Quotes from Benedict Cumberbatch

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

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

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.

'Sherlock' fans are, by and large, an intelligent breed, so they've gone through my back catalogue and got what I've done, why and how I've done it. There is some obsessive behaviour, but I worry for them rather than me.

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.

That's something I have to work on: to separate what really matters, to conserve energy by not worrying about what other people think.

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

Maybe it's because I was an only child, but I've always wanted kids.

I was happy as an only child, but I've always wanted to be part of a bigger family.

I had the privilege of being able to choose, or at least have the opportunity to work at, being anything but an actor.

You let things run in order to have some sanity and be able to do your work and not feel pre-judged.

There's another weight of us being in the public eye, which is this presumption that, because your work and your promotion work is very public, your private life should be, too.

I've done a bit of live action before but the fight sequences, the wire work and the physical regime were taken to another level [ in Doctor Strange].

I don't call myself an expert because I've played experts. I know a little bit about very little. But it's very hard to not be drawn into saying something, especially if it has to do with the work.

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

One of the best things about being an actor is that it's a meritocracy.

'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 tend to have a cup of tea, try to stop worrying about what I did wrong, cool down and will the audience back in as soon as possible.

I drive a motorbike, so there is the whiff of the grim reaper round every corner, especially in London.

Do I like being thought of as attractive? I don't know anyone on Earth who doesn't, but I do find it funny.

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

I think I've had very knee-jerk emotional reactions to things, and sometimes I've said things without thinking. Being overly emotional clouded my judgment.

I have pitfalls. I have emotional responses to things that are really not about me. They're about other people.

I just increasingly enjoy the quiet moments when I can be on my own with my friends and family, or with a book, having a live experience. That's really what I crave, and I always have done.