I admit it took some time for me to warm up to Benedict Cumberbatch. I first noticed him as he played this short scene in Atonement - a role where he was a real a**hole. I haven't even seen him as Sherlock Holmes who is my most favorite character in literature!
However, he blew me away in The Imitation Game! He played Alan Turing with such dignity and respect (to the guy) that any actor playing a gay man should watch how he does it. Alan Turing was also a genius and eccentric so to combine all that characteristics without making it look like a caricature is a mean feat!
