Benedict Cumberbatch: 5 Awesome Performances & 5 That Sucked

2. Smaug - The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013)

His Smaug is far from the worst part of The Hobbit (that accolade goes to the directing), but it feels like an exercise in trick casting: an under-directed performance built mostly on Cumberbatch's profile rather than an actual performance of the character. It's almost like they've told him to go and have fun and haven't dared try and restrain him.

The whole Hobbit trilogy feels like a smug, self-congratulatory masturbation fest, attempting to take what made the Lord Of The Rings work and distilling it, bafflingly, down to "well, it was long, so let's do that again". There's nothing in Smaug of Cumberbatch on the same level as Andy Serkis' deeply personal Gollum performance.

And the worst thing you can say about it is that it really doesn't feel like he's behind the mo-cap, which is fatal for a character actor like him.