Benedict Cumberbatch explains why he believes he was COVID-19 “patient zero” STX Films/Graham Bartholomew(LONDON) — Benedict Cumberbatch is taking a closer look at the mysterious sickness that left him nearly incapacitated in 2019. After going over his symptoms, the Doctor Strange star now believes he was among the first people to contract COVID-19. “I was incredibly ill,” Cumberbatch recalled to The Independent on Saturday, “to the point that when all this COVID stuff suddenly broke in the new year.” After reading reports about the pandemic, the 44-year-old expressed concern that he could have contributed to the outbreak, telling the publication, “I was thinking, ‘Oh my god was I actually patient zero.'”