A CLASS ACT - ‘I WAS ADVISED TO CHANGE MY NAME TO SOMETHING MEMORABLE'

OSCAR-NOMINATED ACTOR BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH CHATS ABOUT GETTING CLOSER TO HIS FOLKS DURING LOCKDOWN HIS CAR-JACKING ORDEAL AND WHY HE’S SCALED BACK HIS DAREDEVIL LIFESTYLE

- MARC BAKER

While a handful of actors are instantly recognised as global superstars, for others it takes much longer to seal their place in movie history. Just ask Benedict Cumberbatch.

Despite displaying his diverse talents in films such as The Imitation Game,12 Years A Slave and Doctor Strange during a career spanning more than 20 years, he has yet to get his hands on a coveted Oscar. But that could all be set to change.

The 45-year-old actor is hotly tipped to win the Best Actor award later this month, for his role in Netflix Western drama The Power Of The Dog, which has 12 nominations.

Win or lose, Benedict will have his wife, theatre and opera director Sophie Hunter, 43, by his side at the ceremony. The pair got married on Valentine’s Day in 2015 after Benedict went public and announced their engagement in a national newspaper.

The actor says he always puts his wife and their three sons, Christopher, six, Hal, five, and Finn, three, first when movie parts come his way.

“The family are the priority,” he says. “They come with me if it’s cool with Sophie’s work. They came to New Zealand with me recently and we were sanitising groceries during Covid and my parents came too. They stayed with me for five months. It was crazy but we got to know each other so much more.”

Here, Benedict, who has just received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, talks about his acting roots and the reality of his “privileged” background…

So Benedict, did you always want to be an actor?