Benedict Cumberbatch is making a cameo appearance in The Simpsons.

The British actor landed a voice role in the famous animated sitcom following a chance meeting in Los Angeles: "I was at a meeting in the same place The Simpsons is recorded and heard there was a part going in an episode. I said, 'I hate to muscle in here guys but could I record it?' Next thing, I'm standing in a room with all those famous voices; Bart, Marge, Homer, Lisa."

The Star Trek 2 actor - who shot to fame playing iconic detective Sherlock Holmes in TV series Sherlock - was thrilled to get to be part of the cartoon because he likes to take on as many varied roles as possible. "I like treating every job as the first time and to do that, I'll vary the work, so I'll be a knuckle head and run around with girls and guns, then I'll slow it down and do something different like [Edwardian drama] Parade's End," he said.