Actor Benedict Cumberbatch saved a Deliveroo worker from a gang

If there's one Hollywood film star who nobody ever has a bad word to say about, it's Benedict Cumberbatch. The British actor has made a name for himself thanks to his deep baritone voice and a string of well-reviewed performances, but behind the camera he's a very different man to the insufferable geniuses he's often typecast as. Cumberbatch is apparently a lot more shy and sweet in real life; hardly the sarcastic, acerbic sociopath that he portrays in Sherlock.

Yes, he's had a fair amount of experience being a superhero lately, having now played the part of the Great Detective himself, as well as the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange in the eponymous Marvel movie (cropping up again in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War.) However, as it turns out the academy-award nominated actor has actually been performing some real life heroics, and has been fighting crime not too far away from the very same apartment where Sherlock Holmes purportedly lived with Dr Watson.

Yes, Benedict Cumberbatch has been hailed as a hero, after dramatically saving a Deliveroo driver from a gang of muggers in London. The actor was apparently riding in an Uber with his wife Sophie Hunter, when he spotted that the cyclist was being attacked. The Deliveroo cyclist had apparently been hit over the head with a glass bottle and was in some distress. Cumberbatch asked his Uber driver to stop the car and ran to the man's aid, shouting "leave him alone" before dragging the four away from the unfortunate victim.

Uber driver, Manuel Dias, who also helped fight off the attackers, stated: "If he hadn't stepped in, the cyclist could have been seriously injured ... Benedict was courageous, brave and selfless. Here was Sherlock Holmes fighting off four attackers just round the corner from Baker Street ... I had hold of one lad and Benedict another. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He was very brave. He did most of it, to be honest ... They tried to hit him but he defended himself and pushed them away. He wasn’t injured. Then I think they also re­cognised it was Be­ne­dict and ran away. He asked the rider how he was and when he said, ‘I’m OK’ Benedict just hugged him."

The incident apparently occurred back in November 2017, but the details of the thwarted robbery have only recently been made public. The London Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they were called about a crime which occurred in Maryleybone High Street, a mere half mile from away from Baker Street, and that Cumberbatch had been involved. I guess that playing a superhero really has rubbed off on him!