Benedict Cumberbatch - Television Tropes & Idioms

He's got a posh name and he's on the television so it's no big surprise that all the dirty girls want Benedict.
—Weebls Stuff, "Benedict

Benedict is this sort of beautiful, exotic creature. He’s never going to play an ordinary man, ‘cause he couldn’t. That’s not what he’s like, but he will tell the stories of great men.
—Steven Moffat

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is a British stage, film, television, and voice actor with an awesome name. Despite being in the entertainment business for ten years, he's only recently skyrocketed into international stardom with his BAFTA nominated portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. Since then he has been hailed by critics as one of the best actors of his generation, and is now one of the most sought-after actors in showbiz.

Cumberbatch is well known for his ridiculously perfect cheekbones, remarkable intellect, and velvet-smooth baritone voice. The Times has described his voice as a 'jaguar hiding in a cello', and the Jaguar marketing team agrees

with this

. An unlikely sex symbol, he landed the #1 spot on The Sun's 2012 "Sexiest Man Alive" list (which he "hadn't taken anything less serious in all his life") by a landslide thanks to his devoted fanbase. It looks like "brainy is the new sexy" after all!

He is secretly a ginger.

Notable works include:

Atonement as Paul Marshall, an upper-class twit and rapist
Starter For 10 as Patrick Watts, an Upper Class Wit and University Challenge team captain
Sherlock as Sherlock Holmes
To The Ends Of The Earth as Upper Class Twit Edmund Talbot
Hawking as Stephen Hawking
- Seems to be the go-to guy for Stephen Hawking. He also did Professor Hawking's narration on a documentary.
The Last Enemy as Stephen Ezard, a socially inept mathematician with OCD.
Nathan Barley as Robin
Amazing Grace as William Pitt
The Other Boleyn Girl as William Carey (Scarlett Johansson's husband)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as Peter Guillam
War Horse as Major Jamie Stewart
The Hobbit, as the motion capture for the dragon Smaug and the voice of the Necromancer (reuniting with Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman).
Cabin Pressure as Captain Martin Crieff, an air-dot pilot.
Third Star as James Kimberly Griffith, a dying man who doesn't want to die yet.
J. J. Abrams' Star Trek sequel as an unconfirmed character, rumored to be Khan Noonien Singh.

Exhibits Examples of:

Adorkable: As demonstrated in this interview.
- And most recently, in this Q&A- especially when he confuses the audience's shouts of "Martin Crieff" for "Martin Freeman".
- Also, his introduction to the Tie-in Edition to Sherlock's Hound of the Baskervilles.

Awesome McCoolname: Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch. Doesn't half roll off the tongue.
- J.J. Abrams jokingly admitted that his name was largely the reason he was cast in the Star Trek sequel.
- Although he did admit being teased a lot about it. He said once that the first response was always to call him "Cucumber Patch," and that it would usually go downhill from there. Apparently his best nickname was "Bendy-dick Cum-on-my-baps.".
Blue Eyes: Has a rather startlingly pale pair◊. Combines with What Beautiful Eyes, since every single director working with him finds a way to worship his eyes with side-lightning and close-ups.
- Sometimes almost green, see this image.
- They're called Glasz eyes. Depending on the lighting and other factors, they can look virtually any color eyes can possibly look. Just watch a few seconds of Sherlock, for example, and you can see them go from ice blue to silver to dark brown. That's just to name a few shades.
- We think it's safe to say that they are Kaleidoscope Eyes. Proof here.
Covers Always Lie: The DVD of the Mini Series To The Ends Of The Earth features Sam Neill's face largest and in the forefront, and his name and profile on the case spine, even though he plays a very minor character. The real star, Benedict Cumberbatch, is barely noted.
Deadpan Snarker: Certainly came across this way when he hosted Have I Got News for You, but then again, that is the norm for host on that show.
Dyeing for Your Art: As previously mentioned, he's naturally a ginger, but dyes his hair dark brown for most of his roles (including Hawking), black for Sherlock and a sort of dishwater-blonde for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. He also lost weight for the first series of Sherlock, then gained it back to demonstrate how John has been getting Sherlock to take better care of himself.
- For Star Trek, he's been working out daily and has gone up two suit sizes.
Gentleman and a Scholar: While not exactly an expert in a specific field, he comes off as very intelligent in his interviews. He actually studied to be a lawyer before he became serious about acting, and spent a gap year teaching English at a Tibetan monastery.
Ivy League For Everyone: He attended Harrow, which is essentially the Cambridge to Eton's Oxford, then did his undergrad at the University of Manchester and further dramatic training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. This man has quite the educational pedigree.
Male Frontal Nudity: The National Theatre's 2011 production of Frankenstein had Benedict Cumberbatch or Jonny Lee Miller (depending on the night) spending about 20 minutes completely nude as the Monster, as he came to life and learned how to move, walk etc.
Mean Character, Nice Actor: Has been cast as a rapist, a high functioning sociopath, and an all round Upper Class Twit. In real life he seems a lot more... human.
- As Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat put it: "bumbly, delightful, sweet, affable, and nice".
Motor Mouth: Yes and no. He's said that he can talk pretty damn fast when he wants to, but the Sherlock Holmes deductions he has to do are hard even for him. (Mark Gatiss wrote next to his monologue on the Hounds of Baskerville script, "Sorry, Benedict!")
Older than They Look: Look at the page image. Okay? He's 35.
- He's ridiculously boyish-looking in Hawking, which was made when he was in his late twenties.
One of Us: He is a huge fan of Robert Downey, Junior. In an interview for the LA Times he said that his residence in California is actually right near his office, and one day he should "throw eggs or do something" to get his attention. If they do actually meet, heads are bound to explode.
- He's also quite fond of dressing up for events.
Pretty Boy
Reality Subtext: Sherlock's warm relationship with Mrs Hudson is influenced by Cumberbatch's own real-life relationship with Una Stubbs, as she is a good friend of his mother's and he considers her a mother figure.
Serkis Folk: To voice as well as provide motion capture for Smaug in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.
Sexy Spectacles: There's footage going around of him in a pair of gold wire-rimmed glasses. Predictably, the fangirls went nuts.
- Said footage is from Stuart: A Life Backwards, where he portrayed Alexander Masters.
  - He even managed to look good in the serious Nerd Glasses he wore in Hawking.
Sharp Dressed Man: Seems to be rather fond of his suits, hats, and long coats.
- However, some of his casual outfits end up making him look like a Rummage Sale Reject. There's even a blog about it! He does seem to be getting better though.
Tall, Dark and Handsome: Well, just look at him.
Upper Class Twit: Very good at getting cast as these, although lately he's been breaking away from that to avoid typecasting.