BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / His tendency to play colourful characters

**Posted by saturnR** January 31, 2014 9:28 pm

Benedict's filmography is huge so can't say I've seen enough of it to comment on body of work but from the roles that I'm aware of he doesn't go for straight forward good guys as much as he goes for bad guys or good-but guys. Sherlock is one of the good-but guys, as is Julian Assange. Then there is Smaug, straight forward bad guy & his character from star trek also a bad guy.

Why do you think this is the case? (wonder how much his voice plays into it - he does have a very bad ass voice )

Apologies if this has been discussed before.

**Posted by SusiGo** January 31, 2014 9:50 pm

I think for an ambitious actor it is more interesting to play multi-layered characters with dark and light sides and a lot of grey in between. However, Christopher Tietjens who is his favourite character is a good man through and through. Difficult at times, impatient with fools, but with a big heart.
But on the whole I think that the good-but guys are the real challenge. Benedict always manages to find and show the human sides and weaknesses even in unlikeable characters (e.g. Bernard in "Small Island") which he does really beautifully.
I do not really like his Paul Marshall in "Atonement". Not because he is such a horrible character but because he is just bad. Benedict does bad really well but there is nothing for him to discover in this character.

**Posted by SolarSystem** January 31, 2014 11:03 pm

Straightforward good guys are probably as boring to play as straightforward bad guys, so I suppose his decision for or against a role kind of happens automatically when he reads the script.
Like Susi already mentioned, there have to be several layers to a character, otherwise there's just nothing to discover, neither for Benedict nor for the audience later on.
But I sort of doubt that he even thinks in these good-or-bad-or-grey-categories when he reads a script. I could imagine that he asks himself questions like "Can I relate to this character on a certain level? Is there something new for me to discover?" and stuff like that. And to be honest, I wouldn't even be surprised if he sometimes decides on a role because it promises to be fun or because of the director or because of his co-stars....

**Posted by Davina** January 31, 2014 11:07 pm

His character in Stuart A Life Backwards isn't really colourful at all.

**Posted by saturnR** January 31, 2014 11:30 pm

SolarSystem wrote:
And to be honest, I wouldn't even be surprised if he sometimes decides on a role because it promises to be fun or because of the director or because of his co-stars....

No I just mean has he been typecast like how Martin complains that people come to him for everyman roles, do directors when casting match Benedict to badass a bit more than perhaps they did before? Difference being that Benedict doesn't mind being associated with badass. Martin does mind being synonymous with everyman

**Posted by SolarSystem** February 1, 2014 9:36 am

What exactly do you associate with "badass"? Because to be honest, I personally don't think that he has played many real badass roles. Khan isn't pure badass, either, in my opinion. Smaug probably is the most badass of all, come to think of it. And characters like Assange... well, those just are the most interesting, I suppose, and I don't really think that they did cast him for that role because they were thinking about his badass potential.
In his recent films, "12 years...", AOC, TIG there doesn't seem to be much badass potential, either.
So I would say, no, I don't have the impression that directors associate him with badass more than they did in the past.

**Posted by SusiGo** February 1, 2014 10:56 am

Tbh, I think Paul Marshall is his most badass character. And it may well be that he decides to accept a role based on genre, director, co-stars, etc. Building a reputation consists of many elements.

**Posted by Le Bear Polar** February 1, 2014 3:45 pm

I think Benedict's filmography's fantastic. He does have an affinity for prolific characters and characters that are written with depth. IMDb even quotes him as 'often portraying upper class figures' and 'usually plays highly intelligent and gifted characters'. It helps that he doesn't exactly have physical features of the archetypal good guy, as Martin Freeman does. And I think he was wise from the beginning to avoid being typecasted by choosing a wide variety of roles.

**Posted by besleybean** February 1, 2014 4:19 pm

I think in the beginning he took what he was offered, like any actor...
But now he has the luxury to choose.

**Posted by SolarSystem** February 1, 2014 5:54 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Tbh, I think Paul Marshall is his most badass character.

Oh yes, I completely forgot about Marshall. He is badass to a certain extent, but I associate some other terms with him, as well, maybe even more than badass. I think he's really repellent, slimy, loathsome... okay, in the end that probably means he's badass.

**Posted by besleybean** February 1, 2014 6:02 pm

Another thing where it's me against the world.
I mean obviously he was a deplorable character and behaved badly...
But I didn't actually find him particularly repulsive.

Last edited by besleybean (February 2, 2014 8:30 am)

**Posted by Le Bear Polar** February 2, 2014 2:41 am

Marshall was a slimy one. I wouldn't call him badass.. imo.Smaug and Khan deserve the badass title more.

I also enjoyed watching him as Peter Guillam (but then again, is there anything I didn't enjoy watching him in?). That scene in the archive vault was the most nerve wracking five minutes of the film for me!

**Posted by besleybean** February 2, 2014 8:31 am

Certainly was, but the 'other scene' is just heart breaking.

**Posted by SusiGo** February 2, 2014 11:05 am

Yes. He can show so much in about one minute and without a word being spoken.

**Posted by besleybean** February 2, 2014 11:16 am

Which again is exactly what my mother picked up on him...
She just thinks he is an astonishing actor.
As she said, his body language, his face...,he doesn't have to say anything and can convey so much.

**Posted by Davina** February 2, 2014 11:00 pm

And that is what brilliant acting is all about. Inhabiting another persona completely.