BENEDICT Cumberbatch, 39, has played many roles .

He has played the troubled computer science pioneer Alan turing in oscar-winning film The Imitation Game;he has played the legen|dary (传奇的) detectives Sherlock Holmes in the BBC 's hit TV series Sherlock ;he has played a villain ( 反派) in the movie Shar trek into Darkless ; he has even played the dreadful(可怕的)dragon Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy（三部曲）.

To top it all off ,from Aug 5 to Oct 31 Cumberbatch took on the most challenging role of his career to dateHamlet, the main character in William Shakespeare 's tragedy (悲剧) of the same name at Londons Barbican theater .The drama set the record of being the fastest-selling show in London history ,selling out 100,000 tickets in minutes ." There has been such ticket-buying desperation (不顾一切)，”reported the Los Angeles Times.

According to China Daily ,Britain's National Theater Live , known as NT live , will broadcast 10 shows in Beijing and Shanghai, including Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet on Nov 22 .

With 1,480 spoken lines and a performance that Includes murders ,madness and fencing ( 击剑), Hamlet is known as " an Everest (高峰)that only the most gifted actors can climb ”,said the Daily Mail.

Yet Cumberbatch sees Hamlet as an important part of British culture to explore ." The more you study it, the more you realize how varied it is,"he told Vulture."It's all about a rich understanding of the characters and situations.”