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Benedict Cumberbatch, Not Leo DiCaprio, Will Play 'Imitation Game'

by Ethan Anderton
February 1, 2013

After seeing the first photos of Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, it sounds like the "Sherlock" star will play another real-life figure, this time from further back in the past. Deadline has word that Cumberbatch will take the lead in The Imitation Game, a script from first-time screenwriter Graham Moore which follows Alan Turing, an important man of British history said to be the father of computer science as he played a pivotal role in the creation of the modern computer. Warner Bros. bought the script for seven figures last year with Leonardo DiCaprio looking to star originally. More below!

The script (which made the Black List in 2011) also follows Turing's work cracking the German “Enigma Code” during World War II which was integral the Allies stave off defeat. However, the genius would later be prosecuted by Britain in the early 1950s for being a homosexual. In a surprising decision, the man chose to be chemically castrated as opposed to spending time in prison. Eventually, the man decided to take his own life by way of a cyanide-laced apple. This should definitely be an interesting story of a genius struggling with his own identity, and certainly likely for some Oscar love when the time comes. Ron Howard was originally considering the project, but now Headhunters director Morten Tyldum will be at the helm.

Filed under Casting, Development, Movie News

From around the web:

axalon

I remember reading the script a year or two ago thinking "Benedict Cumberbatch would be *perfect* for this". Glad to see I wasn't the only one thinking it. He'll be great!
sarah

I also thought this should have been Cumberbatch when I first read of the film a few years back. So happy Di Caprio has walked away. This has Cumberbatch's name all over it. He'll be stunningly good. Great director too.
Thexn

Between this and the portrayal of Assange it may well be that Cumberbatch will be breaking out big time over the next few years. And we're all the luckier for it.
http://twitter.com/Cassie4more Adwina Oltariani

wow, he'll knock it out of the park, surely. For a rising star like him, this will be his ticket for the Oscar
quazimoto

Am I being selfish for wishing Cumberbatch would be LESS busy so we could get a few more seasons of Sherlock? Hoping season 3 isn't the final one, afraid it will be though. Either way, the man deserves the success he's earning, wish him the best.