Benedict Cumberbatch is an actor who excels at character, accent, and all the nuances that only the best big screen portrayals have to offer. He has supplied the voices of Smaug in The Hobbit franchise, the title role of The Grinch, and Agent Classified in Penguins of Madagascar, as well as acting alongside the biggest names Hollywood has to offer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cumberbatch is soon to reprise his role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He's an actor that clearly strives to be different and to become as immersed within his roles as best he can, and even outside of work he imitates a pretty good Chewbacca when asked. So cast your eyes over these nine essential performances of a very talented gentleman.
Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (2014)
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In 1939, the Enigma Machine is the greatest cipher device ever created. The Nazis use it to code all of their secret messages, and the Allies believe it to be unbreakable. However, one Englishman knows that he has the skills to unlock its information and help end World War II. Alan Turing (Cumberbatch) is asked to join the team at Bletchley Park, where Turing builds his own machine, named Christopher, with the help of Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley). The race is on to crack the code, but another secret lies hidden that is about to be broken. In an unequal world, Turing’s sexuality is as deadly to him as the Nazis are.
Cumberbatch provides a great performance of a man who is in turmoil over his, then illegal, sexuality, while bearing the burden of trying to save millions of lives. It's an impressive and patriotic story with a sad and bitter edge, and Cumberbatch excels at evoking pity, empathy, and untold amounts of sympathy for his role. Fact-based, and tragically realistic, The Imitation Game is one of Cumberbatch’s most inspiring performances.
Greville Wynne in The Courier (2020)
Greville Wynne (Cumberbatch), an Everyman and typical businessman, is recruited by the British Secret Intelligence Service. His job is to conduct business in the Soviet Union and secretly liaise with Russian Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) to gain information about the Soviet Union’s nuclear arsenal. At home, his wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley) is suspicious of his new trips abroad, due to his past infidelity, and the Soviets also start to take a closer look into his continuing visits to their secretive world. How long can Wynne keep the wolves from the door?
The Courier is a traditional, old-fashioned, spy story that centers on the single premise of our unlikely hero being or not being caught. Simple, effective, and gripping, what the plot lacks, Cumberbatch makes up for with an enjoyable and heartbreaking poetic characterization of an average man who is finally reduced to confronting his fears. Cumberbatch also shed considerable weight for the movie’s final few scenes.
Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock (2010-2017)
London, present day, Sherlock Holmes (Cumberbatch), the world’s greatest detective, and his trusty best friend, Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman), thwart the advances of the Big Smoke’s most dastardly devils. Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is the worst of them all, and along with other nefarious characters, they keep Holmes and Watson busy. D.I. Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves) is also busy with the continuous battle against crime.
A modern-day twist on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories, Sherlock is a British crime and mystery TV drama, which propelled Cumberbatch into stardom, and Andrew Scott’s alternative portrayal of the villainous rival of Holmes was to be his breakthrough role. The show has won numerous awards including a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA and Emmy for Martin Freeman.
Dr. Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange (2016)
Arrogant and self-centered, neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch), embarks on a journey to help him recover the full use of his hands after a recent car crash left him unable to perform surgery. His journey ends in Kamar-Taj where a powerful mystic, the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), agrees to help and train Strange. He learns of the universe’s many dimensions and that Earth is protected by a shield omitted from three sanctums. When one of these is destroyed, Strange must join the fight against Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a mystic master who now opposes the Ancient One.
This is Benedict Cumberbatch’s first step into the MCU. It has spectacular visual effects and a budget to match, and a box office return that dwarfs the two. Where a lot of superhero movies of late have been lacking characterization and commitment, Cumberbatch instead has instilled a sense of quality back into a genre that overlooks performance with budget. The result is that Doctor Strange is the best of both worlds.
Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate (2015)
Two men of like-minded activism decide to create an online platform where information can be anonymously contributed. Julian Assange (Cumberbatch) and Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) begin to work together on a website called WikiLeaks. As their website grows, they release secretive and sensitive intelligence about Scientology and the British National Party. Daniel begins to see the cracks in Julian’s morals as people become badly affected by the release of information, and when a video of American airstrikes that show the murder of civilians in Baghdad is released, Julian and Daniel become divided, and so too does the world.
The Fifth Estate is a biographical movie based partly on a book written by Daniel Domscheit-Berg about his time with Julian Assange. The movie split audiences with its lack of cinematic story and any power to whisk the viewer away from reality. Instead, we are treated to an impeccable performance from Cumberbatch that delves deep into fact and detail like a documentary, but still, another worthy characterization from Cumberbatch.
Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is reinstated as commander of the USS Enterprise. His new mission is to kill a terrorist, Khan (Cumberbatch), who is responsible for an attack on Starfleet. Events become clouded as Khan reveals himself to be a genetically engineered superhuman who has been caught up in plans to start a war between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire. Kirk is forced to trust Khan, but how long will that last, and who can he trust within the prestigious Starfleet?
Chris Pine affirms his role as Captain Kirk in this second modern installment, and Cumberbatch brings Khan into the 21st century, or 23rd depending on your point of view. It’s big, brash, loud, expensive, and full of over-acting, but above all it’s actually a compelling re-imagined sequel. Forget the shouting and ridiculous outbursts of unjustifiable emotion, Start Trek Into Darkness is a modern continuation of one of the greatest sci-fi franchises, the second after Star Wars, that has ever been made, and an unmissable watch for any fan.
Thomas Edison in The Current War (2017)
Thomas Edison (Cumberbatch), arguably the greatest American inventor, is on the cusp of creating and delivering an electrical system that will see cities across every state of America illuminated by his light bulbs. However, George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) also has an electrical system of his own and will stop at nothing to beat Edison to the finish line. Edison employs a smear campaign against Westinghouse, but Westinghouse employs a man called Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), a visionary who might just help win the race.
A dramatized account based on historical events, The Current War is a wonderfully stylized movie of the battle between DC current and Edison, and AC current and Westinghouse. It may not be the usual topic for a Hollywood movie, but Shannon and Cumberbatch create a huge sense of ambition, drive, and patriotism in their roles, and as a period piece it’s as fine as Nicholas Hoult’s on-screen attire.
Phil Burbank in The Power of the Dog (2021)
Rich brothers and ranch owners Phil (Cumberbatch) and George Burbank (Jesse Plemons) are polar opposites. George is slow and gentle and Phil is intelligent but coarse. When George marries Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst), Phil believes it’s for money and begins to ridicule her effeminate son, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). When Peter stumbles upon Phil bathing in a pond, Phil suddenly changes his approach to Peter. Phil’s sexuality becomes clear and the reasons he acts the way he does becomes transparent, which only leads to a disastrous end.
The Power of the Dog is atmospheric and thick with extremely tense sexual and social tension that is juxtaposed with long periods of scene setting calm. Heavy in connotation and double entendre, it’s a movie that demands full attention to all the detail and all of its actors, and it’s no surprise that all four mentioned above were nominated for an Academy Award.
Louis Wain in (2021)
After the death of his father, eccentric Englishman Louis Wain (Cumberbatch) is left to support his five sisters and his mother. The household is joined by a new governess, Emily (Claire Foy). The two become instantly enchanted with one another, and their adventure begins through Wain’s wondrous world of anthropomorphized drawings of cats. As his understanding of life and his wife grows, he unlocks his unique slant on art, but his mind begins to lose its grip on the very reality that he depends upon.
A romantic and delightful comedy that is based on the life of the idiosyncratic English artist. Beautifully shot and set in 1881, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is an exceptional performance by Cumberbatch as an overcreative individual that sees all the things that us mere mortals miss. It’s one of his most unique performances, and galvanizes his ability to completely submerse himself into any period drama, comedy or not. Cumberbatch is a very gifted actor for sure.