Five Benedict Cumberbatch movies to watch before Dr. Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch is steadily gaining weight in Hollywood. Most audiences are familiar with him from his portrayal of modern-day Sherlock Holmes in the BBC television series Sherlock. His breathtaking and engaging performance not only brought him popularity and critical acclaim, but also led him to roles in high-profile films. And now he is a two-time Oscar nominee and Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, he has other roles that the general audience knows nothing about. In this review, five outstanding roles by Benedict Cumberbatch.

*****

"12 Years a Slave", 2013.

An Oscar-winning film. The story is based on the real life events of Solomon Northrup, a free man living with his family in New York City when he was sold into slavery. The hard-hitting footage illustrating servitude makes the picture challenging but necessary to watch. Cumberbatch played Ford, the guy who first buys Northrup as a slave. Ford is not a violent man and behaves decently, but is completely unconcerned about how horrible the lives of slaves are and the role he himself plays in the current system.

"Atonement", 2007.

Cumberbatch is the type of performer ideal for historical drama. He has starred in several pictures of the genre, and Atonement is without a doubt one of the most well-received. Set in the 1930s, it follows a tragic love story set over several decades and based on Ian McEwan's bestselling novel. Unlike Cumberbatch's recent heroic roles, his character Paul Marshall is the villain. He commits a heinous act that indirectly leads to years of heartache for the unfortunate lovers (James McAvoy and Keira Knightley).

"War Horse", 2011.

Working with Steven Spielberg can seem like a dream come true for many actors. In this film, Cumberbatch managed to collaborate with the legendary director. The story follows the horse from his quiet life on the farm to the front lines of World War I. Along with Tom Hiddleston, Benedict plays a vibrant cavalry major. The picture was a significant advance in the actor's career, but did not bring the director much success at the box office.

"Zoolander 2," 2016.

Even well known and respected actors need to have fun sometimes in one of the roles that go beyond their usual roles. That seems to be exactly what Cumberbatch had in mind when he agreed to take part in Zoolander 2. He played a male model who one day finds himself in Rome at the center of a sinister conspiracy. Benedict played, perhaps, the most bizarre role in the film, which says a lot. The actor did his best, but you can't say the same about the creators of the sequel.

"The Fifth Estate", 2013.

Julian Assange is well known in the news today, and he has long been divisive in camps of supporters and opponents of free speech. The founder of the scandalous Wikileaks website is a rebel whose personality Hollywood likes to explore. True, most would-be viewers are unaware that Assange was the subject of a film in which he was played by Cumberbatch. The film gets its title from a documentary project that explored the emergence of Wikileaks and Assange's leadership role. In many reviews the movie of the same name was criticized as a failed attempt to stage a real drama like "The Social Network". However, all the experts agreed that his performance was outstanding.