Benedict Cumberbatch has gifted us with a wealth of roles that have are all brilliantly memorable. From short films to major motion pictures, he’s done it all, and it’s as if all his roles have led up to and prepared him for playing the mystical, super-powered hero Stephen Strange in this month's Marvel blockbuster Doctor Strange. 

So with that in mind, we thought we'd take a look back at Benedict's strangest roles, ones that earmarked him as the perfect candidate to play Marvel's sorcerous superhero.

The Imitation Game

The character: Alan Turing

The movie: Benedict plays the real-life British mathematician who is brought in by the government to crack the Nazi code that is Enigma, in the hopes that it will help them win World War II. Like Stephen Strange himself, Turing must channel his knowledge to finally crack the code and effectively, save the lives of many. 

It's Turing's intelligence and mathematical knowledge that leads him to create a machine called Christopher to decode the Enigma. For both Strange and Turing, their intellect is what powers their abilities.

Think about it: like Turing, Dr Strange is advised to turn to good, old-fashioned study, something that helps him learn and understand the mystic arts. This proves to be the key in unlocking his capabilities and attaining his powers and abilities within the mystic arts. The emphasis on knowledge and intellect is shared between both characters and is what makes them both unique for the task at hand.

Sherlock

The character: Mr Holmes himself

The series: Benedict's role as Sherlock is one of the most prominent roles in his career, and the problem-solving detective bears some prominent similarities to the Sorcerer Supreme known as Doctor Strange.

Sherlock is the very best at what he does and is someone you can count on to get the job done. Although not your conventional protagonist Sherlock is a hero in his own right, solving crimes that others have failed to uncover and often being enlisted by the government to help solve various criminal mysteries.

But beyond his heroic status Sherlock, like Stephen Strange, has exceptional intellect and bold powers of observation, which are what make him so extraordinary in his field. Let's not forget that prior to becoming a superhero Strange was a talented neurosurgeon and intelligent man, whose intelligence enables him to ultimately transform into the powerful sorcerer.

The power of intellect is shared between the two characters and is effectively their greatest power. If Stephen Strange and Sherlock were ever to join forces (in what would certainly be an awesome, Cumberbatch-themed alternate dimension), then they could easily become the most insanely intelligent duo in the entire world.

Penguins of Madagascar

The character: A Secret Service wolf named Classified

The movie: Strange isn’t all about the heroism. In fact, prior to his transformation into a superhero he's considered a pretty arrogant and egotistical neurosurgeon. He knows he’s good at what he does and he relishes the fact that he earns a good wage and is in a prestigious role.

Well, Classified is no different. He's also in the business of saving lives and lets everyone know about it. The smooth-talking wolf whose name is, quite literally, ‘classified’, is a cocky secret agent. The leader of the North Wind, a spy agency that helps animals in need, he is highly trained but often underestimates the Penguins’ abilities to complete the operation.

He basks in the glory of his ‘awesome’ job, boasts about previous successes, and possesses a great deal of self-entitlement. The same can be said for Strange as he feels a sense of superiority: too vain to take the role of consultant or assistant after his accident that damaged the nerves in his hands, he instead embarks on a journey of healing to the East after hearing about the ‘Ancient One’.

Both Classified and Strange have equally large egos relating to their field of work. In fact, perhaps it's Stephen Strange who channels his inner Classified!

Zoolander 2

The character: All

The movie: A small but memorable stint for Cumberbatch in Ben Stiller's comedy sequel as androgynous super model, All. Not quite the Stephen Strange experience but certainly strange for fans of Cumberbatch in every way possible.

Miles away from any role he's played before, the eyebrow-less All bursts onto our screen in true supermodel style with one solitary utterance: ‘All is all, to all’.

The satirical portrayal was controversially received but nevertheless made us laugh our heads off – if only because we'd never seen classy Benedict be so funny before. And in a weird way, the fact that All remains something of an enigma makes the character a kindred spirit with Stephen Strange (bear with us).

After all we still don’t know much of Strange's backstory other than what we are shown of his accident and its aftermath, and outside the eye-popping trailers we're still unsure about the extent of his powers.

Also, we know that Stephen Strange has a cape that permits him to fly. All has some golden wings on wire, upon which he momentarily takes flight during a fashion show. Not quite the mystical illusion that is Strange, but we can't help but feel that All is his unlikely soulmate.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The character: Peter Guillam

The movie: We already know that Stephen Strange makes his way to the East and becomes a student of the Ancient One, shadowing her in order to discover the mystic arts. These skills will then assist him in defeating the dreaded Dormammu and saving the world. And talking of Benedict playing the protege, that's exactly what happened with his role as Peter Guillam in the acclaimed espionage drama Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Guillam is the assistant to central spy George Smiley (Gary Oldman), helping him to find out who a certain MI5 informant is. Both Guillam and Strange must help their respective superiors complete a task and use the time as assistant/student to get better at what they do. Not overlooked in terms of their potential but not immediately placed in a role of power, they are both eventually trusted to complete the task at hand. Ultimately, this learning curve and sense of personal growth is shared between both of them.

So there we have it. It would appear that a piece of Stephen Strange can be found in all of Benedict Cumberbatch’s roles.

What other Cumberbatch roles do you think have a dash of Dr. Strange in them? Click here to book your tickets for Doctor Strange and then tweet us your suggestions @Cineworld.

Renee Bailey is a writer who blogs for Cineworld as part of our news team.