Genealogy detectives have discovered that British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who portrays Sherlock Holmes in TV series Sherlock , is distantly related to the author who created the iconic character more than a century ago.
According to the website Ancestry.com, Cumberbatch, 40, and the late Arthur Conan Doyle, who died in 1930, were 16th cousins, reports hollywoodreporter.com.
The Emmy-winning TV series
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Ancestry.com wasn’t asked to dig into the backgrounds of Cumberbatch and Doyle, but its researchers love both — the series and historical puzzles, said spokesman Dallin Hatch.
They haven’t told the actor of the connection.