PG500, Actors, and The Medal Stand
There are several actors whose work I enjoy for various reason, Of those about 8–10 stand out. I have narrowed this down to three, which I will unburden myself of the details this weekend.
Really, picking the top three was not that difficult for me, as the three actors I picked are just THAT much better than those below them, at least to me.
And here we go. The Bronze goes to….
Benedict Cumberbatch
I was introduced to Cumberbatch during the pandemic when I binged Sherlock. Now, I have never been a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes in general. I had the complications when I was a kid, tried to read every now and then but it just did take. Even listening to Cumberbatch reading Sherlock novels doesn’t do it for me.
However, BBC Sherlock works on every level. The series is updated flawlessly, especially with respect to how technology is used. Also the chemistry with Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman is priceless. Two scenes prove this: the ‘Punch Me In The Face’ scene in A Scandal in Belgravia and the ‘I don’t have friends’ scene in the restaurant in The Hounds of Baskerville. In both scenes, Cumberbatch pushes Freeman to the limit, and Freeman is just like ‘Ok, whatever.’ Good chemistry between the two main characters is something that can’t be faked, and makes for a great show.
Cumberbatch also has chemistry that crackles with other characters, including Mark Gattiss, who plays Mycroft, Louise Breasley, who plays Molly Hooper, the smitten mortician with an unrequited love for Sherlock, Rupert Graves as Detective Inspector Lestrade, and other than Freeman, the late Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson most of all.
From there, Cumberbatch graduated to the big screen. In 2015 he got his first Oscar nomination for The Imitation Game playing Alan Turing, an upstanding performance. He has been Dr Strange in the Spider-Man Franchise, and in 2021 starred in The Power of the Dog, his second Oscar nod. He won’t win — by all accounts this is Will Smith’s year — but he will win a statuette, and soon. This on top of the Emmys and Olivier awards he had already banked.
Cumberbatch is also a great interview. He’s friendly, witty, smart, even silly. Watch some of his interviews for Dr Strange and others. Time and again he proves himself as a man who doesn’t take himself too serious. There’s another YouTube clip when characters read various segments of The Hobbit. Freeman (who strikes me as kind of a grouch) lead off, but Cumberbatch reads his piece with relish and delight. And, as far as Cumberbatch and Freeman’s relationship, it is well known that they only get along so well, but Cumberbatch did surprise Freeman on the set of The Hobbit with a man hug. And Freeman was invaluable in getting Cumberbatch to where he is today. So there’s something there.
Although it won’t happen, Cumberbatch NEEDS to be the next Bond. By all accounts Idris Elba has it in the bag and he’ll be excellent. But I would respectfully submit Cumberbatch would be better. Physically he’s in line with the ideal Bond. He has proven his action hero chops, both in Sherlock and as Dr. Strange. He would be the most accomplished actor to play the role. His chemistry with whomever would play Moneypenny is bankable — think again of Molly Hooper. And think of Mark Gattis as M. Cumberbatch possesses the wit and devil-may-care approach of Roger Moore (the man who had the most fun being Bond) and the vulnerability of Daniel Craig (another interesting direction the character took) who happen to be my two favorite Bonds. Plus he’s young enough (46 later this year) to do about 3–4 of these, plus other films that would give him a look at an Oscar, and he looks fantastic (10 years younger, easy) If it were up to me, I hand him a blank check and say ‘Fill it out, bro.’
In any event there’s no question that, before long, we will be calling Cumberbatch Sir Benedict. He is one of the greatest English actors of the day, if not THE best, and one of the very best actors in the world, period. Mega talented and yet down to earth, guys like him, girls dig him, the sky is the limit for Benedict.
And yet he is but No. 3 on this list. Maybe I should call for a recount.
