BWW Profile: Benedict Cumberbatch Emmy-Nominated Star of Stage and Screen
By: Matt Tamanini Sep. 15, 2016
In anticipation of the live 68th Annual Emmy Award broadcast on ABC on Sunday, September 18th, BWW will be spotlighting the Emmy nominated TV performances of some of Broadway's biggest stars. If you want to follow along and interact with all of BroadwayWorld's Emmy coverage, check out #BWWEmmys on Twitter.
From his early days on the London stage to BECOMING one of the biggest movie stars in the world, British actor Benedict Cumberbatch has amassed an impressive list of credits that show a wide-range of talent and unique interests. Though he has yet to grace a Broadway stage, I have a feeling that that is just an eventuality as his popularity continues to grow on this side of the Atlantic.
Today we are taking a look at his career from the British stage in HEDDA GABLER, AFTER THE DANCE, FRANKENSTEIN, and HAMLET to his work on film in 12 YEARS A SLAVE, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, and THE IMITATION GAME to his iconic performance on TV as the "high-functioning sociopath" titular-character on the BBC's SHERLOCK for which he is nominated a third time, including a 2014 win, in addition to his 2013 nomination for HBO's PARADE'S END.
Cumberbatch came to fame in the United States playing a modern Sherlock Holmes on the BBC series beginning in 2010. Benedict stars as the famous detective opposite Dr. John Watson, played by Martin Freeman, another British star of stage and screen who has seen his status skyrocket since the series debuted. The format of SHERLOCK is a little unusual for American viewers; each season (or series as they are called in the UK) is comprised of three 90-minute episodes. Between the first four seasons, there has been either 16 or 24 months between runs, and Season 4 wrapped filming last month. Cumberbatch is nominated for the stand-alone episode "The Adominable Bride" which aired in January of this year and transported the SHERLOCK crew to the original Arthur CONAN Doyle era.
Though most American fans only became familiar with Benedict from SHERLOCK, he was a highly regarded stage actor for nearly a decade before joining the BBC show.
After years of performing Shakespeare and other classics, in 2005, Cumberbatch was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of George in the West End production of HEDDA GABLER. After leading the Olivier-winning revival of AFTER THE DANCE in 2010, the next year he starred in Danny Boyle's revolutionary production of FRANKENSTEIN.
In the play, he alternated playing Victor and the Creature each performance with co-star Johnny Lee Miller. Ironically, Miller would be cast as Sherlock Holmes in CBS' modern-day take on the detective, ELEMENTARY, the following year. For his performance, Cumberbatch not only took home the Olivier, but also the prestigious Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. Last year, Cumberbatch took on the most prestigious role in the English language when he played Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre in London, earning him his third Olivier nomination. The entire 12-week run sold out in just minutes.
The success of SHERLOCK has opened many doors for both Freeman and Cumberbatch. While Freeman has starred in the HOBBIT Trilogy as Bilbo Baggins and on FARGO as Lester Nygaard, Cumberbatch has been busy, starring in major motion pictures.
He starred in WAR HORSE, the HOBBIT movies as The Voice of Smaug, and THE FIFTH ELEMENT as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, as well as last year's BLACK MASS. In 2013, Cumberbatch was a member of the ensemble of two critically acclaimed films, Tracey Letts' AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY and the Academy Award-winning Best Picture 12 YEARS A SLAVE. He also played the villain in STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS. I won't give away too much about his role in the film, but after you see the movie, you will probably want to SCREAM out his name in anger.
Cumberbatch received his first Academy Award nomination for playing Alan Turing in 2014's THE IMITATION GAME.
Cumberbatch will make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut later this fall as Doctor Strange. Ironically, Freeman joined the MCU this spring as government official Everett K. Ross.
Cumberbatch's success has brought him a legion of fans on both sides of the pond. It has become increasingly difficult for him to shoot street scenes for SHERLOCK as thousands of fans are always just outside of the camera's view. In fact, his female fans have given themselves a rather colorful nickname that makes Benedict blush; they call themselves "Cumberb*tches."
While I won't go so far as to call myself that, I am an admitted fan, and thus have put together six videos that highlight his remarkable career. The first is the teaser trailer for his Barbican performance as Hamlet, the next is from the storied production of FRANKENSTEIN opposite Miller. In this clip, Benedict is playing the doctor. The next video is of a television broadcast of the play THE TURNING POINT, in which Cumberbatch plays a Soviet spy working undercover at the BBC to get close to Winston Churchill. The fourth video is the trailer for "The Abominable Bride" episode of SHERLOCK, for which he is nominated this year. The last three videos are from some of Benedict's more recent movies; the first as Little Charles in the film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. Then, a clip from his Oscar-nominated role in THE IMITATION GAME, and finally the trailer for the upcoming DOCTOR STRANGE.
Will you be cheering on Benedict during next Sunday's Emmy telecast? Check back with BWW TV on Friday when we will give you the chance to predict whether or not he will win his second TV trophy. Let me know your thoughts on Benedict's nomination and the Emmys in general on Twitter @BWWMatt and #BWWEmmys.
The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards telecast will air live coast-to-coast on Sunday, September 18th on ABC. And be sure to visit BWW TV for live coverage of the 2016 Primetime EMMY AWARDS.
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