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  • He's played a dragon, a sorcerer, a detective, and an intergalactic evil genius, and that's just to name a few .

  • Welcome to WatchMojo UK, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Benedict Cumberbatch Performances.

  • Before we begin, if you enjoy this video, please subscribe for more great content.

  • For this list, we'll be taking a look at the career highlights of one of Britain's biggest stars, Benedict Cumberbatch.

  • And today's video is a celebration of Benedict's best film and TV performances.

  • "Shall we let them enjoy our lands."

  • "Nay!"

  • Number 10: Smaug and the Necromancer—"The Hobbit" series.

  • "Thief... I smell you."

  • Cumberbatch covered two characters when he ventured into Middle-earth for Peter Jackson's“The Hobbit"— the dragon Smaug and the Necromancer, a shadowy figure revealed to be Sauron.

  • However, it's his role as the winged beast which audiences remember most.

  • "Do you think flattery will keep you alive?"

  • "No..."

  • "No, indeed."

  • Hoarding the treasures of Erebor, Cumberbatch throws himself into the part of Smaug, becoming a menacing, threatening and gargantuan on-screen presence.

  • "What will you do now... Bowman? You are... forsaken. No help will come."

  • The behind the scenes footage looks a bit goofy, but the final product is awesome.

  • Number 9: Richard III—"The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses."

  • As part of the popular BBC Shakespeare adaptation series, Cumberbatch stars as one of the Bard's most famous characters.

  • "And who doth lead them but a paltry fellow."

  • Though seizing the opportunity to go full-on wicked, Benedict manages to lace the role with enough tragedy that, even in Richard's vilest, most manipulative moments,

  • You can still see the human underneath simply looking for recognition.

  • "Victory for York and victory for Edward. Now Duke of York, soon to be a king."

  • Cumberbatch has shown his Shakespearian talents on stage plenty of times before, so it's no surprise he smashed this role.

  • Number 8: David—"Wreckers."

  • In this British indie film, Cumberbatch takes a break from larger-than-life characters for an original but bleak drama.

  • "Why didn't you just say?"

  • "You kept pushing it, your, your little project. I mean, why couldn't we have just waited for a couple of years?"

  • He and "The Crown's" Claire Foy play a married couple whose life is interrupted by the unexpected return of Cumberbatch's brother.

  • "Should we get rid of him?"

  • "Where to?"

  • "He's got mates. What about his ex?"

  • Initially painted as an absent but kind husband, the darker nature of Benedict's David slowly unravels, with the actor charting the change impeccably .

  • Sometimes, you don't need a big budget and special effects to make an impact.

  • "Stop it! Dawn!"

  • Number 7: William Ford—"12 Years a Salve."

  • "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob."

  • In this Best Picture Oscar-winning period drama, Benedict plays plantation holder William Ford, who becomes the first owner of Solomon Northup after the former free man is kidnapped and sold into slavery.

  • Ford shows kindness and respect to Northup, but their relationship is short-lived.

  • "Well, I'll admit to being impressed even if you won't."

  • And, though Cumberbatch's role in the film is also fairly fleeting, he leaves a lasting impression, as a glimmer of hope for Northup throughout his struggles for freedom.

  • "My great thanks, Master Ford."

  • "No, my thanks to you. And it is the least of it. I hope it brings us both much joy over the years."

  • Number 6: Stephen Hawking—"Hawking."

  • Though Eddie Redmayne's Oscar-winning turn in "The Theory of Everything" has since overshadowed it,

  • Cumberbatch's take on the famed scientist, given ten years before Redmayne's, is a stand-out piece of dedicated acting in its own right.

  • "You have to know this is incredibly important. Time's not a background thing, it's not an absolute, it can switch, everything else is measured. It's dynamic."

  • Focusing on Hawking's time at University, Benedict expertly shows the physicist's astounding intellect and his struggles with motor neuron disease.

  • "Are you the Cambridge type? Yes, and I love you deeply and forever."

  • The role also bagged Cumberbatch a BAFTA nomination, helping to propel his then-fledgling career.

  • Number 5: Peter Guillam—"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."

  • Standing out even amongst an ensemble cast of Hollywood heavyweights (including Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy), Benedict's role in this John Le Carre adaptation is pivotal .

  • "Alwyn."

  • "Sir?"

  • "Get me my bag. Will ya?"

  • "But..."

  • "Just for a second."

  • Playing Peter Guillam, a regular confidant of George Smiley and entrusted in his hunt for a mole inside the British Intelligence services, he's involved in some seriously high-tension scenes.

  • "Well, I haven't been seeing him. So get your facts straight and get off my back!"

  • Also portrayed as homosexual, in a break from Le Carre's original novels, the character is surrounded by secrecyand Benedict thrives on the drama.

  • "I stole that because of you. I spied on my own because of him. Do you know how that makes me feel?!"

  • Number 4: Khan Noonien Singh—"Star Trek Into Darkness."

  • To a casting choice which touted some controversy, but a role which Benedict made his own.

  • "My name... is... Khan."

  • Khan steals the sci-fi show for "Star Trek Into Darkness", as Cumberbatch balances the lingering menace and ruthless determination of Ricardo Montalban's original performance, but also brings a new personality and underlying sense of humanity to the role.

  • "Stand down."

  • "How many torpedoes?"

  • "Stand down!"

  • "The torpedoes, the weapons you threatened me with in your message. How many are there?"

  • All in all, it's a classic character reworked, and a distinct addition to one of the most popular sagas in science fiction.

  • "Captain."

  • Number 3: Stephen Strange—"Doctor Strange."

  • "This is how things are now. You and me, trapped in this moment."

  • Snagging himself a major part in the MCU as the sorcerer supreme, Doctor Strange, Cumberbatch's long-anticipated break into the superhero genre was well worth the wait.

  • "You reject the possibility?"

  • "No, I reject it because I do not believe in fairy tales about chakras, or energy, or the power of belief. There is no such thing as spirit!"

  • Taking a page from Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark, Cumberbatch's character is an arrogant bloke brimming with snarky comebacks.

  • "I think I found the problem, Dr. Palmer. You left a bullet in his head."

  • "Thanks."

  • But he also undertakes a hero's journey from crippled surgeon to master of the mystical arts, with an especially inventive ride through the Marvel Universe.

  • It's an origins story quite unlike any other.

  • "No. It is Dr. Strange. Not Master Strange, not Mr. Strange; Doctor Strange."

  • Number 2: Alan Turing—"The Imitation Game."

  • A widely praised performance which almost earned him an Oscar, our runner-up sees Benedict become an influential figure in British history.

  • "Human brains can compute large sums very quickly, even Hugh can do that, but I want Christopher to be smarter. To make a calculation and then to determine what to do next."

  • In the role as the famed mathematician and AI pioneer, Cumberbatch brings Alan Turing's genius to the big screen.

  • The film follows Turing's recruitment as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park during World War II, right through to his infamous conviction for indecency and homosexuality.

  • "The interesting question is just because something, er, thinks differently from you, does that mean it's not thinking?"

  • Taking Turing's life story for a film which demands to be seen, it's Cumberbatch's finest hour in terms of feature-length cinema.

  • "I don't."

  • "What?"

  • "Care for you. I never did. I... I just needed you to break Enigma."

  • Number 1: Sherlock Holmes—"Sherlock."

  • "Anderson, don't talk out loud. You lower the IQ of the whole street."

  • The role which solidified Benedict's star status, it might've been difficult to put an original stamp on Sherlock Holmes, a world renowned character subject to countless reinventions.

  • But Cumberbatch makes it look easy.

  • Paired with Martin Freeman's Watson, his modern take on Arthur Conan Doyle's seminal detective brought fresh life to a famous story.

  • "I need a case!"

  • "You've just solved one! By harpooning a dead pig, apparently."

  • "Ah! That was this morning! When's the next one?"

  • Though there's plenty of competition with other modern Holmeses, including Robert Downey Jr's and Jonny Lee Miller's, Cumberbatch's version is another level of brilliant.

  • "No, no, no! Of course he's not the boy's father! Look at the turn-ups on his jeans!"

  • Do you agree with our picks? Check out these other great clips from WatchMojoUK and subscribe for more great content.

He's played a dragon, a sorcerer, a detective, and an intergalactic evil genius, and that's just to name a few .

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