4) “I Am Khan!” – Star Trek Into Darkness
Cumberbatch’s role as John Harrison in 2011’s Star Trek Into Darkness turned out to be the subject of controversy for fans, as the twist that he was really classic Trek villain Khan was seen by some as racially-insensitive. As well as being obvious from a mile off. However, this doesn’t take away from the fact that Cumberbatch is totally mesmerizing in the role.
Take the scene where Kirk and Spock question ‘Harrison’ in his cell, for example. It’s basically a five-minute exposition dump, as we learn that he’s really Khan, his backstory and his motivations for what he’s doing. Yet, Cumberbatch goes through the gamut of his acting abilities here: going from menacing to melancholy by the end of the scene.
While he hasn’t been pigeon-holed into that type of role like some other actors, we’d still like to see him play a major movie villain again. If he played a couple more, he could find himself in the pantheon of great British villain actors like Alan Rickman and Jeremy Irons.