Benedict Cumberbatch Reflects On His Performance In The 2014 Movie That Earned Him His First Best Actor Oscar Nomination

Benedict Cumberbatch is an acclaimed actor on both the small and the silver screen. He became globally known when he played the titular Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detective in the BBC series Sherlock, which began in 2010. It was this show that earned the actor his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. He would go on to be nominated for Emmys for every single season of the series as well as its supplemental episode, “The Abominable Bride.” Cumberbatch was later nominated for his work as the leading man in Patrick Melrose.

While his television career is sprinkled with awards, Cumberbatch has also been a prominent face in movies. He made his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut in Doctor Strange in 2016 and would go on to appear in several other MCU movies. In addition to these mainstream affairs, Cumberbatch is known for his work in high-rated dramas. This includes Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Now, he speaks more about the role that gave him his first Oscar nomination, years before The Power of the Dog was released.

Cumberbatch Reflects On His Imitation Game Role

Cumberbatch Felt Deeply Connected To Alan Turing

The Imitation Game saw Cumberbatch reach new heights as an actor. Directed by Morten Tyldum, the biographical film tells the story of Alan Turing, a real-life mathematician who tried to solve the German Enigma code during World War II, before suffering extreme discrimination because of his sexuality. The film features Cumberbatch in the lead role alongside a supporting cast that includes Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech, Mark Strong, and Rory Kinnear. Cumberbatch received his first Best Actor nomination for playing Turing, though he lost to fellow biopic actor Eddie Redmayne, who portrayed Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

In an interview with Variety, Cumberbatch discusses his Imitation Game role. According to the actor, his performance came from a “deep, deep, deep kind of connection” that he felt with this real-person character and the things that he went through. Because he did not necessarily have to act like someone else, he felt uncertain about the praise for his performance. He mentions that “maybe that’s not good acting” but maintains that this type of acting involves something just “coming through” him. Check out the full explanation below:

It’s just like a deep, deep, deep kind of connection of thinking ‘oh I understand what you were or went through.’ And the pain of that at certain points in his story. You know, no acting was required, just sort of thinking of him was enough. Maybe that’s not good acting, I don’t know. I’ve talked about this a bit. Maybe that’s just witnessing something and feeling it historically as the abomination that it was, his chemical castration because of his sexuality.

And if you just leave it alone and don’t think, ‘how does this story get most effectively told at this point,’ something just happens. I think that’s true of a lot of art, lot of sport, lot of anything where we’re just doing it and it’s coming through us. You’re not really, you know, I got patted on the back for it a lot, but its not really you, it’s something else just coming through you. It’s the power of the story or the character. And just letting yourself be open for that, I suppose, is the trick of the acting of it.

Alan Turing’s Story Is Deeply Emotional

The Heroic Turing Was Tormented By His Own Country

During World War II, the Nazi war machine relied on a device known as the Enigma machine. It was a tool that allowed military officers to easily communicate without the Allies having the ability to decipher their code. Turing, who was a British citizen and a worker at the Bletchley Park codebreaking institute, managed to develop a device that could crack the Enigma codes. It proved to be an extremely valuable tool, which the Allies would later use as an advantage over the unsuspecting Nazi soldiers. Without Turing’s help, winning the war would have been far more difficult.

After World War II, however, Turing never received much acknowledgment from his country. As a gay man, Turing was vilified by both the government and the public. He was eventually charged with indecency and was forced to undergo either chemical castration or imprisonment. Turing, seeking to avoid prison, accepted the hormonal changes which caused extreme distress. He was also removed from his government post. Sadly, he was found dead at just 41 years old, after suffering cyanide poisoning. He would later receive a posthumous pardon in 2009, five years before Cumberbatch’s performance was released.

Our Take On Cumberbatch’s Imitation Game Description

This Makes His Performance Better

Understandably, Cumberbatch would doubt his performance because of his deep empathy for Turing, but he is not right that it makes him any less of an actor. There are many different types of performing styles that actors rely on. When trying to connect with characters, they often rely on the controversial method acting, which sees them embody characters even after the director calls for a scene to be cut. Joaquin Phoenix and Al Pacino are just two renowned actors who rely on it, and each has won at least an Oscar for Best Actor.

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The Imitation Game True Story: Everything The Movie Changes

The Imitation Game adapts the true story of Alan Turing’s codebreaking efforts during World War II, but how much does the biopic get right?

Cumberbatch’s method is no less effective. He connected with his Alan Turing character in a beautiful way that sounds like it honored the movie’s story. As much as The Imitation Game shows intellectual triumph, the movie is ultimately based on the personal tragedy experienced by Turing. Cumberbatch offers a stirring portrayal of this tortured lead character in a performance that rightfully earned an Oscar nomination. To see the grace and humility with which he treated the role makes it even better.

Source: Variety

The Imitation Game

Release Date

November 28, 2014

Runtime

114minutes

Director

Morten Tyldum

Writers

Graham Moore