Benedict Cumberbatch said his mother was in tears when he got the audience at the Wilderness Festival to sing Happy Birthday to her.
The Sherlock star, 41, was one of several celebrities who took part in the event in Oxfordshire, delivering a performance of Letters Live, which sees people reading monologues based on real correspondence.
After the crowd sang Happy Birthday to fellow performer Mark Strong, Cumberbatch asked them to sing to his mother, Wanda, too.
Benedict Cumberbatch and his mother Wanda Ventham (Yui Mok/PA)
He told Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2: “They sang a rousing videoed message to my mum so I think I got some points there!”
Asked about her response, he said: “I think the words in the email from dad were something like, she was suitably overwhelmed and questions why it’s possible that I continually make her cry.”
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here