Warning: This article contains references to physical and mental abuse
Nominated for the Best Actor category in the 2022 Academy Awards for the second time, Benedict Cumberbatch is the talk of the town. Due to the wide range of characters he plays, Cumberbatch is the perfect example of how an actor can be loved by the masses as well as critics.
On one hand, he is one of the MCU's most reckless and most powerful sorcerers, Doctor Strange, and on the other hand, he plays the most villainous person in the universe, Khan. Both these characters are vastly different, but he has no trouble in playing both of them perfectly. However, even though Cumberbatch's characters have been different, they all have had some of the most amazing dialogues.
Benedict Cumberbatch Has Played One Of The Most Intelligent Detectives (BBC Sherlock)
"Dear God, What's It Like In Your Funny Little Brains? It Must Be So Boring.” - Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes, played by Cumberbatch, in the BBC adaptation, is a cocky genius. He can't help making snide remarks about ordinary people who do not possess even half of the intelligence he has. However, these comments appear more amusing rather than insulting.
For someone with as a brilliant mind as Sherlock, people expect him to be a bit arrogant. Here, he makes a remark and calls the brains of average people funny, little, and boring, and it is enough to draw a chuckle out of any viewer. There is some veracity to it too because an intelligent person's brain will be processing things at twice the speed of other people, so a genius like Sherlock will find other people's brains boring.
When A Villain Made Sense (Star Trek: Into The Darkness)
"My Crew Is My Family, Kirk. Is There Anything You Would Not Do For Your Family?" - Khan
It's always great to find a villain that the audience is able to understand. In Star Trek Into Darkness, Cumberbatch took on the shoes of the iconic villain, Khan. He played a villain on such a grand scale for the first time and the scene where he is inside the glass cage and Captain Kirk confronts him is extremely spectacular.
Khan did horrible things and then he justifies his actions by saying that he did it all for his crew because his crew is his family. Then Khan asks Kirk what he wouldn't do for his family, implying that all the good and bad decisions Khan made were for the sake of his crew. Cumberbatch delivered this line so splendidly that fans were in awe as well.
Sassy Sorcerer (Avengers: Infinity War)
"Protecting Your Reality, Douchebag." - Doctor Strange
The defining trait of MCU's Doctor Strange is his witty humor. In fact, his humor and his cockiness are a lot similar to Tony Stark. That is why, when they met for the first time in Avengers: Infinity War, they sparred with words numerous times, making their interactions extremely entertaining.
Tony is unaware of Strange's powers and when he mocks his abilities, saying that all he does is make balloon animals, Strange retorts quickly with sass. He tells him exactly how valuable he is to the world and taunts him at the same time.
Confused By Human Behavior (The Imitation Game)
“When People Talk To Each Other, They Never Say What They Mean. They Say Something Else And You're Expected To Just Know What They Mean.” - Alan Turing
Benedict Cumberbatch is known for playing genius characters and one of them is Alan Turing from The Imitation Game. The last time Cumberbatch was nominated for the Best Actor in the Academy Awards, it was for this role.
Alan Turing was shown to be a shy and introverted mathematician. He understood machines incredibly but his understanding didn't extend to humans and human behavior. In the quote, he expresses how humans perplex him and it is a quote that everyone can relate to at some point in their life because it is true.
Sherlock Spilling His Secret (BBC Sherlock)
"To A Great Mind, Nothing Is Little." - Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock is a masterful detective and he competently solves unsolvable crimes. The BBC show presented how his mind worked but it was still hard to fathom how he notices every detail that every other person misses.
Sherlock shares his secret of how his mind works. He catches every detail because nothing happening around him is invaluable to him. Normal people miss things because they think it's inconsequential but not to a great mind like Sherlock's.
The Real Face Of Abuse (Patrick Melrose)
"Cruelty is the opposite of love, not some inarticulate expression of it." - Patrick Melrose
Patrick Melrose is one of Cumberbatch's most critically-acclaimed shows and he won a BAFTA for the role. He played a victim of physical abuse as a child.
In the first episode of the mini-series, Patrick Melrose shows signs of physical and mental abuse. He says being cruel can never be done out of love and abusing someone is the complete opposite of love. He speaks from his own childhood experience and lets the audience know that he still hasn't forgiven his father for their abusive behavior.
Criticizing Spell Books (Doctor Strange)
"They Really Should Put The Warnings Before This Spell." - Doctor Strange
Stephen Strange is one of the best roles of Benedict Cumberbatch. Audiences fell in love with the character when they saw him for the first time in Doctor Strange (2016). He had a sharp sense of humor and evolved from an arrogant doctor to the protector of the world, all in the span of one movie.
One of his funniest lines in the movie is when he performs a time-altering spell and Wong and Mordo onish him for the dangerous repercussions of the spell. Strange replies with a pretend exasperation that warnings should be written before the spell as if it was the book's fault that he performed that spell. Cumberbatch is such a skilled actor that he can make a simple line extremely hilarious.
Finally Opening Up About Love (The Power Of The Dog)
"Just Know A Man's Feeling For Another Can Go Very Deep. It Happened With Me And Bronco, Shocked The Life Out Of Me, I Can Tell You." - Phil Burbank
Benedict Cumberbatch is in the race for winning the Best Actor award for playing Phil Burbank in The Power Of The Dog. He plays a Montana rancher in the film, who is struggling to come to with his sexuality due to the bigotry and toxic masculinity that is rife in the country.
Although it is not confirmed, the movie explores his feelings for his mentor, Bronco Henry. This quote is probably the closest he came to itting those feelings to another person, which is Peter. The line also humanizes him more as it shows everyone how overwhelming it must have been for him, especially since Burbank didn't have many people to turn to.
Victim Of Bullying (Imitation Game)
"Do You Know Why People Like Violence? It Is Because It Feels Good. Humans Find Violence Deeply Satisfying. But Remove The Satisfaction, And The Act Becomes... Hollow." - Alan Turing
Based on the real-life story of Alan Turing, audiences see Benedict Cumberbatch playing a mathematician during the Second World War. Even though he was a genius, he had been bullied for his unconventional personality since he was a kid.
Since Alan wasn't physically adept, he had to develop his own coping mechanisms for dealing with people bullying and hitting him. Rather than giving in to the pain, he would act like it doesn't bother him, and eventually, the people beating him would stop because according to him, it took away some of their power.
Not Afraid To Play Dirty (BBC Sherlock)
“Oh, I May Be On The Side Of The Angels But Don't For One Second Think That I Am One Of Them” - Sherlock Holmes
BBC Sherlock remains the most iconic Sherlock Holmes adaptation, mostly because of the way Cumberbatch played the role. One of the best things fans enjoy about the series is the interactions of Moriarty and Sherlock. They are archenemies, but inherently, they have many common qualities.
In the season 2 finale, Moriarty accuses him of being an ordinary person because he is on the side of good. Sherlock is quick to say that he may be on the side of good but he is not one of the good people, indirectly making a threat to Moriarty. The scene is simply spectacular and both actors are at their best.
