casting couch

Steve McQueen Casts Benedict Cumberbatch in 12 Years a Slave

Sherlock, Series 2
Photo: Colin Hutton/Hartwood Films

The very British Benedict Cumberbatch, recently given a spectacular alternate definition (“a breakfast dish famously enjoyed by Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII,” etc.) in a Sherlock Blu-ray giveaway right here on Vulture, has come aboard Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave. Portraying a plantation owner who buys free-man-turned-slave protagonist played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cumberbatch joins Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt. Yes, this should be good. As well as Cumberbatchy.

Steve McQueen Casts Benedict Cumberbatch