10 Performances In Film Biopics That Actually Get It Right

Graham Moore's Academy Award-winning screenplay is an immensely gripping and, ultimately, heart-breaking account of mathematician Alan Turing's success in breaking Enigma, a seemingly unbreakable code that Nazi forces used to transfer messages covertly and away from the eyes of the allied forces.

Turing is a national hero in every sense of the word. His efforts during World War II were invaluable in ending the threat of fascist rule through Europe, and as such the casting of The Imitation Game's protagonist should have been nothing short of immaculate.

...Enter Benedict Cumberbatch.

Taking the beloved role of Sherlock Holmes and the menacing Smaug in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy are daunting tasks in and of themselves, but delivering a performance that is respectful to the seminal mathematician while also generating Oscar buzz is another feat entirely, and Cumberbatch simply nails it.

His nervous stutter, blissful ignorance of the nuances of human interaction and his introverted posture that makes the character feel authentic are so incredibly recreated by the English actor, so when the film's exceptional script tugs at our heartstrings it feels as though it's cutting them off at both ends.

The Imitation Game brought widespread awareness to Turing's heroics, and Cumberbatch's performance captured them perfectly.