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Did you know that before he became known to us through the popular BBC drama Sherlock and before he became so famous through the movie , actor Benedict Cumberbatch took a gap year to teach English at a Tibetan monastery? He later said that his gap year had a big influence on him in achieving his dream. This is the gap year story of Benedict Cumberbatch, an actor who captured the hearts of women with his outstanding immersion and low-pitched voice.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Born: July 19, 1976 (UK)
Height: 184cm
Education: London School of Dramatic Arts
Awards: 2012 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play
2011 Evening Standard Award for Best Actor
He decided to take a gap year and do volunteer work abroad. After studying drama at the University of Manchester, he decided to take a break from acting and travel abroad. While on a gap year, he traveled to Darjeeling, India, and did volunteer work at a Buddhist monastery in Tibet, teaching English to students. He stayed with the monks and spent time interacting with them and even taught them directly.
He says that the quiet and spiritual nature of the monastery helped him develop the immersion he needed for acting.
Meditation was everything. It gave me focus. It wasn’t a crazy life, but something like purity, and it gave me focus. In that kind of environment, anyone can feel alive. It makes me realize who I am and understand the things around me.
In an interview with the BBC, he recalled his gap year and said of his time there:
I had a desire to take advantage of the various opportunities while I was going to school. When I heard about a gap year to teach English in a Tibetan monastery, I thought I had to do it right away. It was a volunteer job with no income, so I worked for six months to solve the financial problems. I worked for Penhaligon’s, a perfume company, for about five months. Then I waited for the next job.
Living in the monastery was the best experience for me. Even though I was provided with temporary accommodation and a blackboard, I had to live in a very limited environment. During my two weeks in Nepal with my colleagues, we camped under the countless stars in the night sky and went rafting along the white stream.
This was the story of his gap year spent volunteering. His outstanding acting skills, which showed flawless perfection and immersion into the character in the drama , probably helped him focus more and immerse himself in acting in the refined and quiet atmosphere of the temple, as he said in an interview.
Now, he is a world-renowned actor with the best works. It is said that he had a long period of obscurity before he became what he is today. Isn’t it because he had a gap year where he pondered and challenged his dreams and future that we have our Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch? Everyone, how about spending a gap year in India or Tibet?
Check out various gap year programs on the Korea Gapyear website.
“Like” the Korea Gapyear page
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