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Benedict Cumberbatch’s parents insisted he take on a different career path than the family acting business.
Cumberbatch is the son of actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, seemingly setting him on a path to stardom. However, his parents warned him against following in their footsteps with stark advice.
“I was, if anything pressured the other way, like, ‘Don’t do what we’re doing. It’s a stupid way to spend a life,'” he recalled during Monday’s episode of “SmartLess,” before adding, “‘And how family life is a chaotic jumble of loose-end commitments that have to be abandoned at the last minute because dad’s got an advert audition.'”
“They did really, really well in their careers. Mom, especially commercially. Dad, brilliantly as well in the theater. He did a lot of the royal court in the early days of kitchen sink drama there. But the point is, you know, they … wanted me to have the opportunities that they didn’t, or that they didn’t have in their life as my parents. And they afforded me an education where I could have gone on to be a lawyer or something of that.”
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Benedict Cumberbatch says his parents, both actors, warned him against pursuing a career in show business. ( Gerald Matzka/Getty Images)
Cumberbatch noted that despite his parents’ warning, the acting “bug had bit.”
“…It was very much to do with watching them … in their prime, doing what they did,” he explained.
Cumberbatch’s father is known for roles in “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” “Downton Abbey,” and numerous British TV series.
Ventham became a familiar face on British TV with roles in “UFO,” “Only Fools and Horses,” along with guest appearances in “Doctor Who,” plus “Holby City.”
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Cumberbatch’s parents, Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, built successful acting careers on British television and stage. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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“The Roses” star recalled watching his mom transform “just in the blink of an eye” into a character.
“And I thought, ‘What is that? What just happened to my mom? Where did she go?’ And yeah, I kind of got a taste for that. And as an only child, I think you’re kind of already locked in a bit too, quite a solitary, imaginary universe.”
The “Doctor Strange” star credited his parents’ passion for inspiring his own love of acting despite their advice. (Stefanie Loos/AFP via Getty Images)
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Benedict Cumberbatch’s breakthrough in “Sherlock” launched a career that has earned him Emmy and BAFTA honors. (Alex Huckle/GC Images)
Cumberbatch’s breakthrough role came in 2010 with the BBC’s “Sherlock.” He won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie in 2014 for the episode “His Last Vow.”
The role also earned him multiple BAFTA nominations, and “Sherlock” became a defining career moment as he moved into bigger films.
He has appeared in “The Imitation Game,” “Doctor Strange,” “12 Years A Slave” and “The Power of the Dog.”
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