Benedict Cumberbatch Will Play 'Hamlet' on London Stage

Benedict Cumberbatch is going to be playing the part that is considered the "summit role" for male actors, British or otherwise. You know, that one Danish prince in that play where everybody dies? (Spoiler alert, I suppose)

Yes, it's official. Cumberbatch, the Sherlock star and Earth's most unconventional heartthrob, will play Hamlet in an all-new production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name. The production is scheduled to play at London’s Barbican Theatre in the West End for a 12-week run from August through October 2015. This latest version comes from veteran producer Sonia Friedman and director Lyndsey Turner, who recently made a splash on Broadway with the technically impressive revival of Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal.

Credit: BBC

Naturally, Cumberbatch is no stranger to the West End stage, having appeared in the National Theatre’s 2011 production of Frankenstein opposite, of all people, fellow Sherlock Jonny Lee Miller, who plays the iconic character on the CBS drama Elementary. That particular production was directed by Oscar winning film director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), and that fact alone suddenly has my mind inexplicably racing at the possibility of a film adaptation. Sure, it's not happening. But a Sherlock Holmes fanatic can dream, can't he?

Via: Entertainment Weekly