--- description: A look back at some of the British actor's earlier roles title: 10 Benedict Cumberbatch Roles You Didn’t Know About image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt550b13d2567839d5/69876991cd6848738b098121/benedict-cumberbatch-09.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 10 Benedict Cumberbatch Roles You Didn’t Know About by [Joseph C. Lin](/author/joseph-c-lin/) ## Joseph C. Lin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2014 2:00 PM CUT  Van Gogh: Painted with Words This 2010 docu-drama by the BBC starred Cumberbatch as the tormented Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh: Painted with Words This 2010 docu-drama by the BBC starred Cumberbatch as the tormented Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.BBC by [Joseph C. Lin](/author/joseph-c-lin/) ## Joseph C. Lin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2014 2:00 PM CUT You may know Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of Smaug in the _Hobbit_ movies, Alan Turing in _The Imitation Game,_ or just simply as that guy who plays Sherlock, but what about his roles as Major Jamie Stewart or William Pitt the Younger? Take a look back at some of his other roles from earlier in his career.  Van Gogh: Painted with Words This 2010 docu-drama by the BBC starred Cumberbatch as the tormented Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. BBC  The Other Boleyn Girl Cumberbatch plays William Carey, a courtier and husband to Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson) in this 2008 historical drama pic. Columbia  Amazing Grace Cumberbatch played William Pitt the Younger, the youngest ever Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in this 2006 drama about banning the slave trade in the British Empire. Samuel Goldwyn  Creation Cumberbatch (right) played Joseph Dalton Hooker, an esteemed British botanist and close friend of Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany), in this 2009 British film about Darwin. Newmarket  Stuart: A Life Backwards This 2007 television drama co-produced by the BBC and HBO starred Tom Hardy as the titular character Stuart Shorter, a homeless activist, with Cumberbatch as Alexander Masters, an author and friend of Stuart. HBO  Parade's End The BBC and HBO teamed up for another Cumberbatch series in 2012 with Parade’s End which saw the actor play Christopher Tietjens, an English aristocrat and statistician for the British government. BBC  War Horse Cumberbatch (left) takes on the role of Major Jamie Stewart, the leader of a cavalry company in World War I in this 2011 war drama by Spielberg. Disney  Atonement Marking one of his creepier roles, Cumberbatch played a rapist named Paul Marshall in this 2007 British drama that starred James McAvoy and Keira Knightley. Universal  Fortysomething Cumberbatch plays Rory, the son of Paul Slippery (Hugh Laurie), in this six episode 2003 British comedy television series. ITV  Starter for 10 This 2006 British comedy had Cumberbatch (second from right) take on the role of Patrick Watts, the smug team captain for a British game show called University Challenge. Picturehouse ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3594876/10-benedict-cumberbatch-roles-you-didnt-know-about/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3594876/10-benedict-cumberbatch-roles-you-didnt-know-about/"},"headline":"10 Benedict Cumberbatch Roles You Didn’t Know About","datePublished":"2014-11-20T14:00:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:00.760Z","description":"A look back at some of the British actor's earlier roles","url":"https://time.com/3594876/10-benedict-cumberbatch-roles-you-didnt-know-about/","keywords":["celebrities","movies","Benedict Cumberbatch","photography","the imitation game"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt550b13d2567839d5/69876991cd6848738b098121/benedict-cumberbatch-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph C. Lin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-c-lin/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt550b13d2567839d5/69876991cd6848738b098121/benedict-cumberbatch-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Van Gogh: Painted with Words","caption":"Van Gogh: Painted with Words","creditText":"BBC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3594876/10-benedict-cumberbatch-roles-you-didnt-know-about/","name":"10 Benedict Cumberbatch Roles You Didn’t Know About"}}]}] ```