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Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch opened up about his looks and says he was born to play period roles because he looks “weird”.

The 37-year-old is now a heartthrob around the world with millions of fans thanks to the role of Sherlock in the BBC series.

But speaking about his status as a hunk, he claimed he was not overly attractive. Told by a BAFTA interviewer he could play big roles in any decade, he replied: “That’s the blessing of having a weird face.

“Somewhere between an otter and something people find vaguely attractive.

“I have grown up with this face and it has been in the industry for ten years.

“I am in the hottest top tens now when I wasn’t in the top thousand when I started.

“I started out not a typical beauty.

“I have a long neck and a long face, that is usually period. That is some kind of inbreeding so I will run with that.

“I can wear some high collars and ride a horse or two. I’m fine with that.”

(Image: Wireimage)

Appearing to refer to Sherlock and his coat, he added: “But not all the time, sometimes I will get a high collar in the 21st century.

“I had a great English teacher and he said I reminded him of William Blake.

“He said ‘you are kind of old soul’ and I liked that.

“I ran with that because I was fortunate to grow up in England there and you grow up with heritage there.

“I went to school where some building were 400-years-old and that was the young ones.

“It is nice to honour it and learn from it.”

Cumberbatch was speaking at a BAFTA In Conversation event in New York at the Standard Hotel and charmed the audience with tales of his career.

He claimed most of his work before a big role was not really necessary but gave him confidence on the big screen.

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He said: “The thing about research is it is a security blanket. Very little of it ends up on screen often. It is just to take a bit of possession of what you are doing and gives you a little more courage to be something you are so far from.

“For example playing a dragon who breathes fire. That is not my daily routine. So I went to the reptile house at London zoo and had some fun with that and tried to work that articulation into my body.”

Cumberbatch also told how he sought advice from Meryl Streep when they filmed August: Osage County together when she played his mother on screen last year.

He said: “She and I had this conversation because i was watching her bringing Violet Weston to life and I was thinking ‘how the f*** is she doing that. She is playing grief, cancer, the effects of the cancer drugs and everything that has been boiling in her since she was an abused child. I saw this actress at the height of her powers being able to play every single note of her character like she was running around playing every instrument.

“I thought how the hell did she begin. We were having this cigarette and I said ‘how do you start? Do you have a base?’

“She said ‘no I think it changes all the time’. I thought ‘thank god’. To hear someone say that because that is what I have always done so you can adapt your craft.

“You can’t deduce the s*** out of it like Sherlock.”

(Image: Getty)

Cumberbatch also told how his audition for the role of Sherlock could have gone wrong when he thought producer Sue Vertue’s mum Beryl was playing Mrs Hudson when she walked in with tea and biscuits. She was actually just bringing in refreshments.

Benedict said of Sherlock: “It is the most dramatised character of all time.

“I heard about it and thought that sounds like an idea to reinfranchise something to make money it could be a bit cheap and cheesy.

“Then I found out who was involved and realised it won’t be cheap and cheesy.

“My mum had done a few episodes Coupling with Steven (Moffat) and Mark Gatiss was a huge hero of mine when I was a student in League Of Gentleman so I knew the stable was good.

“I thought I would read it and I fell in love with it.”

Fans of Cumberbatch and his lead role in Sherlock flood the Internet and Twitter with stories, picture and gossip about the actor.

But Cumberbatch said he didn’t use social media, adding: “It would take over my life and probably ruin it”

Speaking about the initial response to Sherlock on the Internet, he added: “It was very overwhelming in a distanced kind of way.”

“I was really aware of this immediate response. I was amazed how vocal it was.

“This tweeting and blogging came alive. That is very rare, a live experience with a TV audience.

“It was a new experience for me.”

* Benedict Cumberbatch was speaking at new BAFTA event ‘In Conversation’ at the Standard Hotel in New York. It will now take place in the US and in London. Mark Jefferies flew to New York with Virgin Atlantic