Something interesting for those who are fans of Benedict Cumberbatch to think about: how much do you think you know about him? To put it another way: do we know Cumberbatch as himself or as how we perceive him to be because of his outstanding portrayal of Sherlock Holmes?
Even though Cumberbatch has starred in several popular and Oscar noteworthy films, people still associate him with his first breakout role as Sherlock Holmes. Of course, part of the reason behind that is that the show is still ongoing and BBC writers Moffat and Gatiss are waiting for Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman to be free to film season four. But still, most of his fans have heard or seen him perform as Holmes and still associate him with that character. A huge percentage of the people I know who like Benedict Cumberbatch would tell me: “You know, I had no idea that Cumberbatch was in 12 Years a Slave.” People mostly associate him as just being “that one guy who plays Sherlock”. I have also noticed that most articles online about Cumberbatch will either reference him as “Sherlock star” or even have pictures of him from his role as Sherlock. Not only that, but many people (myself included) didn’t even know that Cumberbatch is a ginger because we know him as having the Sherlock Holmes’ dark curly hair.
Both Sherlock and Cumberbatch are posh, British men who are very intelligent and sometimes behave in strange ways in public (ie, Cumberbatch’s photo-bombing at the Oscars and Holmes’…well, anything he does in the show would be an example really, from his jumping up and down in glee to a murder to his peculiar experimentations with corpses and refrigerators). However, the difference between them is, obviously, that one is an actor and the other is a character that the actor plays. The lines Sherlock Holmes says are written by other people, but the script and Cumberbatch’s performance makes the role likable and iconic.
How much of the Cumberbatch we “know” is actually him? A lot of fans seem to be confusing the two, thinking that Benedict Cumberbatch is like Sherlock Holmes in personality. Celebrities struggle to live in a world where their lives are both private and public. Actors like Cumberbatch, who prefer to live private lives, then have situations where the characters they play get superimposed onto their personalities by their fans. And it’s kind of a strange reality we get as a result of that, where the actor and the character merge into one person.

By Leanna Zamosc

Out of all the recent news that has been spread about Benedict Cumberbatch, the most interesting to me would have to be about his admitting that he sees a therapist. I admit to being a Cumberbatch fan—maybe not at the level of being a “Cumberbitch”, but I am still a pretty adoring fan—and I find myself more interested in this admission of his than the girlfriend leak. The main reason as to why I am interested in this is out of a fascination with psychology and personal experiences with mental illness. And so, after my initial surprise from reading the two headliners from fashionstyle.com and entertainmentwise.com, the questions arose.

Does he have a mental disorder? How does he deal with it? What sort of disorder does he have? Or is he seeing a therapist because of the pressures of being a celebrity?

I clicked on the articles and read them. I found out that, at Oz Comic Con, Cumberbatch said that was seeing a professional therapist to help him delve into the mindset of the characters he played. In other words, he does not have a mental illness but he does want there to be a open discussion about, well, mental health.

Curiously, the first feeling I had after reading the two articles was of brief disappointment. I was crestfallen that I wouldn’t be able to say that my favorite celebrity has a mental disorder too (you know, the “I’m not crazy because Celebrity A and Celebrity B have it too” sort of thing?). But when I thought about it again, I was actually kind of pleased that he was able to come out and say that there needs to be an open discussion about mental health.

First of all, props to Benedict Cumberbatch for addressing a big issue: mental disorders are a problem that people need to be educated about. In the past two months, I have seen countless blogs and heard people—even friends—belittle mental illness. Here’s an example that comes to my mind right away: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has been reduced to a joke. I’ve constantly heard people say “That’s so OCD” or “I like to organize my pencils on my desk. I’m so OCD”. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has become translated into quirk, something to say to sound like you are “different” than others. The truth of the matter is, it can be a debilitating disorder where intrusive, disturbing thoughts will bother you to the point where you have to perform some sort of ritual or compulsion to feel better. People who suffer from OCD and who are not treated can have very stressful lives. So it is important for everyone to be educated about mental health and the best possible ways to treat and help people suffering from a disorder.

Another thing that I liked about Benedict Cumberbatch coming out and saying that he sees a therapist is that it sheds a good light on therapy. Even though he sees a therapist for getting into darker roles, he is still promoting an image that being mentally sound and stable is good. I remember how the late actor Heath Ledger was reported having a lot of stress about his darker roles such as the Joker from The Dark Knight. I remember thinking in high school that if he had had some sort of therapy, he may have been better off.
There are different kinds of therapy that can help a wide variety of people. From marriage counseling to art therapy, there are various strategies and categories of therapy. Popular celebrities like Benedict Cumberbatch , who are open to therapy and discussion of mental disorders, help break the stigma that mental illnesses have. The more people are educated in mental health, the more they can help or support someone who has these problems. So in that sense, it was a good publicity stunt of Cumberbatch to be open about mental health.

By Leanna Zamosc

We live in a world where friendships are made public through social media. Facebook especially promotes the public aspect of friendships. Every Facebook friend can know what you have been up to if they simply scroll down your wall. On average, I see that people have 200+ friends on Facebook, so I can only assume that a whole lot of them are not actually friends but merely acquaintances. But that does not matter in Facebook world: any Facebook friend can know the things that you post, personal or not. Our culture is focused on friendships and whether the relationship turns out well or sour. The more public a friendship is, the better for those who are observing that friendship.

So it’s no wonder that people have also become obsessed with celebrity friendships. The fact that Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddelston are close friends is known among most fans who adore both actors. Why is that? Why do we even bother caring about the friendships actors make?

Perhaps it is a way of proving that actors are people too.

Or it could be that we love to see the celebrity elite intermingle. This theory would be the opposite of proving that celebrity actors are like the rest of us. It would mean that there is a boundary between regular people and celebrities, pushing the belief that celebrities are “other” and a spectacle for the people to watch.
The bromance between Tom Hiddelston and Benedict Cumberbatch has sparked the imaginations of plenty of fans across the internet. I’ve seen pictures of them on tumblr and internet jokes where people make up funny scenarios of the daily lives and friendship between the two actors. There are plenty of gifs depicting interviews for War Horse where Cumberbatch and HIddelston are enjoying each other’s presence. Tom Hiddelston himself provided fuel for the friendship by saying a few days ago to The Star that Cumberbatch is one of his best friends.

Their friendship unites fans that like both of them and are into celebrity culture. I can imagine that it would be difficult for Cumberbatch and Hiddelston to enjoy their friendship as thousands of people are eager to see signs of their bromance. Do they do things that normal adult friends do? Both of them are so famous that it would be impossible for them to go out drinking or to a movie or to do anything that a lot of us take for granted as normal. And that is a little sad to think about, that we have made these actors’ private lives our concern and that many people will not let them get a break from being that celebrity persona. Even friendships have to be public in this celebrity world.