When you start getting jobs, and see your mates from drama school, you don't really want to talk about it, because you have this innate sense of guilt that it's not fair that others aren't doing exactly what you're doing. I do have that.

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.

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.

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.

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' means 'blessed.' My parents liked the sound of the name and felt slightly blessed because they'd been trying for a child for a very long time.

I did a lot of acting at school and university, then I went to drama school. It was quite a normal route.

The armoury of having any academic education does not necessarily set you up for being a good or better actor.

I never was obsessive about anything I watched when I was a kid, except maybe 'The A-Team' and 'Airwolf'... And I loved 'Knight Rider' and then later 'Baywatch.'

My first, big, silly role at school was as Arthur Crocker-Harris in Rattigan's 'The Browning Version,' where my job was to make school-masters' wives weep with recognition.

As an actor, you are aware of how a role can seep into your real life.

Metaphorically speaking, it's easy to bump into one another on the journey from A to B and not even notice. People should take time to notice, enjoy and help each other.

Landing the role of Stephen Hawking was the most positively surprising thing that has happened to me.

Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame.

It is a wonderful thing to get married young and become a father.

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.

Mystique is rare now, isn't it? There aren't that many enigmas in this modern world.

I am a PR disaster because I talk too much.

The more charming person is the person who admits the other person is more charming.

I wish my 15-year-old self had known about my allure to the opposite sex!

I'm quite sensitive to people noticing me. There are times when I'm relaxed, then others when it does make me self-conscious.

When are you ever settled enough to have kids?

Live a life less ordinary.

I'm interested in art for all. I don't want it to be only the sons and daughters of Tory MPs who get to see my plays.

There's so much in the 21st century that is stymied by bureaucracy and mediocrity and committee.

People's hands fascinate me. It's tempting to look at a businessman's left hand and see if there's an indentation from a missing wedding ring. Or maybe there's a tan line and the skin is pressed down where's he's worked a ring off his finger.

My first agent dissuaded me from calling myself 'Cumberbatch.' I had six months of not very productive time with her, so I changed agents. The new one said, 'Why aren't you using your family name? It's a real attention-grabber.' I worried, 'How much is it going to cost to put my name in lights?' But then I decided that's not my problem.

There's no shame in stealing - any actor who says he doesn't is lying. You steal from everything.

If I'd had fame early on, I'd have been able to abuse it in the way that a young man should.

The world of 'Sherlock Holmes' and the world that we live in now is big enough to take more than one interpretation.

I was always performing, doing silly voices. The teachers realized I could go one of two ways: be creative or destructive.

I struggle to learn by rote. I've had meltdowns on set. Which is embarrassing and shameful.

I've been broody since I was 12, but I can't just get anyone pregnant. It has got to be the right person.

To get a horse to hit a mark without a rider, to get it to stand up, to get it to rear, to get it to pick up a bucket and bring it over is amazing. It's hard work and very rewarding but can be dangerous.

I have an appetite for the normal in my life, as well as the abnormal.

Every job is incredibly different, and I love it because you're picking up skill sets and experiences. It's the university of life.

It does get strange when you realize people will hang around for hours to get a glimpse of you doing scenes outside.

I think with any characterization there's a point where you empathize, no matter how much of a deviance his or her actions may be from your understanding of humanity.

It's difficult because nothing's preordained by plan and you can't control it. That's one of those joys and thrills and nerve-racking realities of being an actor. A lot has to do with luck, no matter what your talent or contribution can be.