Benedict Cumberbatch just landed his dream role by giving it to himself
Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch may have actual magical powers. Either that, or his vision board has some real juice.
The Sherlock star has played a number of literary icons over the years, but for his latest role, Cumberbatch will get the opportunity to tackle one of his own fictional heroes in a new limited series co-produced by Showtime and Sky Atlantic.
Through his production company, SunnyMarch, Cumberbatch is set to executive produce and star in Melrose, a five-part series based on the semi-autobiographical novels written by Edward St. Aubyn.
He'll play the titular character, Patrick Melrose, an aristocratic and outrageously funny playboy who struggles to overcome the damage inflicted by a horribly abusive father and a mother who tacitly condoned the behavior.
The role has apparently been a dream for Cumberbatch for years; he revealed in a 2013 Reddit AMA that if he could play any literary character ever, it would be Patrick Melrose.
St. Aubyn's books will be adapted by David Nicholls (Far From the Madding Crowd), who will pen all five installments of the series. The search is currently underway for a director.
Melrose will devote one hour to each of the five Patrick Melrose novels, with every episode set over the course of a few intense days in the life of its protagonist.
The show will begin shooting in New York, London and the South of France in August.
Cumberbatch's dance card is already fairly full -- in addition to his expanding role as Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, PBS recently announced that the actor would executive produce and star in a TV movie version of The Child in Time, adapted by Stephen Butchard (The Last Kingdom) from Ian McEwan’s novel of the same name.
Way to self-actualize, sir.
