15 Benedict Cumberbatch Roles Most Fans Don’t Know About

15 Benedict Cumberbatch Roles Most Fans Don’t Know About

Benedict Cumberbatch has slowly become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Most people became aware of him from his critically acclaimed take on a modern Sherlock Holmes in the BBC show Sherlock. His compelling and entertaining performance in that show gained him notoriety, leading to high-profile film roles. He has since become an Oscar-nominated actor for The Imitation Game and is part of the ever-popular Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Strange.

While Cumberbatch’s rise to fame might seem like a case of overnight success, he slowly built a solid career with small roles in smaller projects before getting his big break. He has become a star thanks to roles like Sherlock and Strange, but there are plenty of his roles fans might not be as familiar with.

Updated on May 8th, 2022 by Colin McCormick: The release of the MCU sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees Benedict Cumberbatch returning to his most famous role to date. His continued success with Stephen Strange paired with his acclaimed turn in the Oscar-winning The Power of the Dog and Cumberbatch is a bigger star than he has ever been. But if fans are still curious about some of the past roles in his career that they may have overlooked, there are plenty more projects they can get caught up with.

Four Lions (2010)

15 Benedict Cumberbatch Roles Most Fans Don’t Know About
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Cumberbatch doesn’t often get the chance to show off his comedic side, but he did have a brief role in the hilarious dark comedy Four Lions. The controversial movie stars Riz Ahmed as a man who, along with his blundering friends, attempt to become terrorists.

Despite the subject matter, the movie is incredibly funny and a very sharp bit of satire. Cumberbatch has a great small cameo late in the movie as a police negotiator who is new at the job and desperate to make a good impression.

The Last Enemy (2008)

Benedict Cumberbatch looking serious in The Last Enemy

Though he has become a huge movie star now, Cumberbatch has also had a very successful career on television as well. One of his earlier starring roles was in the British miniseries The Last Enemy. Cumberbatch plays a mathematician who is hired to consult on a new government surveillance program which brings him into a vast conspiracy.

Given the superhero world in which Cumberbatch is best known for now, it is fun to see him as a more grounded hero in this thriller.

Fortysomething (2003)

Benedict Cumberbatch and Hugh Laurie looking up in Fortysomething

Another early television project Cumberbatch was a part of was Fortysomething. It might seem like an odd fit for Cumberbatch to be in a quirky sitcom, but he is also joined by acclaimed actor Hugh Laurie in the series.

Laurie plays a suburban family man going through a midlife crisis and coping with his ability to hear the inner thoughts of those around him. Cumberbatch plays one of Laurie’s three sons which is a fun supporting role to see the actor in.

Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007)

Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy walking in Stuart: A Life Backwards
  • Available on HBO, HBO Max, DIRECTV, and Spectrum on Demand

Though they would work together later on bigger projects, Cumberbatch teamed with fellow future superhero star Tom Hardy early in his career for the drama, Stuart: A Life Backwards. Cumberbatch plays a young writer who befriends a troubled young man (Hardy) and begins examining his life, including his childhood trauma.

It is a lot of fun seeing these two future superstars working together as up-and-coming actors. It is their chemistry together that really makes the movie something worth seeking out.

The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain (2021)

the electrical life of louis wain review
Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
  • Available on Amazon Prime Video

Given how big of a star Cumberbatch has become, it is rare for any of his recent movies to get overlooked. But with the anticipation of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and his Oscar-nominated performance in The Power of the Dog, Cumberbatch’s work in The Electrical Life of Lois Wain failed to gain much attention when it was released last year.

Based on a true story, Cumberbatch stars as 19th-century English artist Louis Wain. As he gained notoriety for his surreal paintings of cats, Wain’s own mental state began to decline.

The Fifth Estate (2013)

Benedict Cumberbatch
  • Available to rent on Apple TV

Julian Assange is a big name in the news right now and has been a controversial figure for quite some time. The founder of Wikileaks, Assange is the kind of real-life personality Hollywood loves to explore. But most people won’t remember there was, in fact, a film made about Assange with Cumberbatch playing the man himself.

The Fifth Estate was a look at the beginnings of Wikileaks and Assange as the organization’s leader, painting the whole thing in a rather unflattering light. The movie was dismissed by most critics as a failed attempt at a The Social Network-like real-life drama. But even the harshest critics pointed to Cumberbatch’s performances as the highlight of the film.

Hawking (2004)

  • Available to rent on Apple TV

Long before Eddie Redmayne won his Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, Cumberbatch played the famed physicist in this made-for-television movie. Like The Theory of Everything, the film looks at the earlier years in Hawking’s career with his studies into the beginning of time, and his battle with motor neuron disease.

Cumberbatch has the distinction of being the first actor to play Hawking on screen. While the film is now overshadowed by the success of the later film, it was a well-regarded telling of Hawking’s story. Cumberbatch was singled out for his convincing portrayal of the man.

Starter For 10 (2006)

  • Available on HBO, HBO Max and Max Go

Cumberbatch is usually known as a serious dramatic actor, but even in those roles, he has shown a talent for comedy. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that one of his first film roles was this charming British coming-of-age comedy.

The film centers on a young aimless university student who wins a spot on a student quiz show. Cumberbatch plays the uptight captain of the quiz team. While he was just a fresh-faced newcomer in the film, he was surrounded by other soon-to-be stars like James MacEvoy, Rebecca Hall, Dominic Cooper, and James Corden.

August: Osage County (2013)

  • Available on Fubo, Showtime, DIRECTV, and Spectrum on Demand

Before headlining his own films, Cumberbatch was making a solid career playing as part of large ensembles. One such role was as part of the massive star-studded cast of the family drama, August: Osage County. Based on the play by Tracy Letts, the film follows a dysfunctional family who reunite when the patriarch goes missing.

Cumberbatch shared the screen with superstars like Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan MacGregor, and Chris Cooper. He played the shy and awkward nephew of Streep’s character in the film. While the movie itself received mixed reviews, the ensemble was largely praised.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2012)

Benedict cumberbatch and gary oldman
  • Available on Fubo, Showtime, Max Go, DIRECTV, and Spectrum on Demand

There have been plenty of adaptions of John le Carré’s popular spy novels. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy stands out among these films for Gary Oldman’s acclaimed performance as le Carré’s famous spy George Smiley, which earned Oldman his first Oscar nomination.

The film follows Smiley’s return to the spy game to hunt down a Soviet mole. While Oldman is the star of the film, he is backed up by a stellar cast of British stars like Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong. Cumberbatch has a significant role as Peter Guillam, Smiley’s trusted right-hand man.

12 Years A Slave (2013)

  • Available on HBO, HBO Max, DIRECTV, and Spectrum on Demand

12 Years a Slave is one of the most harrowing movies in recent memory. It is based on the disturbing true story of Solomon Northrup, a free man living with his family in New York when he is sold into slavery. The film’s brutal depiction of slavery makes it a hard but essential film to watch, earning it an Oscar for Best Picture.

Cumberbatch plays Ford, the first man buy Northrup as a slave. While Ford is not a violent man and thinks himself kind, he nevertheless turns a blind eye to the horror of the lives of his slaves and his role in the crime of slavery.

Black Mass (2015)

  • Available on HBO Max

Black Mass is yet another real-life tale in Cumberbatch’s filmography. This crime film details the life of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, a player in the Irish mob in Boston who secretly served as an FBI informant for years while simultaneously carrying out a number of horrible crimes.

Cumberbatch plays Bulger’s brother, William Bulger, who served as Massachusetts Senate President as his brother ruled Boston’s organized crime. The film was a pretty standard mob film, and though working a heavy Massachusetts accent, Cumberbatch is overshadowed by Johnny Depp’s hammy performance in the lead role.

Atonement (2007)

Benedict Cumberbatch and Juno Temple in Atonement
  • Available on HBO, HBO Max, DIRECTV, and Spectrum on Demand

Cumberbatch seems the kind of actor who is perfectly suited for classy period dramas. He has quite of few of these kinds of films under his belt, and Atonement is certainly one of the most highly acclaimed of them all. Based on the best-selling novel by Ian McEwan, the film is set in the 1930s and follows a tragic love story told over the course of several decades.

Unlike some of Cumberbatch’s more heroic roles later in his career, his character Paul Marshall is quite a despicable character. It is his unspeakable crime that sets the stage for the years of heartbreak experienced by the tragic lovers played by James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

War Horse (2011)

  • Available on HBO, HBO Max, DIRECTV, and Spectrum on Demand

It must be a dream for most actors to work with an iconic filmmaker like Steven Spielberg. He has been responsible for so many classic films, the chance to be a part of that kind of legacy must be irresistible. Cumberbatch was given the chance to join that lucky group of actors as he appeared in Spielberg’s War Horse.

Based on the acclaimed play, the film follows a horse from his quiet life on a farm to the front lines of World War I. Cumberbatch plays a brash cavalry major alongside Tom Hiddleston. Though it was no doubt an exciting step up for Cumberbatch’s career, the film was considered low-tier Spielberg.

Zoolander 2 (2016)

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Every now and then even the most respected and popular of actors have to have a little fun with one of those roles that is really “out there”. That seems to be what was going through Cumberbatch’s mind when he agreed to join Zoolander 2.

The follow-up film found the titular male model in Rome and once again at the center of a sinister conspiracy. Cumberbatch has maybe the strangest role in the film — which is really saying something. He plays All, an androgynous model. Cumberbatch really goes for it in the role but unfortunately, the sequel falls far short of the hilarious original.