Sherlock star's drunk, rambling awards speech goes viral

Benedict Cumberbatch arrives at the GQ men of the year awards. Photo/Getty

The terms "drunk" and "classy" don't usually fall into the same basket, but Benedict Cumberbatch effortlessly achieved both at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.

The 38-year-old British actor admitted he'd had more than a few to drink as he collected his Actor of the Year award in London on Tuesday night.

Often the combination of alcohol and acceptance speeches leads to embarrassment but not for Cumberbatch, whose incoherence was charming.

"I'd like to thank James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy for not being available," the Sherlock star told the crowd.

"It's an embarrassment of riches, our profession is in general really."

Cumberbatch then castigated himself on stage for thanking his parents for "rearing" him, and referring to Lewis Hamilton as a "motor driver".

"What century am I from? Auditioning for Downton Abbey or some such s***," he scolded.

"Not that Downton Abbey's s***. Where was I? Oh f***.""I'm going to get off stage now ... I drank a lot and I need the loo. So thank you very good much, I'll see you in the loo."

Cumberbatch's award comes off the back of a fantastic year during which he starred in the third series of BBC's Sherlock, appeared in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Oscar-winning movie 12 Years A Slave.

App users: Tap here to watch his full speech

- AAP