Bio
Benedict Cumberbatch is an English actor best known Sherlock Holmes in the modern BBC adaptation series Sherlock.
He is also known for his roles as Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking (2004); William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace (2006); and the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy (2008).
Cumberbatch was born in London, England, the son of actors Timothy Carlton (birth name Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch) and Wanda Ventham.
He was educated at two independent schools, Brambletye School in West Sussex and Harrow School in northwest London, where he began performing as an actor.
After school, he took a gap year to teach English in a Tibet monastery. He then attended the University of Manchester, where he studied drama. After graduating, Cumberbatch continued his training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking (2004); William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace (2006); the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy (2008); Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007); Bernard in Small Island (2009); and Sherlock Holmes in the modern BBC adaptation series Sherlock (2010).
He is also the voices of both Smaug the Dragon and the Necromancer in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.