A respected stage actor throughout the 2000s, Benedict Cumberbatch experienced an explosion in popularity within the film and TV world starting in the early 2010s, and he's been a prominent and widely known figure ever since. The TV series Sherlock is a pretty big reason for this, playing the titular Sherlock Holmes in 13 episodes aired between 2010 and 2017 (and, to be fair, those episodes do feel cinematic in terms of production and runtime, with each clocking in at about 90 minutes each).

To focus solely on the movies Benedict Cumberbatch has appeared in, the following represents the best of the best, all demonstrating his range and capacity to appear in films both large-scale and small. Across his entire filmography, Cumberbatch has played lead roles, supporting parts, and villains with ease, and the best works of his career (so far) are ranked below, starting with the good and ending with the great.

10 'Doctor Strange' (2016)

Director: Scott Derrickson

It might not quite rank as an all-time great superhero movie, but 2016’s Doctor Strange is still a pretty good one overall, and only really stumbles because it feels a tad formulaic. It’s unapologetically an origin story for its titular character through and through, and so it hits the same beats that various introductory films had before it, feeling like it owes a particularly large debt to 2008’s Iron Man.

Still, there’s enough spice added to things thanks to a great cast that, alongside Cumberbatch, also includes Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and (a slightly under-utilized) Mads Mikkelsen, and some visually distinctive mind-bending sequences, owing to the film’s heavy incorporation of fantasy elements. Doctor Strange might be another MCU movie in the overall scheme of things, but it’s still a good deal of fun and marked a good starting point for the character who’d go on to become a staple of the ongoing cinematic series.

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9 'Star Trek Into Darkness' (2013)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Okay, Star Trek Into Darkness has its detractors, and it does pale in comparison to the somewhat comparable The Wrath of Khan from 1982, but it is a slick and engaging sci-fi movie that pushes Star Trek – for better or worse – further into action movie territory than ever before. It was also vital for Benedict Cumberbatch’s career trajectory, as this was probably the first big (and mostly successful) blockbuster he appeared in after gaining popularity from Sherlock.

Cumberbatch plays the generically named John Harrison who turns out to be a legacy character from Star Trek in a somewhat divisive twist of sorts. It might try a little hard to raise the stakes following 2009’s Star Trek, and it’s probably not quite as good either, but Into Darkness remains a solid sequel that has its moments – perhaps even more than a few – and might well even be a little over-hated.

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8 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' (2011)

Director: Tomas Alfredson

Benedict Cumberbatch is one part of a large cast in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, with this slow-burn mystery/thriller movie having a huge number of well-established English actors. This impressive cast includes – but is not limited to – names like Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, and Mark Strong, with Cumberbatch ultimately showing up here in a smaller role than people today might be used to seeing him in.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy takes its time, as far as thrillers go, but will prove rewarding to fans of spy movies that don’t mind things being understated and slow-burn in nature. Oldman stars as an espionage veteran assigned to uncover the identity of a mole during the Cold War, with Cumberbatch playing a trusted associate of this protagonist who still manages to shine, even while being surrounded by so many other notable actors.

Rent on Apple TV

7 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' (2021)

Director: Jon Watts

Spider-Man: No Way Home capped off a trilogy of MCU Spider-Man movies that could well become something more than a trilogy in time, but for now, there are three. 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming dealt with Peter Parker taking steps toward becoming a true superhero, 2019’s Far from Home followed him dealing with the dramatic aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, and then 2021’s No Way Home saw him go to dramatic lengths to regain some privacy in his life after the world learned he was Spider-Man.

Doctor Strange gets involved with this whole scheme to undo the damage caused by this secret identity going public, yet it has severe consequences when it causes a multiversal rift. Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is a supporting character here, but a plot-relevant and entertaining one nonetheless, and the dynamic he has with Peter is engaging while feeling different enough from the interactions Peter had with Tony Stark in earlier MCU movies.

Rent on Apple TV

6 'Atonement' (2007)

Director: Joe Wright

Benedict Cumberbatch had been in a handful of lesser-known films prior to 2007, but it was that year’s Atonement which was arguably the first big movie he had some kind of noteworthy role in. Granted, this is a bit like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy again, in terms of how high Cumberbatch’s name is within the credits, but he’s still in it enough to make an impact, alongside other well-regarded actors like James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave, and Brenda Blethyn.

Atonement is a fairly heavy war/romance/drama film, and tells the story of a young man and woman’s lives being drastically upended when the latter’s younger sister accuses the former of something he didn’t actually do. Cumberbatch plays one of the more detestable characters he’s played yet, effectively being slimy and ultimately playing a role in some of the story’s more tragic/bleak occurrences.

Watch on Peacock

5 'The Imitation Game' (2014)

Director: Morten Tyldum

Arguably up there with the best biographical movies of the 2010s, The Imitation Game does stick to its fair share of conventions as far as the biopic genre goes, but it’s bolstered by strong performances and a fascinating central figure in Alan Turing. Turing was a mathematician/computer scientist whose work proved pivotal as far as computer sciences go, and, as the film shows, he also played a key role in breaking ciphers Nazi Germany used during World War II.

Cumberbatch plays Turing here in what was one of the earliest films to give him a leading role to fully explore, and he makes the most of it and then some, with Cumberbatch earning his first Oscar nomination in the process. The rest of The Imitation Game is solid, and it does have a somewhat snappier pace to it – and some more tension – than the average biopic, even if it inevitably plays things relatively safely as far as the narrative goes.

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4 '1917' (2019)

Director: Sam Mendes

Rather than taking place during World War II like The Imitation Game, 1917 goes all the way back to the titular year, obviously being about World War I. It’s also an entirely different kind of war movie, emphasizing tension and a near-constant sense of danger throughout, owing to the way it plays out as though it were filmed in one take while showing two young soldiers making a perilous journey across No Man’s Land to deliver a vital message, with time being of the essence.

Cumberbatch’s role is minor yet still important, playing Colonel Mackenzie, whom both the main characters spend much of the film trying to reach. 1917 is the sort of movie where the technical qualities tend to shine even brighter than the performances, but the leads – George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman – are both very good, as the various well-known actors – like Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, and Colin Firth – who show up in smaller roles.

Rent on Apple TV

3 'Avengers: Infinity War' (2018)

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Part 1 of a duology that represents the MCU at its peak, Avengers: Infinity War stands out for the fact that it includes almost every prominent hero who’d appeared in an MCU movie up until that point in its cast. The fate of the universe very much hangs in the balance and necessitates everyone getting involved, though, seeing as Infinity War is all about the much-hyped Thanos finally making good on his plans to eradicate half of all life in the universe.

Doctor Strange is one of the many characters to play a part in Infinity War, and though he also shows up in Endgame, he has a great more to do in this first half of the grand finale to the MCU’s first three phases. It’s an overall gargantuan and surprising movie, but feels well-balanced in that it gives everyone a chance to shine, and delivers a genuinely intense narrative with a game-changing ending.

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2 '12 Years a Slave' (2013)

Director: Steve McQueen

12 Years a Slave was a historical drama/biographical film that won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and remains one of the most devastating movies to even win that top prize on Oscar night. The central figure is Solomon Northup, and the film is based on his memoir of the same name, which retells his harrowing life story and details his experiences with being sold into slavery around the middle of the 19th century.

Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a career-best performance in the lead role, with supporting performances from the likes of Lupita Nyong'o and a villainous Michael Fassbender also being worthy of praise. Cumberbatch’s role is a little less significant, playing William Ford, the plantation owner who first had Northup as a slave. He doesn’t have the flashiest role, but Cumberbatch still makes an impression here, and 12 Years a Slave is overall definitely one of the best films he’s appeared in so far.

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1 'The Power of the Dog' (2021)

Director: Jane Campion

Earning Benedict Cumberbatch a second Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, The Power of the Dog is a strange, challenging, and absorbing Western that’s arguably the best film the actor’s appeared in to date. He plays an enigmatic and disturbed individual in the film, but one who ends up feeling vulnerable after he meets his brother’s wife and her son, both of whom reveal long repressed layers to his character.

The Power of the Dog is a difficult film to sell using words, as the “narrative,” in a sense, is relatively straightforward, with the exploration of its characters being what gives it depth and makes it distinct. It’s an alienating and slow movie at times, but it provides an experience that’s hard to shake, and Cumberbatch has probably never been any better in a lead role than he is in this film.

Watch on Netflix

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