Benedict Cumberbatch's a real trouper and performer. There will be a showcase of his acting and voice skills in the months to come starting with a serious performance in The Imitation Game when he plays the character of Alan Turing, the English mathematician who helped decode the Enigma during World War II. His voice talent is also featured in the animated film, Penguins of Madagascar. Both films will be shown in November. Come December, his baritone voice will be heard in the character of Smaug the Dragon for the Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
Describing what he went through preparing for the role of Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, Benedict Cumberbatch said it demanded lots of research for him to internalize the character. In a CBS interview, he agreed to Mason's opinion that the role is intimidating especially when he delivered Turing's lines where the mathematician's age was challenged. Cumberbatch also spoke of how he familiarized himself with The Enigma Machine, the German's encryption device, scrutinizing the machine while it was on display at London's Imperial War Museum.
Benedict Cumberbatch said the challenge of cracking the code very fast was nerve-wracking. "That moment in the film actually gave me goosebumps. To think what it must have been like the first time it worked and stopped to give the settings for the day. I mean, just literally the hairs stood on the back of my neck, as it must have been for them. I mean, this is a 'Eureka!' moment."
Serious acting jobs require actors to wash themselves down once in a while. Cumberbatch's chance came in during the film's promotional task where his dance skills came to the fore. During a guesting stint at The Graham Norton Show, he gave a sample of his grooves yielding to comedienne Miranda Hart's cajoling for him to do Beyonce's walk in the "Crazy In Love" video.
It was fun seeing a legitimate performer do that.
