BBC Star to Play the Gay Fifth Beatle in Biopic

Benedict Cumberbatch

A movie about the gay "fifth Beatle" will feature rising star Benedict Cumberbatch, who was nominated this year for an Emmy for his BBC role as Sherlock Holmes.

The Hollywood Reporter says a new biopic about the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, will star Cumberbatch and be directed by Sherlock director Paul McGuigan.

Epstein's autobiography calls him "the man who made the Beatles." And Paul McCartney once said, "If anyone was the fifth Beatle, it was Brian." Epstein was also a closeted gay man who died of an accidental drug overdose.

Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.