An Emmy-nominated actor has landed the role of the “fifth Beatle,” Brian Epstein, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Benedict Cumberbatch, best known as the modern-day Sherlock Holmes in the BBC/PBS production "Sherlock," has been cast in the big-screen biography of Epstein, who was the manager of the Beatles when they started out.

Epstein was referred to as the “fifth Beatle” because he was instrumental in the birth of the group, their iconic look and style and their emergence as the most popular musical act in the world. In 1966, at the height of Beatlemania, Epstein died of an overdose, in what many believe was a suicide.

Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman will produce the film for their company Playtone. Directing the film will be the man who has helmed four of the six episodes of "Sherlock," Paul McGuigan.

Cumberbatch has played a high-profile real-life character before, appearing as Stephen Hawking in the 2004 BBC drama “Hawking.” He received an Emmy nomination this year for “Sherlock.”

Benedict Cumberbatch