W MAGAZINE - VOLUME 1, 2022-BEST PERFORMANCES - BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH - BRAND NEW

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Benedict Cumberbatch Never Thought He’d Be a Leading Man

With The Power of the Dog, the actor hopes to spark conversations around strength and masculinity.

Interview by Lynn Hirschberg,

Photographed by Tim Walker,

Styled by Sara Moonves

It’s hard to imagine that the Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch never envisioned himself as a leading man. But this year, he takes awards season by storm with not one, but two major roles: the cranky, borderline abusive rancher Phil Burbank in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, and the schizophrenic, feline-obsessed artist Louis Wain in Will Sharpe’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. The films couldn’t be more different from each other, but Cumberbatch’s electrifying performances in both are arresting and unforgettable. In W’s annual Best Performances issue, the actor talks about learning to pluck the banjo and hand-roll cigarettes in the New Zealand mountains, and explains why he never wants to work with cats again.