Benedict Cumberbatch, a.k.a. the Internet’s boyfriend, burst onto the scene with the lead role in the BBC series Sherlock, and has since played iconic roles like Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek Into Darkness and real people like Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate, and Stephen Hawking in the TV movie Hawking. He’s about to take on another beloved role, this time for Marvel. Cumberbatch will play the role of Dr. Stephen Strange in the upcoming film Doctor Strange. A brilliant surgeon, Strange has an accident which destroys his hands. While trying to find a way to repair them, he encounters the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who teaches him the ways of magic. He’ll also do both motion capture and the voice of Shere Khan in the upcoming film The Jungle Book directed by Andy Serkis. Check out a list of the best Benedict Cumberbatch movies and TV shows below. Which one is your favorite?
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: Hawking (2004)
Before he played an iconic villain or a famous detective, Cumberbatch played theoretical physicist, cosmologist and great mind Stephen Hawking in this BBC television movie. It follows Hawking’s early life, beginning at 21 when he meets his wife Jane Wilde (Lisa Dillon) and begins to suffer the effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Cumberbatch received his first BAFTA award for Best Actor and was the first person to play Hawking on screen.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: Atonement (2007)
Atonement stars Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, and Vanessa Redgrave and is based on Ian McEwan‘s 2001 novel of the same name. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, and won for Outstanding Score. It’s the story of a young girl named Briony (Ronan) who witnesses her sister Cecilia (Knightley) and Robbie, the man Briony has a crush on (McAvoy) having sex. She falsely accuses Robbie of raping her friend and it destroys all their lives. Cumberbatch plays Paul Marshall, who has done a terrible thing. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: Sherlock (2010-present)
Cumberbatch is the latest to play this iconic detective role created by writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s the latest version of the story of Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), their crime investigations and their hunt for the villain Jim Moriarity (Andrew Scott). Cumberbatch’s performance combined with Martin Freeman’s and the work of creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) have led this show to become a cult classic. Cumberbatch won an Emmy in 2014 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his work on the BBC series.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Cumberbatch plays Peter Guillam in this film based on John le Carré‘s 1974 novel of the same name. The film stars Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, and Ciarán Hinds, and was directed by Tomas Alfredson. It’s the story of the hunt for a Soviet double agent in the 1970s’ British Secret Service. The character also appears in other le Carré novels including “Call for the Dead” and “The Spy Who Came In from the Cold.” Le Carré actually appears in the film as a guest at a Christmas party. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: War Horse (2011)
This film, directed by Steven Spielberg, was based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel of the same name. It’s the story of a horse named Joey, who is raised by a young British man named Albert (Jeremy Irvine) and sold to the British army in WWI. Cumberbatch plays Major Jamie Stewart, the man who buys Joey from Albert’s father, and promises to treat him well. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
No, the first Hobbit film isn’t the one Cumberbatch is known for, but he did voice the Necromancer in all three films. Cumberbatch also plays the dragon Smaug in The Desolation of Smaug in 2013 and in The Battle of the Five Armies in 2014. Smaug is the bane of Erebor, hoarding gold, fighting with the Dwarves and Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman). Cumberbatch did the motion capture for the role as well as the voice. As you probably know, the Necromancer is actually Sauron.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
In the second film in the new Star Trek film series, Cumberbatch plays Khan Noonien Singh, originally played on the original Star Trek series (“Space Seed”) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan by Ricardo Montalbán. Khan (who we were repeatedly told was not the villain in the film before it was revealed that fans had been right all along) is a genetically engineered superhuman who has been in cryogenic sleep. He’s awoken to develop weapons for a war with the Klingons. The film received mixed reviews, but the ones for Cumberbatch were mostly positive, despite the great departure from Montalbán version of the role.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: 12 Years a Slave (2013)
This film is based on the 1853 memoir “Twelve Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup, Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was a free-born man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, spending 12 years working on plantations before being released. Cumberbatch plays William Prince Ford, the man who owned the plantation Northup first works on. He was a real person and his descendants have suggested that the way he was written in the film was inaccurate. The film, which was directed by Steve McQueen, won three Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong’O, launching her to stardom.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: The Fifth Estate (2013)
Directed by Bill Condon, this film is the story of Wikileaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange. It’s partially based on former Wikileaks spokesperson Daniel Domscheit-Berg’s 2011 book “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website. He’s played by Daniel Brühl in the film. Cumberbatch plays the lead role, and though the film received mixed reviews, his performance was largely praised.
Benedict Cumberbatch Movies and TV Spotlight: The Imitation Game (2014)
Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing in this film directed by Morten Tyldon. It’s loosely based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma“ by Andrew Hodges and tells the story of British cryptanalyst Turing, who broke the German intelligence codes during World War II. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Cumberbatch. The real Turing, who is considered the father of theoretical computer science, was chemically castrated for the “crime” of being a homosexual. He accepted this horror instead of time in prison, and committed suicide in 1954, right before his 42nd birthday. He was posthumously pardoned by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013. Cumberbatch, along with many others, used this film as a platform to campaign to pardon the 49,000 gay men convicted under the law that destroyed Turing’s life.
Which upcoming Benedict Cumberbatch movies are you most excited for? Which one is your favorite that he’s done so far? Doctor Strange will hit theaters on November 4, 2016. Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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