Cumberbatch v Redmayne: Swot Up On The Facts

Their acting talent has received wide praise during awards season but here are a few interesting facts which have not made it into the headlines.

Cumberbatch:

:: Educated at Harrow

:: He has a condition which means his eyes are different colours

:: In 2005 he was held at gun point, tied up and put in the boot of a car during a kidnapping in South Africa before being released with no reason given

:: He learnt to play the violin in a week

:: He taught English in a Tibetan monastery during his gap year

:: He voiced Alan Rickman in an episode of The Simpsons in 2013.

Redmayne:

:: He was educated at Eton College with Prince William as a classmate

:: His favourite karaoke song is Bat Out Of Hell

:: His wife Hannah Bagshawe picks out his clothes for him because he is colour blind

:: Before he was famous he was the face of a knitting company called Rowan Yarns

:: At the age of 12, he appeared in Sam Mendes’s West End production of Oliver as workhouse boy number 40

:: He once admitted to finding Nala from The Lion King attractive.

The pair are known to be good friends and after their Oscar nominations are said to have text each other messages containing lots of exclamation marks.