Benedict Cumberbatch worries he was 'patient zero' Bang Showbiz 2 days ago Bang Showbiz Benedict Cumberbatch worries he might have been "patient zero". The 'Imitation Game' star was really sick towards the end of 2019 after flying into South Africa and he now worries he helped to spread coronavirus around the world before the first cases had even been confirmed. Speaking to the independent.co.uk, he explained: "I was incredibly ill, to the point that when all this COVID stuff suddenly broke in the new year, I was thinking, oh my god was I actually patient zero. I was so ill – it was borderline pneumonia."