Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch , CBE is an English actor who played ( aka " John Harrison " ) in . In February 2012 , several images and video from the filming of the climactic fight scene between Cumberbatch ' s Khan and Zachary Quinto ' s appeared on the web . Cumberbatch appeared on two cards of the virtual collectible card battle game " " , card # 105 titled Commander J . Harrison and card # 111 titled Human Augment Khan . Cumberbatch is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ’ s famous detective , Sherlock Holmes on the BBC drama program " Sherlock " , which premiered in 2010 and has as of 2017 thirteen episodes . Cumberbatch received a Britannia Award at the 2013 BAFTA / LA Britannia Awards as British Artist of the Year , honoring his work on " Star Trek Into Darkness " , " 12 Years a Slave " , " The Fifth Estate " , " August : Osage County " , and " The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug " . He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and an MTV Movie Award nomination in the category Best Villain for his work on " Into Darkness " . Cumberbatch is married to theater director and their son , Christopher Carlton , was born in 2015 . On 12 June 2015 , Cumberbatch was honored by Queen Elizabeth and named Commander of the Order of the British Empire . Early life and career . Born in London , England , Cumberbatch is the son of actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham . Following education at Brambletye School in West Sussex , he received an arts scholarship to Harrow School , where he began performing in school plays . He made his acting debut at age 13 , playing Titania , Queen of the Fairies , in a Harrow production of William Shakespeare ' s " A Midsummer Night ' s Dream " . He later studied drama at the University of Manchester and continued training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . Cumberbarch began his professional acting career on the stage in 2001 and made the transition to television and film a year later . He was lauded for his performance as in the 2004 BBC drama " Hawking " , which featured his future " Star Trek Into Darkness " co - star , Alice Eve . He and Eve again appeared together in the 2006 feature film " Starter for 10 " . Cumberbatch also gave a critically - acclaimed performance as William Pitt in the 2006 film " Amazing Grace " . Film career ( 2007 – present ) . Cumberbatch has worked with two other actors who played villains in . He starred opposite Tom Hardy in the 2007 television movie " Stuart : A Life Backwards " ; both actors later appeared in the 2011 adaptation of John le Carre ' s espionage thriller " Tinker , Tailor , Soldier , Spy . " Cumberbatch also appeared with Eric Bana in the 2008 film " The Other Boleyn Girl " . Cumberbatch ' s other film credits include the 2007 adaptation of ' s novel " Atonement " and ' s 2011 drama " War Horse " . He also provided the voices and performance - captures of Smaug the dragon and the Necromancer in the three - part adaptation of ' s " The Hobbit " , opposite his " Sherlock " co - star . Cumberbatch began working on " The Hobbit " after starting filming on " Star Trek Into Darkness " : a body scan of Cumberbatch created for " Star Trek " was given to Weta Digital to make the motion capture mask he wore for his roles in " The Hobbit " . The first film in the trilogy , " The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey " , was released in 2012 . Five months after his appearance in " Star Trek Into Darkness " , Cumberbatch appeared on the cover of magazine . The shoot came about after photographer Paola Kudacki took her nephews to see the film , and one of them commented " " He has such an interesting face . " " In addition to " Star Trek Into Darkness " and " The Desolation of Smaug " , Cumberbatch appeared in several other high - profile films released in 2013 . He was part of the ensemble cast of the film adaptation of Tracy Letts ' play " August : Osage County " and had a principal role in " 12 Years a Slave " ( based on ) , which co - stars Alfre Woodard . Cumberbatch also starred as controversial founder in the dramatic thriller " The Fifth Estate " , in which former star Alexander Siddig has a supporting role . Cumberbatch provided the voices of actor and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the Feb . 10 , 2013 episode of " The Simpsons " titled " Love Is a Many Splintered Thing . " He also produced and starred in a short film called " Little Favour " . In 2014 , Cumberbatch portrayed Alan Turing in the biopic " The Imitation Game " , and lent his voice to the DreamWorks Animation film " The Penguins of Madagascar " as well as to Smaug for the final time in " The Hobbit : The Battle of the Five Armies " . In 2016 , he played the lead role in " Doctor Strange " . He will reprise the role in the 2017 " Thor : Ragnarok " , starring Chris Hemsworth and featuring Idris Elba and Karl Urban . Upcoming projects . Cumberbatch will portray Richard III in the second series of the BBC ' s " The Hollow Crown " . He will lend his voice to the animated project " Magik " ( 2015 ) , and play British explorer Percy Fawcett in the biopic " The Lost City of Z " which is currently in pre - production . He replaced Guy Pearce as Massachusetts State Senator Billy Bulger in the James " Whitey " Bulger biopic " Black Mass " , which also stars Adam Scott as FBI agent Robert Fitzpatrick . Also announced is Cumberbatch ' s particicpation in Warner Bros . upcoming live - action film " Jungle Book : Origins " , set for a 2017 release . Cumberbatch will voice Shere Khan in ' directorial debut .