'They'll be after you for money': Why everyone is talking about Benedict Cumberbatch.

In the 2013 Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave, Benedict Cumberbatch played plantation owner William Ford.

It's a role he chose to play, knowing his family owned a plantation in the 18th century - something he might now face paying reparations for.

Benedict Cumberbatch's seventh great-grandfather, Abraham Cumberbatch, purchased a sugar plantation in Barbados in 1728.

It's believed 250 enslaved people worked on the property over a period of 100 years.

When slavery was abolished in 1833, it's reported the Cumberbatch family made a small fortune, receiving a payout worth approximately $6 million AUD today.

Watch the trailer for Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave here. Post continues below.

Born into the entertainment industry, both Cumberbatch's parents are actors. However, neither use their family's last name because of their connection to the slave trade.

The Dr Strange actor recalls his mother encouraging him not to use his real last name when entering the business for the same reason.

"When I became an actor, Mum wasn't keen on me keeping it. 'They'll be after you for money', she used to say," he told Scotland on Sunday in 2007. 

But Cumberbatch never wanted to conceal his family's past - in fact, he took on roles about slavery early in his career.

In 2006, he starred in the British film Amazing Grace about the campaign to end the slave trade. And in 2013, he appeared in 12 Years a Slave.

"Maybe I was trying to right a wrong there," Cumberbatch said in the same interview.

Benedict Cumberbatch playing William Ford. Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures. 

But he also questioned his obligation to repay his ancestors' debt.

"The issue of how far you should be willing to atone is interesting," he said. "I mean, it's not as if I'm making a profit from the suffering - it's not like it's Nazi money."

For years, the country of Barbados has been seeking reparation from the countries and institutions that benefitted from the slave trade. 

Now, they're pursuing the families involved.

The first family targeted were the Drax's - a British family who owned a sugar plantation which had an estimated 30,000 enslaved people working on it. 

Drax Hall is still a functioning sugar farm today, owned by UK conservative politician and millionaire Richard Drax.

Richard Drax. Image: Getty.

Barbados' Reparations Commission wants Drax Hall to be returned to Barbados to be made into a museum. 

If Mr Drax refuses, the government intends to take him to an international arbitration court.

And if Barbados wins, it lays the groundwork for them to pursue other families, like the Cumberbatch's. 

Feature image: Getty.

Love watching TV and movies? Take our survey now to go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher.