What is the best Benedict Cumberbatch performance of all time?

Whether playing a cold genius, a wounded romantic, or a supernatural guardian of the universe, the depth and range here is hard to argue with. Which performance stands alone?

1

Sherlock

The BBC hit series (2010-2017) in which Cumberbatch's hyper-rational, sardonic Sherlock Holmes became a global phenomenon.

2

The Imitation Game

The 2014 biopic in which Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, the genius mathematician who cracked the Enigma code during WWII.

3

The Power of the Dog

The 2021 Jane Campion psychological Western in which Cumberbatch delivers a riveting portrayal of a repressed Montana rancher.

4

Doctor Strange

The 2016 Marvel origin story in which Cumberbatch plays a brilliant but arrogant surgeon who becomes the Sorcerer Supreme.

5

Patrick Melrose

The 2018 Sky Atlantic miniseries in which Cumberbatch gives a harrowing portrayal of a British aristocrat battling addiction and childhood trauma.

6

12 Years a Slave

The 2013 Steve McQueen historical drama in which Cumberbatch plays William Ford, a slaveholder with a tormented conscience.

7

Star Trek Into Darkness

The 2013 J.J. Abrams sci-fi sequel in which Cumberbatch plays the ruthless superhuman terrorist revealed to be Khan.

8

The Courier

The 2020 Cold War spy thriller in which Cumberbatch plays Greville Wynne, an ordinary British businessman who became an unlikely CIA spy.

9

Avengers: Infinity War

The 2018 Marvel crossover in which Doctor Strange faces the impossible choice of saving the universe from Thanos.

10

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

The 2021 biographical film in which Cumberbatch plays Louis Wain, the eccentric artist famous for his whimsical cat illustrations.

11

August: Osage County

The 2013 ensemble drama in which Cumberbatch plays the troubled Little Charles Aiken amid a dysfunctional Oklahoma family reunion.

12

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The 2022 Marvel horror-tinged sequel in which Strange navigates parallel universes to confront evil versions of himself.

13

1917

The 2019 Sam Mendes single-take WWI epic in which Cumberbatch plays General Erinmore, who dispatches two soldiers on a critical mission.

14

Atonement

The 2007 Joe Wright period drama in which Cumberbatch plays Paul Marshall, a wealthy chocolate heir with menacing intentions.