Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed that he is considering leaving Britain because he is fed up with being attacked over his privileged background.
The actor, 36, who shot to fame playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth in the BBC detective drama, was educated at the top private school Harrow.
The War Horse and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy star, whose parents were actors, told the Radio Times that "all the posh-bashing that goes on" made him consider moving to the US.
"I wasn't born into land or titles, or new money, or an oil rig," he said.
He told the magazine: "It's just so predictable ... so domestic, and so dumb... It makes me think I want to go to America."
Cumberbatch, who is set to play an Edwardian aristocrat in BBC One period drama Parade's End, said he enjoyed becoming a pin-up after Sherlock. "It puts a bit of a spring in your step. It's nice, you swagger a little bit, it's enjoyable," he said.
The star added: "I've punched well above my weight this year. And that remains very much a secret ... I find it hysterically funny ... It's a giggle. I wield it with a massive smile."
His comments came as comedian Jack Whitehall told the magazine that he tried to sound less posh when he first started out.
"When I first started out as a stand-up, I changed my voice because I was so worried about being posh, but it wasn't really true to who I am," the Fresh Meat star said.
"I had to just accept it. I would like to be offered a job as a blokey, Danny Dyer-type character, but it hasn't happened yet."
Oh dear, Benedict! Don't your fellow countrymen "just simply adore your English accent"?
ReplyDeleteOr are not getting the level of insipid adulation you feel you deserve?
Has your agent told you how unlikely it would be for you to be offered the sort of roles in radio acting that you have been given in the UK?