10, 2022
Age: 45
Birthday: 19th July
Benedict Cumberbatch is an English actor. Known for his roles on the screen and stage, he has received various accolades throughout his career, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Olivier Award. Cumberbatch won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor 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 the five-part drama miniseries Patrick Melrose, he won a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
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 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, and The Imitation Game (2014) as Alan Turing. He also acted in the historical dramas The Current War (2017) 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). He will be reprising the role of Dr. Stephen Strange in the upcoming Marvel Studios movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
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ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS: 2
2022 - Best Leading Actor - THE POWER OF THE DOG
2015 - Best Leading Actor - THE IMITATION GAME
BAFTA AWARD NOMINATIONS: 9 WINS: 1
2022 - Best Leading Actor - THE POWER OF THE DOG
2019 - WINNER: Best Leading TV Actor - PATRICK MELROSE
2017 - Best Leading TV Actor - THE HOLLOW CROWN
2015 - Best Leading Actor - THE IMITATION GAME
2015 - Best Leading TV Actor - SHERLOCK
2012 - Best Leading TV Actor - SHERLOCK
2011 - Best Leading TV Actor - SHERLOCK
2011 - Best Leading TV Actor - SHERLOCK 2010 - Best Supporting TV Actor - SMALL ISLAND
2005 - Best Leading TV Actor - HAWKING
GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD NOMINATIONS: 4
2022 - Best Leading Actor - THE POWER OF THE DOG
2019 - Best Leading TV Actor - PATRICK MELROSE
2015 - Best Leading Actor - THE IMITATION GAME
2013 - Best Leading TV Actor - SHERLOCK
How do you rate Benedict Cumberatch's films?
Our Top 10 Benedict Cumberbatch movie/shows...
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
What If?... (2021 TV)
The Power of the Dog (2021)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2014)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
The Imitation Game (2014)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2015)
Doctor Strange (2016)
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WATCH BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH THIS WEEK
ON TV:
Saturday Night Live
Sunday 8th May, Sky Comedy, 9:00pm
Cumberbatch hosts SNL's trademark blend of sketches and satire is back for season 47, offering its unique take on politics, celebrity and more.
Sherlock
Sunday 8th May, Drama, 8:00pm
ALSO ON AMAZON PRIME
A terrified client claims his father was killed by a monstrous creature stalking the wilds of Dartmoor, so Holmes and Watson head to the countryside to investigate. But what seemed like mere fantasy back in Baker Street proves a very different prospect when the duo look into an ultra-secret army base at the edge of the moor. Cumberatch and Martin Freeman star in this adaptation of Conan Doyle's most famous Sherlock Holmes story, The Hound of the Baskervilles, with Russell Tovey (The Job Lot), Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey) and Clive Mantle (Casualty) and star in the award-winning drama, with Lara Pulver and Mark Gatiss.
FILM: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Wednesday 11th May, Film4, 6:25pm
Sci-fi adventure starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Cumberbatch. Captain Kirk's disdain for protocol sees him stripped of the command of the Enterprise, but he is given a chance to prove himself after volunteering to find and stop a mysterious operative who's out to destroy Starfleet.
ON NETFLIX..
FILM: The Power of the Dog (2021) (Age 12)
Cumberbatch is excellent in his recent Oscar nominated role for this atomospheric western.
FILM: The Imitation Game (2014) (Age 12)
Cumberbatch is excellent again in another Oscar nominated role for his take on War hero Alan Turing.
FILM: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) (Age 12)
Cumberbatch eturns as Smaug the Dragon for the final part of The Hobbit trilogy.
ON AMAZON PRIME...
FILM: War Horse (2011)
Cumberbatch stars in the esemble for this film adaptation of the popular stage show.
Great British Theatre
With this excellent series you can watch live filmed versions of National Theatre's Frankenstein (with versions of Cumberbatch playing the monster or the doctor) and Hamlet.
ON DISNEY+
FILM: Doctor Strange (2016) (Age 12)
Cumberbatch joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Strange - you can catch him on Disney+ also in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the animated series What If...?
What's your favourite Benedict Cumberbatch performance?
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Make sure you are booked in for this week's DRAMA CLASSES
Mix Up Theatre provide drama classes Online for anyone aged 12-18 (can be based anywhere!)
and in-person drama classes for ages 3-18 throughout Scotland.
