This is going to be a sappy fangirl post.
I've just seen Episode 2 of Parade's End. While it pains me to admit that I identify with Sylvia (it is uncanny, really)...Benedict Cumberbatch as Christopher Tietjens is nothing short of brilliant.
Just last night, an old friend and I were discussing Star Trek, Sherlock and the general awesomeness of our dear Mr. Cumberbatch. It was a maudlin discussion that started out with a panicked call from another friend to me looking for late-night hearse services for his aunt who had just passed away, which led me to delve into my network of friends familiar with the required city...and this old friend (he's always been bit of a life-saver for me) came to the rescue and my bereaved friend (let's call him BD) was put in touch with the right people.
So, the old friend (let's call him OD) and I were up for a bit chatting across BBM (I don't think either of us would admit it, but it was probably because we were waiting to hear from BD that all funeral arrangements were in order) before we retired. (Well, I also had a bit of editing to do, but that's a different issue.) So, obviously, "hearse" lead to "The Empty Hearse" and to Sherlock (we're both Sherlock crazy) and Star Trek: Into Darkness. He said Cumberbatch was a brilliant Khan, and I echoed his thoughts. Then OD texted a prophecy - "If he doesn't get distracted (or led astray) on the way, Benedict Cumberbatch is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest phenomena in acting the world has ever seen." However, OD went on to express his fear that Cumberbatch may be typecast into the brainy/bad guy mould - which would be a crying shame, because the man is so, so talented and can play a humongous range of characters - from the goofy Martin Crieff (Cabin Pressure) to the ephemeral Sherlock to the sinister Khan...but Hollywood tends to typecast people. OD also wished for a couple of no-brainer rom-com Hollywood flicks with Cumberbatch in the lead (with a gorgeous actress as a bimbo) - it wouldn't require much acting on Sir Benedict's part (he would probably just need to strut around looking internationally handsome), but it would firmly establish him as a "hero" and then he could go back to his difficult and challenging roles. I was like, "You want him in a chick-flick?" (No offence to chick-flicks - I'm a young woman myself, and I love my chick-flicks and the sappy sweetness they bring.)
But then I thought about it, and realised that OD's idea is actually brilliant - we can easily imagine Benedict Cumberbatch in a period drama - say, as Mr. Darcy. But him as a Mills and Boon hero? I mulled over it for a while...and guess what? He would pull it off as spectacularly as he pulls off everything else, and he'd be even more of a heart-throb than he is at the moment. He's a charmer, that one, if the interviews are anything to go by...and an actual modern-day romance - a chick-flick of Hollywood's usual epic proportions would show him in a different light.
The next idea we discussed was with Cumberbatch in a super-hero franchise as the superhero. This, I'll admit, I lapped up immediately - it is, after all, my favourite genre. Benedict Cumberbatch with a light-saber - wow, no Jedi would look as cool. Benedict Cumberbatch as Bruce Wayne/Batman (no offence to Christian Bale - he was absolutely fantastic in The Dark Knight Trilogy) would be ephemeral. Take your pick of DC/Marvel superheroes...
A few years later, I can imagine him as the perfect Bond, too. Not just a video game, Mr. Cumberbatch - you'd be the perfect James Bond. Suave, charming, seductive, deadly.
If this man were in India, a few decades later, we'd probably have temples dedicated to him.
No comments:
Post a Comment