I’ve always wanted to play a spy, because it is the ultimate acting exercise. You are never what you seem. – Benedict Cumberbatch
Someone will always hate what I say. There’s always going to be somebody spitting blood about my wooden-faced, toffee-named, crappy acting. – Benedict Cumberbatch
I was happy as an only child, but I’ve always wanted to be part of a bigger family. – Benedict Cumberbatch
If you have an over-preoccupation with perception and trying to please people’s expectations, then you can go mad. – Benedict Cumberbatch
I got live tweeted once by someone who was opposite my home in some rented accommodation. He was actually describing on twitter what I was doing. ‘I took a shirt off, I went to the window, I put a shirt back on… ‘ And I’ve got blinds in my flat! – Benedict Cumberbatch
I love theatre, and you learn too much as an actor and enjoy too much of it not to want to go back a lot. – Benedict Cumberbatch
Our daily lives are so mundane, we get taken over by what is immediately in front of us and we don’t see beyond that. – Benedict Cumberbatch
I did a lot of acting at school and university, then I went to drama school. It was quite a normal route. – Benedict Cumberbatch
I struggle to learn by rote. I’ve had meltdowns on set. Which is embarrassing and shameful. – Benedict Cumberbatch
A woman who knows that she doesn’t have to get all decked out to look good is sexy. A woman who can make you feel smart with her conversation skills is also sexy. I believe the sense of humor is important. – Benedict Cumberbatch
If people ask, ‘Are you Sherlock Holmes?’, it’s horribly naff, but I say, ‘I’m not, I just look a bit like him’ – which is how I feel. There are bad attributes of his that I really don’t share! – Benedict Cumberbatch
I’m a Prince of Wales Trust ambassador, so I’m all about giving youth an education, a voice and a chance to not take the wrong road. – Benedict Cumberbatch
When you freefall for 7,000 feet it doesn’t feel like you’re falling: it feels like you’re floating, a bit like scuba diving. – Benedict Cumberbatch
I had a real yearning to make use of the opportunities I had at school. When I heard about the gap year of teaching English at a Tibetan monastery, I knew I had to do something about it really quickly, otherwise it was going to get allocated. – Benedict Cumberbatch
I drive a motorbike, so there is the whiff of the grim reaper round every corner, especially in London. – Benedict Cumberbatch
The armoury of having any academic education does not necessarily set you up for being a good or better actor. – Benedict Cumberbatch
There’s so much in the 21st century that is stymied by bureaucracy and mediocrity and committee. – Benedict Cumberbatch
New York City is crazy and beautiful and really close to my heart, and I’ve always had dear friends here – family, actually, I would say. – Benedict Cumberbatch
There’s a huge raft of roles that actors in our culture perform, and you can see any one of about three Hamlets in a year. It’s not something to be completely daunted by. – Benedict Cumberbatch
The number of people my age, younger now, a whole generation younger, who are fiercely bright, over-educated, under-employed and who are politicised and purposeless really upsets me. It’s soul-destroying. – Benedict Cumberbatch
I had the privilege of being able to choose, or at least have the opportunity to work at, being anything but an actor. – Benedict Cumberbatch
