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Bonus Episode 26: Benedict Cumberbatch’s best, worst, and poshest performances

We discuss Benedict Cumberbatch at his best, worst, & poshest, from The Power of the Dog to The Courier to The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.

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Benedict Cumberbatch in three roles. Dressed as an early 20th century rancher in The Power of the Dog, wearing a modern suit in The Courier, and wearing 19th a century suit and holding a cat in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.
Benedict Cumberbatch, clockwise from left in The Power of the Dog, The Courier, and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and regular guest Caitlin Merriman.

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On This Episode

  • Is Benedict Cumberbatch good? And even if he is, do we like him? (0:46)
  • He’s definitely posh (4:28)
  • Orla’s former co-star (7:50)
  • Caitlin and the Sherlock fandom (14:38)
  • Alex, the wrong Hamlet, and a personal vendetta (19:48)
  • A filmography of someone who needs money more than Cumberbatch actually needs money (25:59)
  • The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, 2021) (32:21)
  • The Courier (Dominic Cooke, 2020) (36:26)
  • The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (Will Sharpe, 2021) (41:35)
  • What needs to happen for a Benedict Cumberbatch performance to be good? (46:46)
  • Conclusion (56:49)

Show Notes

  • The Power of the Dog is streaming on Netflix
  • The Courier is available on VOD and streaming on Prime
  • The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is streaming on Prime
  • Stuart: A Life Backward (David Attwood, 2007) is streaming on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the US

Related episodes

  • Bonus 22: Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth (Member’s Only)
  • Bonus 20: Belfast and the self-mythologising of Kenneth Branagh (Member’s Only)
  • Bonus 19: Who is the poshest actor in Britain? (Member’s Only)
  • Ep. 111: TIFF 2021, part 2 (Member’s Only)
  • Ep. 28: 1917 and Jarhead — Sam Mendes’ war films (Member’s Only)
  • 21st Folio, Episode 1: Hamlet at the Barbican with Benedict Cumberbatch

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