15 Unlikely British TV Shows To Spawn Hollywood Stars

6. Fortysomething €“ Benedict Cumberbatch

http://youtu.be/0yfYa_KQwbg I don't find it surprising that Sherlock has heavily promoted both Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch into major Hollywood roles. It's a very popular show and created a fan base for both actors, and so studios know that the fan base will watch films starring them. Especially for all the Cumberbitches out there. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of Star Trek Into Darkness DVD and Blu-ray sales were from Cumberbatch fans alone because of the shower scene. So why have I listed Fortysomething? Well back in 2003, it was a hour long comedy series starring Hugh Laurie and Anna Chancellor. Laurie was in this role immediately prior to appearing in House. Now it's pretty much a staple British comedy-drama; a guy turns 40 and has a bit of a mid-life crisis. Frankly, it was nothing special or stand out. Except, that it had Benedict Cumberbatch in his first main cast role on television. He appeared in all six episodes as Rory Slippery, the son of Laurie and Chancellor's characters. Oh, and Peter Capaldi appeared in the series as a Doctor. I kid you not. The key point to make is that Fortysomething was a very typical series that was effectively forgettable. There should have been no launching of careers here €“ and in fact there wasn't really, I'd credit the volume of work that Cumberbatch puts in for that. He really does do a crazy number of productions, and in fact if you look at his IMDB page today there are two films in post-production, two filming, two in pre-production and a further film announced. This series was Cumberbatch's first regular gig, which must have been good to have on his C.V. when he otherwise had the very typical guest spots on Heartbeat, Silent Witness and Spooks. After Fortysomething, he started getting two episode roles, then three and leads in TV movies. It all built from here. So Fortysomething... the show where Gregory House is the father of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who is their medical doctor.