Benedict Cumberbatch sports a very different look than his fans are used to in the first photo from Brexit, the upcoming TV movie from Channel 4. Directed by Sherlock and Black Mirror’s Toby Haynes, Brexit takes a look at the strategists behind the 2016 vote in which residents of the UK shockingly elected to withdraw from the European Union, a move that many say will lead to dire economic consequences.
Brexit stars Cumberbatch as Dominic Cummings, the chief strategist and Campaign Director for Vote Leave, the organization that successfully convinced UK residents to vote in favor of withdrawal. This, of course, is not the first time the versatile Cumberbatch has played a controversial real-life figure in a TV series or film. Cumberbatch earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as legendary computer scientist Alan Turing in the 2015 film The Imitation Game. The actor earned somewhat more mixed reviews for his performance as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in 2013’s The Fifth Estate.
For his latest real-life role, Cumberbatch is going in a decidedly de-glamorized direction, sporting a receding hairline and a somewhat slovenly appearance in order to play political strategist Dominic Cummings. Cumberbatch looks a far cry from Doctor Strange or Sherlock in the first image from Brexit. See the pic below (h/t Digital Spy).
Though he’s established himself as a major film star with an Oscar nomination and a central role in a multi-billion-dollar comic book franchise, Cumberbatch clearly still enjoys the challenge of working on the small screen as well. Of course, before he joined the MCU, Cumberbatch first gained a huge and adoring fan following for his performance as the titular detective on the BBC series Sherlock. Currently, Cumberbatch is earning critical raves for his performance as a heroin addict lawyer in Showtime’s Patrick Melrose. With Brexit, Cumberbatch gets to once again prove his versatility, playing a character who certainly appears normal and unspectacular on the surface, but nevertheless may prove to be a figure of historic significance after his role in making Brexit happen.
In addition to focusing on Cumberbatch’s Cummings, Brexit will take a look at strategists who worked for the other side, and will generally zero in on how modern data-driven techniques helped influence one of the most historic votes of all-time. The movie also stars Rory Kinnear (Skyfall), John Heffernan (The Crown), Richard Goulding (The Windsors) and Liz White (Ackley Bridge).
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Brexit is set to air on Britain’s Channel 4 in 2019.
Source: Channel 4 (h/t Digital Spy)
