You'd better get familiar with the name Benedict Cumberbatch, because you're going to be hearing it more and more. Plus, who could forget a name as delightful and silly as Benedict Cumberbatch?!
The 36-year-old
Sherlock and
Hobbit star — whose upcoming slate includes playing John Harrison in
Star Trek Into Darkness,
Julian Assange in
The Fifth Estate, and William Ford in
Twelve Years a Slave (along with appearing in other high-profile projects such as
August: Osage County and the
Hobbit sequels) — is reportedly in talks to tell the tragic story of English mathematician and computer scientist
Alan Turing in the upcoming film
The Imitation Game. According to
Deadline, Cumberbatch would take the lead in the drama, which is penned by
Graham Moore and set to be directed by
Morten Tyldum (
Headhunters). Hollywood.com reached out to Cumberbatch's reps for a statement regarding the news, but were not immediately met with a response.
Not only would the role give Cumberbatch the opportunity to tell an important, but little-known story (Turing was prosecuted in 1952 England for being a homosexual and died from cyanide poisoning before his 42nd birthday), but it's also exactly the type of role that would catapult the actor into Oscar territory and solidify him as one of Hollywood's best, if not most underrated, memorably-named gems.
[Photo credit: Daniel Deme/ WENN]
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