Benedict Cumberbatch reveals cross-dressing past

Benedict Cumberbatch has admitted he wasn’t always the leading man when he first started acting – often, he was the leading lady.

The Sherlock star appeared on Conan O’Brien’s US talk show, where he said he had to battle to get the best roles when he began acting.

He said: “I wasn’t confident around girls when I was young. I went to an all-boys boarding school, and actually used to play women in the school plays.

Benedict used to dress up as a woman at school (Chris Jackson/PA Wire)

“I would wear wigs and women’s clothes. My first role was Titania, queen of the fairies. That was literally what started me off at school. Then I played Rosalind [in Shakespeare's As You Like It],” he continued.

“I played rugby, so I was butch as well as in the evening putting on female clothes.”

Benedict added of his sex-symbol status: “It’s very recent that polls have started deeming me sexy. My face hasn’t changed that much over the last 10 years. It’s surreal.”

During the interview, Conan brought out a shower scene clip of Benedict in Star Trek Into Darkness which was eventually cut from the film.

The actor revealed: “I trained for months to look bigger than I am. Ate a lot of chicken, worked out a lot. I prefer the Smaug (his Hobbit performance) clip than being naked in the shower… you can see less of me.”

Conan, whose show can be seen in the UK on truTV, commented: “Out of context it looks like you’re confused by water.”