Benedict Cumberbatch says his parents wanted him to become a barrister before getting behind his acting career.
Cumberbatch was urged to take on a more 'grown-up' profession before his family realised how talented he was as an actor.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, he said: "They wanted me to do a grown-up job and be a barrister. But I was at university playing Salieri in 'Amadeus' when my dad said to me, 'You're better than I ever was or ever will be. You'll have a good time doing this and I'm, going to support you'.
"It was a huge thing for a man to say to his son and it's one of the reasons I do the best I can to make them proud."
In the last couple of years Cumberbatch has become one of the most in demand British actors with a whole host of movie projects on the horizon.
He will be back on the big screen this week with his new film The Fifth Estate: a movie that sees him take on the role of Julian Assange.
August: Osage County, 12 Years A Slave and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug are all also in the pipeline.
The Fifth Estate is out now.
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