The Imitation Game, The Weinstein Co.’s film about British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, had a good week in the awards race, landing three SAG award nominations and five Golden Globes nominations.
Star Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the fascinating genius, received best actor nominations for both awards.
The Sherlock star is at the center of a new featurette for the film, debuting exclusively here at THR. The video explores why Cumberbatch was the right person to portray Turing, who was tasked with cracking Nazi Germany’s Enigma code during World War II.
“Benedict has such an intensity and such an intelligence,” says producer Ido Ostrowsky in the new video. “And he’s a very mysterious person himself.”
In THR‘s review of the film at Telluride, critic Todd McCarthy wrote: “Dominating it all is Cumberbatch, whose charisma — tellingly modulated — and naturalistic array of eccentricities, Sherlockian talent at indicating a mind never at rest, and knack for simultaneously portraying physical oddness and attractiveness combine to create an entirely credible portrait of genius at work.”
Cumberbatch’s co-star, Keira Knightley, who plays code-breaker Joan Clarke, also had kind words to share about the British actor. “He comes with a lot of ideas. He’s very alive and in the moment on set,” she said.
She added: “Benedict is very good at playing those geniuses, isn’t he?”
The Imitation Game, which first premiered at Telluride, began its rollout in U.S. theaters Nov. 28. Watch the exclusive video above.
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