Licorice Allsorts

No licorice was harmed in the making of this nonsense

12,416 notes

bakerstreetbabes:

The Baker Street Babes Birthday Giveaway: Holmes Version

The Baker Street Babes put our out first podcast one year ago today. Least to say we’ve come a very long way and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. So, the past few months we’ve been gathering prizes and goodies for a MASSIVE giveaway… and here it is!

In this version of the give away you win EVERYTHING below. Yes. EVERYTHING!

  • Sherlock Series 1 DVD, signed by Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman (donated by Hartswood Films)
  • Sherlock Art Nouveau print (donated by Daunt)
  • Sherlock & John bookmarks (donated by Daunt)
  • Sherlock t-shirt of your choice (donated by Qwertee)
  • Baker Street Journal Spring Issue featuring an interview with Baker Street Babe Curly/Kristina. (donated by The Baker Street Journal)
  • The full Sherlock Holmes Society of London dramatised canon CD set, signed by the actors. (donated by The Sherlock Holmes Society of London)
  • Brainy is the New Sexy pendant in polished brass. (donated by Belaurient Arts)
  • I Believe In Sherlock Holmes pendant in sterling silver. (donated by Belaurient Arts)
  • I Believe In Sherlock Holmes keychain in nickel silver. Please be aware this is made of nickel and if you’re allergic to it you now have a free gift to a non-allergen Sherlockian of your choice! (donated by Belaurient Arts)
  • The Detective & The Woman, signed by author Amy Thomas (donated by Amy Thomas)
  • The Illustrated Speckled Band. (donated by Gasogene Books, Wessex Press)
  • My Love Affair With Sherlock magazine by Caitlin Moran.
  • The Sherlock Holmes Handbook by Ransom Riggs
  • Large print of Sherlock & John in a train carriage by reapersun. Pen there for scale. (donated by reapersun)
  • Baker Street mini-sign
  • CD of BigFinish’s Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Perfidious Mariner starring Nick Briggs. (Donated by BigFinish)

So? How do you win?

  • You may reblog each version ONCE per DAY. The giveaway will run until June 10th.
  • Likes DO NOT COUNT.
  • The winners will be chosen by a random number generator. They will have 24 hours to confirm with their address. The first number wins the Holmes Version, the second number wins the Watson Version.
  • We will ship anywhere in the world.
  • You cannot win both versions of the giveaway.
  • You do not have to be following us, however, this is a present to our followers and listeners, so it’s appreciated. Plus we do really cool things like interview Sherlock cast and authors and chat about Sherlock Holmes all the time!
  • If you are following us and win, you’ll get an extra special gift on top of all of this!
  • Any questions, naturally just ask. We’d prefer if you’d send an ask not anonymously so we can reply privately and not clog up people’s dashes.

You can listen to our podcasts [HERE]!

Follow us on twitter at @BakerStBabes

Like us on facebook [HERE]!

And visit our website [HERE]!

9,678 notes

bakerstreetbabes:

The Baker Street Babes Birthday Giveaway: Watson Version

The Baker Street Babes put our out first podcast one year ago today. Least to say we’ve come a very long way and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. So, the past few months we’ve been gathering prizes and goodies for a MASSIVE giveaway… and here it is!

In this version of the give away you win EVERYTHING below. Yes. EVERYTHING!

  • Sherlock Series 1 & 2 Original Soundtracks signed by Michael Price & David Arnold. MAJOR thanks to both of them for singing them for us!
  • John Art Nouveau print (donated by Daunt)
  • Sherlock Tea by Cara McGee (donated by Adagio)
  • SaraWen perfume pack, 2ml vials of the Sherlock scents: Logical Deduction, Logical Delusion, Scandal In London, and Tea With Watson (donated by SaraWen)
  • Full CD set of BigFinish’s Sherlock Holmes starring Nick Briggs. (Donated by BigFinish)
  • Dust and Shadow, signed by author Lyndsay Faye. (Donated by Lyndsay Faye)
  • The Secret Journal of Doctor Watson by Phil Growick. (Donated by MXPublishing)
  • My Love Affair With Sherlock magazine by Caitlin Moran.
  • Baker Street Journal Spring Issue featuring an interview with Baker Street Babe Curly/Kristina. (Donated by The Baker Street Journal)
  • BBC Bundle, t-shirt, Sherlock & John paper dolls, and Elementary My Dear Watson book. (Donated by Unicorn Empire)
  • Holmes & Watson print, “He stood there by the fire.”
  • I Fight John Watson’s War & I Believe In Sherlock Holmes stainless steel dogtags. (Donated by Belaurient Arts)
  • Sherlock Holmes pin
  • Sherlock Holmes 221B keychain
  • Sherlock’s Home, The Empty House compiled by Sherlockology. (Donated by MXPublishing & Sherlockology)
  • Greg Lestrade & Moriarty bookmarks by mystradedoodles.

So? How do you win?

  • You may reblog each version ONCE per DAY. The giveaway will run until June 10th.
  • Likes DO NOT COUNT.
  • The winners will be chosen by a random number generator. They will have 24 hours to confirm with their address. The first number wins the Holmes Version, the second number wins the Watson Version.
  • We will ship anywhere in the world.
  • You cannot win both versions of the giveaway.
  • You do not have to be following us, however, this is a present to our followers and listeners, so it’s appreciated. Plus we do really cool things like interview Sherlock cast and authors and chat about Sherlock Holmes all the time!
  • If you are following us and win, you’ll get an extra special gift on top of all of this!
  • Any questions, naturally just ask. We’d prefer if you’d send an ask not anonymously so we can reply privately and not clog up people’s dashes.

You can listen to our podcasts [HERE]!

Follow us on twitter at @BakerStBabes

Like us on facebook [HERE]!

And visit our website [HERE]!

12,416 notes

bakerstreetbabes:

The Baker Street Babes Birthday Giveaway: Holmes Version

The Baker Street Babes put our out first podcast one year ago today. Least to say we’ve come a very long way and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. So, the past few months we’ve been gathering prizes and goodies for a MASSIVE giveaway… and here it is!

In this version of the give away you win EVERYTHING below. Yes. EVERYTHING!

  • Sherlock Series 1 DVD, signed by Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman (donated by Hartswood Films)
  • Sherlock Art Nouveau print (donated by Daunt)
  • Sherlock & John bookmarks (donated by Daunt)
  • Sherlock t-shirt of your choice (donated by Qwertee)
  • Baker Street Journal Spring Issue featuring an interview with Baker Street Babe Curly/Kristina. (donated by The Baker Street Journal)
  • The full Sherlock Holmes Society of London dramatised canon CD set, signed by the actors. (donated by The Sherlock Holmes Society of London)
  • Brainy is the New Sexy pendant in polished brass. (donated by Belaurient Arts)
  • I Believe In Sherlock Holmes pendant in sterling silver. (donated by Belaurient Arts)
  • I Believe In Sherlock Holmes keychain in nickel silver. Please be aware this is made of nickel and if you’re allergic to it you now have a free gift to a non-allergen Sherlockian of your choice! (donated by Belaurient Arts)
  • The Detective & The Woman, signed by author Amy Thomas (donated by Amy Thomas)
  • The Illustrated Speckled Band. (donated by Gasogene Books, Wessex Press)
  • My Love Affair With Sherlock magazine by Caitlin Moran.
  • The Sherlock Holmes Handbook by Ransom Riggs
  • Large print of Sherlock & John in a train carriage by reapersun. Pen there for scale. (donated by reapersun)
  • Baker Street mini-sign
  • CD of BigFinish’s Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Perfidious Mariner starring Nick Briggs. (Donated by BigFinish)

So? How do you win?

  • You may reblog each version ONCE per DAY. The giveaway will run until June 10th.
  • Likes DO NOT COUNT.
  • The winners will be chosen by a random number generator. They will have 24 hours to confirm with their address. The first number wins the Holmes Version, the second number wins the Watson Version.
  • You cannot win both versions of the giveaway.
  • You do not have to be following us, however, this is a present to our followers and listeners, so it’s appreciated. Plus we do really cool things like interview Sherlock cast and authors and chat about Sherlock Holmes all the time!
  • If you are following us and win, you’ll get an extra special gift on top of all of this!
  • Any questions, naturally just ask. We’d prefer if you’d send an ask not anonymously so we can reply privately and not clog up people’s dashes.

You can listen to our podcasts [HERE]!

Follow us on twitter at @BakerStBabes

Like us on facebook [HERE]!

And visit our website [HERE]!

9,678 notes

bakerstreetbabes:

The Baker Street Babes Birthday Giveaway: Watson Version

The Baker Street Babes put our out first podcast one year ago today. Least to say we’ve come a very long way and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. So, the past few months we’ve been gathering prizes and goodies for a MASSIVE giveaway… and here it is!

In this version of the give away you win EVERYTHING below. Yes. EVERYTHING!

  • Sherlock Series 1 & 2 Original Soundtracks signed by Michael Price & David Arnold. MAJOR thanks to both of them for singing them for us!
  • John Art Nouveau print (donated by Daunt)
  • Sherlock Tea by Cara McGee (donated by Adagio)
  • SaraWen perfume pack, 2ml vials of the Sherlock scents: Logical Deduction, Logical Delusion, Scandal In London, and Tea With Watson (donated by SaraWen)
  • Full CD set of BigFinish’s Sherlock Holmes starring Nick Briggs. (Donated by BigFinish)
  • Dust and Shadow, signed by author Lyndsay Faye. (Donated by Lyndsay Faye)
  • The Secret Journal of Doctor Watson by Phil Growick. (Donated by MXPublishing)
  • My Love Affair With Sherlock magazine by Caitlin Moran.
  • Baker Street Journal Spring Issue featuring an interview with Baker Street Babe Curly/Kristina. (Donated by The Baker Street Journal)
  • BBC Bundle, t-shirt, Sherlock & John paper dolls, and Elementary My Dear Watson book. (Donated by Unicorn Empire)
  • Holmes & Watson print, “He stood there by the fire.”
  • I Fight John Watson’s War & I Believe In Sherlock Holmes stainless steel dogtags. (Donated by Belaurient Arts)
  • Sherlock Holmes pin
  • Sherlock Holmes 221B keychain
  • Sherlock’s Home, The Empty House compiled by Sherlockology. (Donated by MXPublishing & Sherlockology)
  • Greg Lestrade & Moriarty bookmarks by mystradedoodles.

So? How do you win?

  • You may reblog each version ONCE per DAY. The giveaway will run until June 10th.
  • Likes DO NOT COUNT.
  • The winners will be chosen by a random number generator. They will have 24 hours to confirm with their address. The first number wins the Holmes Version, the second number wins the Watson Version.
  • You cannot win both versions of the giveaway.
  • You do not have to be following us, however, this is a present to our followers and listeners, so it’s appreciated. Plus we do really cool things like interview Sherlock cast and authors and chat about Sherlock Holmes all the time!
  • If you are following us and win, you’ll get an extra special gift on top of all of this!
  • Any questions, naturally just ask. We’d prefer if you’d send an ask not anonymously so we can reply privately and not clog up people’s dashes.

You can listen to our podcasts [HERE]!

Follow us on twitter at @BakerStBabes

Like us on facebook [HERE]!

And visit our website [HERE]!

55,523 notes

areyoutryingtodeduceme:

YOU GUYS NEARLY 11,000 OF YOU PUT UP WITH ME ON A DAILY BASIS. You guys listen to more of my crap than my own boyfriend generally does. That deserves rewarding. So this is an extra SPECIAL tea give away, and there will be THREE winners. Oh my god. Want a chance to become one of those lucky three people? Read on and follow directions.

THE PRIZES:

  • First Place Prize: A set of all seven Sherlock Shipper tea blends [Sherlock/Moriarty, Sherlock/Irene, Moriarty/Moran, Mycroft/Lestrade, Lestrade/John, Lestrade/Molly, Molly/Moriarty]
  • Second Place Prize: A set of all four* Avengers Teas [Thor, Loki, Steve Rogers, and Coulson *and possibly also Tony Stark if I make a tea for him soon]
  • Third Place Prize: A set of all three Doctor Who Teas [The TARDIS, Amy Pond, and Rory]
  • IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE PRIZE PACKS: Each winner will get ONE blend specially created for them. It can be a character or ship or show or book or whatever that I haven’t done that they’d like me to do. It can even be a blend made based on THEM. Whatever the winners would like. They each get to request one, and they will receive it with their other teas.

I MIGHT ADD TO THESE PRIZES. If this gets reblogged like, a lot, or something, I might lose my head and also send the winners mugs to go with their tea. Or a book. WE’LL SEE.

THE RULES: 

  • Anyone ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD can enter EXCEPT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND!! I am SUPER sorry for my followers down under because not only do you have to put up with terrifying wild life, you can’t even allow tea to be imported to help comfort you. Sorry, there’s like, crazy laws and stuff.
  • You do not have to be following me to win, but it might be helpful to keep track of updates or changes (if any). Plus I plan to make some blends for other fandoms in the future, so if tea is your thing, it might not be a bad idea?
  • Only two reblogs a day allowed.I did not realize how often people would reblog my last big give away soooo I’m going to enforce this LOL. You can reblog on as many days as you’d like, but yeah, only 2 reblogs a day please. I’ll be checking.
  • LIKES DON’T COUNT. Sorry! You have to reblog!
  • The give away will end and I will choose the winners on FRIDAY JUNE 1ST. I’ll probably do the drawing late at night on that day, so I’m going to say I’ll stop counting reblogs at 10 p.m. EST. Winners may not be announced until the next day or so, just to be aware!
  • Here’s how the winners will be selected: Just like all of my other give aways, I’ll compile a spreadsheet or numbered list of all of the reblogs, and I’ll use the number generator on random.org to chose a number and find the corresponding username on the list. The first number I draw will win the first place prize (or, if they are more into Avengers or Doctor Who, they may chose one of the other prizes). Second number I draw will win the second place prize (or a choice between whatever two packs remain), and the third number drawn will receive the last prize!

1,238 notes

deareje: Benedict Cumberbatch in Venice, Calif. Role to Role, From Sherlock to ‘Star Trek’ By DAVE ITZKOFF Published: April 26, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/arts/television/benedict-cumberbatch-moves-from-role-to-role.html HOW skilled a secret keeper is Benedict Cumberbatch if he readily confesses the easiest method for extracting secrets from him? Asked somewhat frivolously for information about one of the many coming projects he cannot talk about, Mr. Cumberbatch, the 35-year-old British actor, offered an equally facetious response. “You could stick a knife in my thigh, and I wouldn’t tell you,” he said a few weeks ago, relaxing on the deck of the Venice, Calif., home where he was staying. But he added: “Pull the hair on my head the wrong way, and I would be on my knees begging for mercy. I have very sensitive follicles.” Deeper still within his head were numerous vital details that Mr. Cumberbatch’s work required him to keep locked away. There was not much he could say about his dual roles as a necromancer and a talking dragon in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of “The Hobbit,” and even less about the part he was shooting in J. J. Abrams’s sequel to “Star Trek.” (“I’ve got to be a complete and utter tease,” he said, more gleeful than apologetic.) What Mr. Cumberbatch can confirm is that these high-profile opportunities were made possible by the success of “Sherlock,” the television series that casts him as a cool and contemporary — if brutally rational — upgrade of Sherlock Holmes. It returns on May 6 for a second season on PBS’s “Masterpiece Mystery!” In Britain, where “Sherlock” is shown on BBC One, the series has left millions of fans frantic to know the resolution of a season-ending cliffhanger, which American viewers have not yet seen, and transformed Mr. Cumberbatch (who already knows the outcome) from a well-regarded journeyman actor into a superstar. And he makes no secret of his desire to see “Sherlock” enjoy similar acclaim in the land of “Mad Men” and “Modern Family.” “I’m desperate for America to really take to this,” he said. “It has taken it into its heart as a cult thing, but I’d love it to hit the mainstream this time. Because I just think it’s of that quality, and it belongs there.” In person the thin and muscular Mr. Cumberbatch shares the piercing gaze and sonorous, sinister voice of his Holmes but is warmer and more irreverent. He is a self-confessed motormouth and a relentless mimic who, over the course of an hour, adopted the shrieking voice of an admiring Valley girl; the Scottish burr of his friend and colleague James McAvoy; the synthesized speech of Stephen Hawking, whom he portrayed in a British TV movie; and the rapid, adenoidal clip of both Mr. Abrams and Steven Spielberg, who directed him in “War Horse.” In similarly haphazard fashion Mr. Cumberbatch has spent the past 18 months ricocheting from role to role, in British stage productions like “After the Dance” and “Frankenstein” (for which he shared the Olivier Award this month with his co-star Jonny Lee Miller); a coming television version of “Parade’s End,” adapted by Tom Stoppard from the Ford Madox Ford novels; and films like “The Hobbit,” “War Horse” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” Last December, on vacation in Gloucestershire, England, he got the call that Mr. Abrams wanted him to submit a videotaped audition for “the not-so-good guy” (in Mr. Cumberbatch’s words) in the “Star Trek” sequel — and could not find anyone to film it for him. “We observe this little Judeo-Christian cult holiday called Christmas,” Mr. Cumberbatch said sarcastically. “Whereas, you know, some kids in this part of town” — he circled his hands in the Los Angeles air — “with their Crackberrys, don’t.” In a friend’s kitchen late at night, an agitated and weary Mr. Cumberbatch recorded his audition on an iPhone — “I was pretty strung out,” he said, “so that went into the performance” — and sent it to Mr. Abrams, only to be told the director was also on vacation. Mr. Abrams, who saw the recording a few days later and hired Mr. Cumberbatch, wrote in an e-mail that it was “one of the most compelling audition readings I’d ever seen.” But Mr. Abrams already knew this from Mr. Cumberbatch’s work on “Sherlock,” whose second season drew around 10 million viewers in Britain for each of three 90-minute episodes shown in January, according to the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board. (By contrast, in the United States, the first season averaged 4.6 million viewers per episode, PBS said.) On Tuesday, Mr. Cumberbatch’s work on the show earned him a Bafta award nomination for best actor. Steven Moffat, the television producer who created “Sherlock” with Mark Gatiss, recognized similar qualities in Mr. Cumberbatch after seeing him play a quietly frightening character in “Atonement.” “His look is quirky,” said Mr. Moffat, who also produces the BBC’s hit revival of “Doctor Who.” “His appeal is quite intellectual. He’s not conventionally handsome — handsome by any normal human standard. But the screen is very demanding.” Mr. Cumberbatch, he added, is “not ever going to play an ordinary man.” Mr. Moffat — who met with no other actors for the role — said he saw in Mr. Cumberbatch an actor ideally suited to play Holmes, but also one who was ready for an assignment that would significantly raise his profile. “Little boys like to be heroes,” Mr. Moffat said. “You get to wear the coat and swagger about, and girls think he’s sexy. There’s a lot of things that playing Stephen Hawking can do, but that’s probably not one of them.” Mr. Cumberbatch realized too that “Sherlock” would shine a spotlight on him in a way he hadn’t previously experienced. “I knew it would accelerate wherever I was at,” he said. “And I thought, I’m ready for this.” But the increased scrutiny that arrived as abruptly as his fame made him think otherwise. The address of his London home became public knowledge when he applied to expand his apartment into the one beneath it, and his breakup with a girlfriend he’d known since college was much discussed in the tabloids. Since coming to California to work on “Star Trek,” Mr. Cumberbatch said, there had been “a huge blogging response to me selling out to Hollywood and dating a model and become a walking cliché. That was nice.” He also discovered a Web site that juxtaposes his facial expressions from “Sherlock” with images of otters in similar poses. He said it was “brilliant” and “fantastic.” Mr. McAvoy, who appeared with Mr. Cumberbatch in “Atonement” and “Starter for 10,” said the toughest challenge he faced was not the glaring eye of fans or the news media but a self-imposed demand to live up to the expectations of his fellow actors. “Your peers look at you and go, ‘All right, you’ve got this opportunity and this ability — step up and be good every time,’ ” Mr. McAvoy said. Even so, he said that for as long as he had known Mr. Cumberbatch he has worked steadily in many enviable roles and “has occupied a position within the industry that people would chop his legs off to get, so I imagine he’s used to dealing with that sort of pressure.” Season 2 of “Sherlock,” which presents 21st-century takes on the classic Holmes adventures “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and “The Final Problem,” offers Mr. Cumberbatch further opportunity to build on his portrait of the consulting detective as a cocky but not fully formed young man. Paired once again with Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), Holmes is drawn further into his rivalry with the archfiend Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) and meets the mysterious Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), who stirs some decidedly warm feelings beneath the character’s coldblooded facade. “The most prominent attraction is of the mind,” Ms. Pulver said. “Otherwise it would have literally been an episode of two people wanting to rip each other’s clothes off, and we’ve all seen that.” Though his Holmes is meant to be lacking in social graces, Mr. Cumberbatch rejected a popular interpretation that the character has Asperger syndrome. “He’s a high-functioning sociopath,” he said. “He has a general disregard for standard codes of conduct, pleasantries, niceties. He wants to cut to the chase. He wants everything to be faster and better and purer.” Mr. Cumberbatch could at least relate to this aspect of the character. He recalled an encounter he’d had in January at the Golden Globe Awards, where the PBS “Masterpiece” executive producer Rebecca Eaton taunted him affectionately with a trophy that had just been won by “Downton Abbey.” He said: “I just looked at it and went: ‘Begone, woman. Bring it back when it says “Sherlock Holmes” or Steven Moffat or myself — someone else who’s more deserving than the second series of “Downton Abbey.” ’ ” Exhibiting a diplomacy that his Holmes is not known for, Mr. Cumberbatch stopped himself from saying anything more about the rival television series. “I know too many people who are in it,” he said. “I thought the first series was good. That’s what I’ll say.”

deareje:

Benedict Cumberbatch in Venice, Calif.

Role to Role, From Sherlock to ‘Star Trek’

By

Published: April 26, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/arts/television/benedict-cumberbatch-moves-from-role-to-role.html

HOW skilled a secret keeper is Benedict Cumberbatch if he readily confesses the easiest method for extracting secrets from him?

Asked somewhat frivolously for information about one of the many coming projects he cannot talk about, Mr. Cumberbatch, the 35-year-old British actor, offered an equally facetious response.

“You could stick a knife in my thigh, and I wouldn’t tell you,” he said a few weeks ago, relaxing on the deck of the Venice, Calif., home where he was staying. But he added: “Pull the hair on my head the wrong way, and I would be on my knees begging for mercy. I have very sensitive follicles.”

Deeper still within his head were numerous vital details that Mr. Cumberbatch’s work required him to keep locked away. There was not much he could say about his dual roles as a necromancer and a talking dragon in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of “The Hobbit,” and even less about the part he was shooting in J. J. Abrams’s sequel to “Star Trek.” (“I’ve got to be a complete and utter tease,” he said, more gleeful than apologetic.)

What Mr. Cumberbatch can confirm is that these high-profile opportunities were made possible by the success of “Sherlock,” the television series that casts him as a cool and contemporary — if brutally rational — upgrade of Sherlock Holmes. It returns on May 6 for a second season on PBS’s “Masterpiece Mystery!”

In Britain, where “Sherlock” is shown on BBC One, the series has left millions of fans frantic to know the resolution of a season-ending cliffhanger, which American viewers have not yet seen, and transformed Mr. Cumberbatch (who already knows the outcome) from a well-regarded journeyman actor into a superstar.

And he makes no secret of his desire to see “Sherlock” enjoy similar acclaim in the land of “Mad Men” and “Modern Family.”

“I’m desperate for America to really take to this,” he said. “It has taken it into its heart as a cult thing, but I’d love it to hit the mainstream this time. Because I just think it’s of that quality, and it belongs there.”

In person the thin and muscular Mr. Cumberbatch shares the piercing gaze and sonorous, sinister voice of his Holmes but is warmer and more irreverent. He is a self-confessed motormouth and a relentless mimic who, over the course of an hour, adopted the shrieking voice of an admiring Valley girl; the Scottish burr of his friend and colleague James McAvoy; the synthesized speech of Stephen Hawking, whom he portrayed in a British TV movie; and the rapid, adenoidal clip of both Mr. Abrams and Steven Spielberg, who directed him in “War Horse.”

In similarly haphazard fashion Mr. Cumberbatch has spent the past 18 months ricocheting from role to role, in British stage productions like “After the Dance” and “Frankenstein” (for which he shared the Olivier Award this month with his co-star Jonny Lee Miller); a coming television version of “Parade’s End,” adapted by Tom Stoppard from the Ford Madox Ford novels; and films like “The Hobbit,” “War Horse” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”

Last December, on vacation in Gloucestershire, England, he got the call that Mr. Abrams wanted him to submit a videotaped audition for “the not-so-good guy” (in Mr. Cumberbatch’s words) in the “Star Trek” sequel — and could not find anyone to film it for him.

“We observe this little Judeo-Christian cult holiday called Christmas,” Mr. Cumberbatch said sarcastically. “Whereas, you know, some kids in this part of town” — he circled his hands in the Los Angeles air — “with their Crackberrys, don’t.”

In a friend’s kitchen late at night, an agitated and weary Mr. Cumberbatch recorded his audition on an iPhone — “I was pretty strung out,” he said, “so that went into the performance” — and sent it to Mr. Abrams, only to be told the director was also on vacation.

Mr. Abrams, who saw the recording a few days later and hired Mr. Cumberbatch, wrote in an e-mail that it was “one of the most compelling audition readings I’d ever seen.”

But Mr. Abrams already knew this from Mr. Cumberbatch’s work on “Sherlock,” whose second season drew around 10 million viewers in Britain for each of three 90-minute episodes shown in January, according to the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board. (By contrast, in the United States, the first season averaged 4.6 million viewers per episode, PBS said.) On Tuesday, Mr. Cumberbatch’s work on the show earned him a Bafta award nomination for best actor.

Steven Moffat, the television producer who created “Sherlock” with Mark Gatiss, recognized similar qualities in Mr. Cumberbatch after seeing him play a quietly frightening character in “Atonement.”

“His look is quirky,” said Mr. Moffat, who also produces the BBC’s hit revival of “Doctor Who.” “His appeal is quite intellectual. He’s not conventionally handsome — handsome by any normal human standard. But the screen is very demanding.” Mr. Cumberbatch, he added, is “not ever going to play an ordinary man.”

Mr. Moffat — who met with no other actors for the role — said he saw in Mr. Cumberbatch an actor ideally suited to play Holmes, but also one who was ready for an assignment that would significantly raise his profile.

“Little boys like to be heroes,” Mr. Moffat said. “You get to wear the coat and swagger about, and girls think he’s sexy. There’s a lot of things that playing Stephen Hawking can do, but that’s probably not one of them.”

Mr. Cumberbatch realized too that “Sherlock” would shine a spotlight on him in a way he hadn’t previously experienced. “I knew it would accelerate wherever I was at,” he said. “And I thought, I’m ready for this.”

But the increased scrutiny that arrived as abruptly as his fame made him think otherwise. The address of his London home became public knowledge when he applied to expand his apartment into the one beneath it, and his breakup with a girlfriend he’d known since college was much discussed in the tabloids.

Since coming to California to work on “Star Trek,” Mr. Cumberbatch said, there had been “a huge blogging response to me selling out to Hollywood and dating a model and become a walking cliché. That was nice.” He also discovered a Web site that juxtaposes his facial expressions from “Sherlock” with images of otters in similar poses. He said it was “brilliant” and “fantastic.”

Mr. McAvoy, who appeared with Mr. Cumberbatch in “Atonement” and “Starter for 10,” said the toughest challenge he faced was not the glaring eye of fans or the news media but a self-imposed demand to live up to the expectations of his fellow actors.

“Your peers look at you and go, ‘All right, you’ve got this opportunity and this ability — step up and be good every time,’ ” Mr. McAvoy said.

Even so, he said that for as long as he had known Mr. Cumberbatch he has worked steadily in many enviable roles and “has occupied a position within the industry that people would chop his legs off to get, so I imagine he’s used to dealing with that sort of pressure.”

Season 2 of “Sherlock,” which presents 21st-century takes on the classic Holmes adventures “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and “The Final Problem,” offers Mr. Cumberbatch further opportunity to build on his portrait of the consulting detective as a cocky but not fully formed young man.

Paired once again with Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), Holmes is drawn further into his rivalry with the archfiend Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) and meets the mysterious Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), who stirs some decidedly warm feelings beneath the character’s coldblooded facade.

“The most prominent attraction is of the mind,” Ms. Pulver said. “Otherwise it would have literally been an episode of two people wanting to rip each other’s clothes off, and we’ve all seen that.”

Though his Holmes is meant to be lacking in social graces, Mr. Cumberbatch rejected a popular interpretation that the character has Asperger syndrome.

“He’s a high-functioning sociopath,” he said. “He has a general disregard for standard codes of conduct, pleasantries, niceties. He wants to cut to the chase. He wants everything to be faster and better and purer.”

Mr. Cumberbatch could at least relate to this aspect of the character. He recalled an encounter he’d had in January at the Golden Globe Awards, where the PBS “Masterpiece” executive producer Rebecca Eaton taunted him affectionately with a trophy that had just been won by “Downton Abbey.”

He said: “I just looked at it and went: ‘Begone, woman. Bring it back when it says “Sherlock Holmes” or Steven Moffat or myself — someone else who’s more deserving than the second series of “Downton Abbey.” ’ ”

Exhibiting a diplomacy that his Holmes is not known for, Mr. Cumberbatch stopped himself from saying anything more about the rival television series.

“I know too many people who are in it,” he said. “I thought the first series was good. That’s what I’ll say.”

(via thebritishteapot)

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Dear lord! How did I not notice how absolutely hideous Mike Stamford’s tie is before now? Seriously, that’s uglier than whatever monstrosity Toby Jones has on in TTSS! 

Dear lord! How did I not notice how absolutely hideous Mike Stamford’s tie is before now? Seriously, that’s uglier than whatever monstrosity Toby Jones has on in TTSS!