Today is the 41st birthday of Benedict Cumberbatch, born on 19 July 1976 in London, England.
Benedict's parents married in 1976 and gave birth to him that year. Benedict also had a half-sister, Tracy Piccoke, who was more than ten years older than him.
He received his primary education at the Brambett School in West Sussex and then completed his secondary and upper secondary school courses at Harrow College, a school in north-west London.
While studying at Harrow, Benedict began to participate in the school's theater performances. His first role was Titenia in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and his subsequent performances were dominated by anti-string female characters.
After graduating from high school, Benedict went to the University of Manchester to study theatre. Before going to university, Benedict spent half a year volunteering to teach English at a Tibetan monastery in Darjeeling, India. During this time, he and four friends went hiking in Nepal, got lost, and suffered hardships, and Benedict also contracted dysentery.
After graduating from university, Benedict continued his studies at the London School of Music and Dramatic Arts, where he obtained a master's degree in classical performance.
In 1999, Benedict completed his studies at the London Conservatory of Music and Drama and began his acting career, but for six months he did not receive a role, and in order to make ends meet, he had to work in restaurants.
In 2000, he starred in the TV series Heartbeat, in which he played Charles.
In 2004, Benedict won the Best Actor Award at the 44th Monte-Carlo International Television Festival for his role as Stephen Hawking in the television film Hawking's Tale and nominated for Best Actor at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Television Awards.
In 2007, he played Alexander in the TV movie Stewart: Rewind Life, based on true events.
In 2010, he played Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock. The Daily Telegraph ranked him first among the "20 Greatest Sherlock Holmes of All Time" and was voted "the Greatest Sherlock Holmes" by Readers of Digital Spy.
In 2012, director J. After J. Abrams saw Benedict's performance in Sherlock, he invited him to audition for Star Trek: Darkness, and finally Benedict starred in the villain role Khan in the film, for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor and MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
In 2014, he starred in the film "Imitation Game", and won the Hollywood Film Award for Best Actor award for the role of Alan Turing in the film, and was nominated for the Academy Award, golden globe award, British Academy Film Award and many other best actor awards.
In 2016, the Marvel movie "Doctor Strange" was released, in which Benedict starred as the male protagonist, neurosurgeon Dr. Steven Stranch.
Happy Birthday!