Benedict Cumberbatch has said he feels “lucky” for his success as a TV and Hollywood star.
The actor, who also runs his own production company, has also acknowledged the amount of hard work it took to get him to where he is today, but that the opportunities he has had have been “extraordinary”.
Cumberbatch told The Big Issue magazine that he has “squeezed quite a bit of life in”.
He said: “I’ve been a very lucky man. I have a lot of people to thank, because it has been a wonderful time. It really has.”
“Of course it takes hard work and all of it is the result of something, but I often just stand back and go: ‘How? Why?’
“It is extraordinary that all this stuff keeps happening to me … It reminds me, every step, how lucky I am.”
The Sherlock star, who is currently appearing in blockbuster film Avengers: Infinity War as Doctor Strange, is soon to appear in new Sky Atlantic series Patrick Melrose, produced by his company SunnyMarch.
Cumberbatch, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 2015’s The Imitation Game, said that creating his own production company has been a “big learning curve” and a “blissfully happy experience for all concerned”.
He said: “It really is a people business and if you get that alchemy right, and choose a good, industrious, challenging and kind team, you make for a really good working environment which is very productive.”
Of the importance of creating more roles for women in the business, he said: “One of our missions is to create far more important, challenging, interesting positions for women in our industry.
“We are doing that with how we staff our company as well as what focus we have in our work.”
He added: “I’m very aware of saying all this, but at the moment it is boring old white, male, public school, whatever-you-want-to-call-me beginning this – because I can bring money and attention to projects.
“But our company is also establishing its own credentials from the quality of that work and how it comes to fruition. And that is when we can really set sail with some of those goals, which includes diversity across the board – gender, racial, sexual orientation.”
Patrick Melrose will air on Sky Atlantic and Now TV from May 13.
The Big Issue is on sale from May 7.