10 Things You Didn’t Know About Benedict Cumberbatch
6. He Almost Turned Down Sherlock
Benedict Cumberbatch is now so firmly entrenched as Sherlock Holmes that its difficult to find a single article online that mentions the actor without also namechecking the Baker Street detective. It is a role that, thus far, defines him, but the actor has the time and talent to further build on the success Sherlock has brought him. However, when the BBC was putting plans together to bring back one of fictions best-known characters, Cumberbatch very nearly didnt take on the part. Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss had already been hugely successful in resurrecting Doctor Who for a modern audience, and frequently discussed a Sherlock Holmes adaptation on their train journeys from London to the Cardiff studios where the Time Lords latest incarnation was being filmed. After being given the go ahead to write and cast Sherlock, their attention was drawn to Cumberbatch as the potential lead after seeing his performance in Atonement, but the actor was far from convinced. Cumberbatch was initially sceptical, suspecting that the reimagining of Sherlock was a cynical exercise that could be a bit cheap and cheesy. Fortunately, he elected to read the pilot script before making up his mind and promptly fell in love with it. The actor was also rightly concerned about being typecast, but it seems unlikely that he regrets a decision that has transformed his career.
I watch movies and I watch sport. I also watch movies about sport, and if there were a sport about movies I'd watch that too. The internet was the closest thing I could find.
