Trivia: When British actor Benedict Cumberbatch signed for his first cinematic roles in the early 2000s, he immediately unveiled a proclivity -- and a gift -- for essaying a diverse array of characterizations. Cumberbatch began with BBC television productions, notably a supporting part in the lesbian-themed period drama Tipping the Velvet (2002) and the lead role of the brilliant, physically disabled scientist Stephen Hawking in the BBC telemovie Hawking (2004). Cumberbatch landed one of his first significant international crossover roles (and his first major big-screen assignment) as one of the leads in Michael Apted's arthouse hit Amazing Grace (2006) -- portraying William Pitt, an 18th century British prime minister who crusaded against slavery. While appearing on the British stage and in British television shows, Cumberbatch slowly built up an impressive résumé of supporting film roles. He had a small (but significant) part in Joe Wright's period drama Atonement (2007), and played William Carey, Mary Boleyn's husband in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).In 2010, Cumberbatch took on his breakout role, playing Sherlock Holmes in a BBC series reboot. His career exploded after the show took off. He played The Necromancer/Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy, Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness, a plantation owner in 12 Years a Slave and nabbed his first true starring role playing Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate. In 2014 Cumberbatch portrayed the pioneering British mathematician Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, and his work earned him a Best Actor nomination from the Academy, the first nod of his career.

Trivia: Hampshire, England native Martin Freeman can be seen in a variety of television, theater, and radio productions, though he is probably best known for his role as Tim Canterbury in the BBC's award-winning sitcom The Office, and as everyman Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005). Freeman's credits also include the British police comedy Hot Fuzz, a brief appearance in Shaun of the Dead, and the lead role in director Gavin Claxton's The All Together. In addition to his comedy roles, Freeman has turned in a number of dramatic performances, including a turn as Lord Shaftesbury in Charles II: The Power & the Passion, a 2003 BBC historical drama, and the legendary painter Rembrandt in Nightwatching (2007). In 2010 he had a hit on the small screen playing Dr. Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock, and two years later he took the pivotal role of Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Hobbit.

Trivia: Rupert Graves has repeatedly impressed audiences with his dead-on portrayals of upper-class twits since 1985, when he appeared in Merchant Ivory's classic adaptation of E.M. Forster's A Room With a View. However, Graves' own background could not be more different from those of the characters he brings to the screen.Born June 30, 1963, Graves grew up in the small town of Western-Super-Mare (coincidentally also the birthplace of John Cleese), located in western England. By his own account a terrible student who resented authority, Graves left school at 15 and joined the circus. After his stint with the circus ended, Graves made his way to London, where, at 19, he landed his first acting role in a stage production of The Killing of Mr. Toad. His performance caught the attention of a film industry figure, which in turn led to his first film role in A Room With a View. As the irresponsible and irrepressible Freddy Honeychurch (brother of the film's heroine, played by Helena Bonham-Carter), Graves gave a performance that set the pattern for the roles he was to be typcast in for much of the next decade. Graves virtually became the male equivalent of Helena Bonham-Carter, in that he was stuck in period drama after period drama until others slowly realized that his range was not limited to films with an abundance of waistcoats, corsets, and men with names like Cecil or Clive. Graves' other significant films of the 80s included another Merchant Ivory outing, the memorable Maurice (1987) (in which Graves played Maurice's working class lover, Alec Scudder, and, as in A Room With a View, demonstrated his ability to tackle nude scenes), 1988's A Handful of Dust (also starring a then-unknown Kristin Scott Thomas, and Graves' Maurice colleague James Wilby), and the epic television series Fortunes of War, set during World War II and starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.In the 1990s, Graves has continued to do period pieces such as the 1991 adaptation of E.M. Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread (reuniting him again with Bonham-Carter), and Nicholas Hytner's brilliant The Madness of King George (1995), which also starred "the other Rupert," Rupert Everett. In addition, he made a memorable appearance in the film adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (1997) as a shell-shocked World War I veteran. As he has gained greater recognition, however, Graves has been able to branch out toward other genres, notably as Jeremy Irons' jilted, ill-fated son in Louis Malle's Damage (1993), a confused and irresponsible motorcycle courier in Different For Girls (1996), and as the severely conflicted Harold Guppy in the deliciously twisted Intimate Relations (1996), for which he won a Best Actor award at the Montreal Film Festival. In addition to his film work, Graves has continued to work for television and the stage, acting as the wormy, conniving Octavius alongside Billy Zane in the TV series Cleopatra (1999), and in such stage productions as Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (1998) and the the hit Broadway production of Patrick Marber's Closer (1999).

Trivia: Is openly gay, and was the 38th most influencial gay person in the UK in 2010. Attended Heighington CE Primary School. Has been collecting fossils since his childhood. Has always been a fan of Doctor Who. Spent a year travelling around Europe after school. Met his League of Gentlemen co-workers at a drama school in his late teens.

Trivia: Dropped out of his drama course at Trinity College in Dublin, to join the players at the esteemed Abbey Theatre. Made his Broadway debut in The Vertical Hour, opposite Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy, and directed by Sam Mendes, in 2006. Voiced the character of Stephen Dedalus in a BBC Radio production of James Joyce's Ulysses in 2012. In 2013, he publicly came out as gay, condemning Vladmir Putin's Anti-Gay legislation in Russia.

Trivia: Studied history in Cambridge University and did a year at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York. Was deputy editor of the magazine 'Wonderland' until 2009. Has been writing about cinema and music since she was a teenager. Her role on Casualty was her television debut.

Trivia: Met IT Crowd co-star Chris O'Dowd while they were attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Left the LAMDA to star in the play The Age Of Consent at the Bush Theatre in London in 2002. Won the British Comedy Best TV Actress Award in 2009 for her role in The IT Crowd. Received a second British Comedy Best TV Actress Award and a BAFTA TV Award in 2014 for her role in The IT Crowd. Was nominated for an Olivier Award in the Best Actress category for her role in Home, I'm Darling in 2019. In 2019, her debut work as a playwright Sitting had its London premiere, following a month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Trivia: A English actor noted for his aptitude with distinguished and erudite characterizations, Jonathan Aris first bowed onscreen in his native Britain during the mid-'90s, but caught the attention of American audiences uncharacteristically, with his supporting turn opposite heavyweights Bruce Willis and Richard Gere in the action thriller The Jackal (1997) -- a remake of Fred Zinnemann's epic political thriller The Day of the Jackal (1973). He returned to the U.K. for a supporting contribution to Philip Saville's bittersweet comedy drama Metroland (1997), then teamed up with the eminent Mike Leigh for a small role in the Gilbert & Sullivan biopic Topsy-Turvy (1999). Thereafter, Aris placed a particularly strong emphasis on British television work. Projects in this arena included the outings Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ships (1998, in a bit role), an episode of the mystery series Poirot (2000), the Beethoven biopic Eroica (2003), and a portrayal of the Marquis of Worcester in the telemovie Beau Brummell: The Charming Man (2007). Also in 2007, Aris starred alongside Michael Caine and Demi Moore in the caper film Flawless.

Trivia: Was raised in Wickford, Essex.At the age of 17, started his career in acting by doing comedy videos while studying in college. Made his television debut in 1997 and was recruited by Charlie Higson.In 2002, made his debut in films.Since 2011, has recorded The Thomas and Way Podcast along with actor and friend Rhys Thomas.

Trivia: After studying at RADA, London-born Douglas Wilmer made his 1945 stage debut in repertory at Rugby. One year later, Wilmer made his first London theatrical appearance. Though most closely associated with classical roles, he scored one of his biggest stage successes in a contemporary work, One Way Pendulum (1959). Wilmer's film work includes the role of Nayland Smith in two of Christopher Lee's Fu Manchu films. He also repeated his British-TV characterization of Sherlock Holmes in Gene Wilder's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1977). In addition, Douglas Wilmer was seen in the Ray Harryhausen epics Jason and the Argonauts (1963, as Pelius) and Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1979, as the Vizier); his last film to date was the 1983 Bond flick Octopussy.