Entertainment

Have Cumberbatch & Sophie Acted Together Before?

by Maitri Suhas

Benedict Cumberbatch broke a lot of cumberhearts when he married his fiancée of only three months, Sophie Hunter, on Valentine's Day. Their disappointment is understandable, because he is truly the object of avid affection from his gang of "cumberbitches," but they should find comfort in the fact that Hunter is, like, way talented. She's an actor, like her husband, but she's also a playwright and singer. And as we gear up for the Oscars where the newlyweds will walk the red carpet, we have to wonder: have Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter acting in anything together before?

Unfortunately, it looks like their acting chops have only collided once: on the 2009 film Burlesque Fairytales. The film, directed by Susan Luciani, is a 1930s thriller set in a theater. Some say that the pair actually met for the first time on the set, but we don't know for sure how long the newlyweds have known one another.

It's a shame that they haven't done more work together. Hunter has directed several experimental theatrical productions, and Cumberbatch has a long history of stage performances that are more traditional, but the two share a love of Shakespeare. This year, Cumberbatch will be playing Hamlet in the Shakespearean tragedy at the Barbican Theatre. And in 2005, Hunter played none other than Ophelia in a Hamlet production. Speaking of the Barbican, Hunter was awarded the Samuel Beckett Trust Award to fund her production of her original, experimental play The Terrific Electric, and wouldn't it be just terrific if we saw Cumberbatch in the production?

It seems a shame that two diverse and creative people (that are crazy in love!) haven't merged their acting talents more in the past, but maybe now that they're married, they'll realize they're a match in not only matrimony, but on the stage. I'd love to see them as Hamlet and Ophelia together. For now, you can catch a glimpse of them together in this trailer for Burlesque Fairytales: