Actor Benedict Cumberbatch read a poem Thursday to the somber group that gathered for the reburial of King Richard III.
The poem was written by British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy to commemorate the event in honor of the last British King to die in battle, whose remains were rediscovered beneath a parking lot in 2012. King Richard III was given a ceremonious burial more than 500 years after he fell fighting Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth.
Cumberbatch, who is a distant cousin of Richard III, is set to play the monarch in BBC’s The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses set for next year.
Van Gogh: Painted with Words This 2010 docu-drama by the BBC starred Cumberbatch as the tormented Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.BBCThe Other Boleyn Girl Cumberbatch plays William Carey, a courtier and husband to Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson) in this 2008 historical drama pic.ColumbiaAmazing 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 GoldwynCreation 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.NewmarketStuart: 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.HBOParade'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.BBCWar 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.DisneyAtonement 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.
UniversalFortysomething Cumberbatch plays Rory, the son of Paul Slippery (Hugh Laurie), in this six episode 2003 British comedy television series.ITVStarter 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
