Benedict Cumberbatch and Homer Simpson walk into Moe's….Hey, it could happen….
Most of the time, no matter what stage your career is in, there are points in time where you realize you have arrived. In the case of Downton Abbey, all of the audience figures and critical acclaim have been nice, but it wasn’t until a couple of Jimmy Fallon parodies, appearances on The Colbert Report and a Saturday Night Live spoof did the world truly wake up and realize that we were in the presence of pop-culture greatness.
In the case of one Benedict Cumberbatch, it’s hard to argue with the well-deserved meteoric rise of his career since the 2010 premiere of Sherlock. Since both series of Sherlock have aired on the BBC and PBS, Cumberbatch has been seen in the likes of Tinker Tailor, War Horse, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and has the distinction of being the main antagonist in the upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness film due out in May of this year. The numerous awards and brilliant acting roles aside, Planet Earth is now keenly aware that Benedict Cumberbatch has reached the pinnacle of his career by virtue of his voicing not one, but TWO roles in an upcoming Simpsons episode, coming soon to a telly near you. Cumberbatch’s appearance has him in good company as The Simpsons was featured in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records, receiving the award for “Most Guest Stars Featured in a TV Series”. As of December 1, 2012, 602 different people had appeared as guest stars on the animated show.
Following a chance meeting between the Sherlock star and Simpson show creators, Benedict explained: “I was at a meeting in the same place ‘The Simpsons’ is recorded and heard there was a part going in an episode. I said, ‘I hate to muscle in here guys but could I record it?’ Next thing, I’m standing in a room with all those famous voices; Bart, Marge, Homer, Lisa.”
According to recent reports, while it’s definitely not Sherlock-related, Benedict Cumberbatch will have two small roles as both a ‘sinister accountant and a snake-like character’ in “Love is a Many Splintered Thing” which is tentatively set to broadcast on Sunday 10 February 2013 on Fox. The Valentines Day themed episode will see the return of Bart’s almost girlfriend Mary Spuckler (Zooey Deschanel – who co-starred with Cumberbatch’s Sherlock co-star, Martin Freeman, in the 2005 feature, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).
Prior to his role on The Simpsons, Cumberbatch and the rest of the Sherlock crew achieved a bit of unofficial early Simpsons stardom when they were honored with a bit of fan art from Sam over at Springfield Punx. Set the DVR now for Sunday, 10 February on Fox for yet another golden opportunity to, hopefully, take your mind off of the fact that we are still months away from Sherlock 3.
