Today is Benedict Cumberbatch’s 46th birthday. Although Cumberbatch was already well-known in the British cinema and television industries, his portrayal of the legendary fictional investigator Sherlock Holmes in BBC’s modernised version of the character, ‘Sherlock,’ catapulted him to international recognition. His stars then started to rise and rise. As the dragon Smaug and then as Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he joined popular series like ‘The Hobbit.’ He is now a well-known and accomplished performer who has won many awards. However, Cumberbatch still performs best in lesser-known roles. Here are a few of his best roles from relatively unknown movies and TV shows that you might not be familiar with.
From ‘The Imitation Game,’ Alan Turing
For his characters, Cumberbatch has always excelled in the ‘outside’ zone. Alan Turing, a cryptanalyst, is a character played by Benedict Cumberbatch in Morten Tyldum’s 2014 film ‘The Imitation Game.’ The tale of Turing is tragically motivating. His work was crucial in deciphering and analysing Nazi coded correspondence, which helped the British learn about the regime’s plans. Although he rose to fame in post-World War II Britain, he suffered shame and imprisonment when it was revealed he was gay. Cumberbatch portrays Turing’s understated brilliance as easily as though he were donning a pair of shoes.
Patrick Melrose from the movie ‘Patrick Melrose’
The sole television programme on the list, ‘Patrick Melrose,’ featured Cumberbatch as the title character, a guy who has become a drunken disaster as a result of the trauma he received from his father as a young child. The programme alternates between being sad and amusing, and Cumberbatch is hauntingly convincing as the ‘narcissistic, schizoid, suicidal alcoholic,’ as he defines his on-screen persona.
Hawking, starring Stephen Hawking
In ‘Hawking,’ Cumberbatch played the legendary English scientist Stephen Hawking, ten years before Eddie Redmayne did the same. Redmayne claimed that he skipped the Cumberbatch movie because he might have unintentionally learned something from it. And indeed, Cumberbatch is great in ‘Hawking’ and at the same time it is a performance distinct from Redmayne’s so if you feared it was repetitive, it is not.
‘Brexit: The Uncivil War,’ starring Dominic Cummings
In the movie ‘Brexit: The Uncivil War,’ Cumberbatch played Dominic Cummings, a balding, sleazy character who served as the political strategist and ultimately Chief Advisor to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He is frequently credited with founding the Vote Leave movement, which was responsible for the 2016 British referendum to leave the European Union. As a sly person eager to base an entire campaign on fabrications and exaggerations, Cumberbatch excels. Cumberbatch gives a performance in ‘Brexit: The Uncivil War’ that deserves much more praise.
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