Beloved and talented English actor Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the upcoming film, ‘The Imitation Game,’ about gay UK codebreaker Alan Turing — the man who saved England in World War II.
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch, better known as simply Benedict Cumberbatch, is well-known to American audiences from his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the BBC’s “Sherlock,” last year’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” and 2011’s “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy“. In November, he’ll play Alan Turing in “The Imitation Game.”
Born in 1912, Turing is known as the “Father of Theoretical Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.” He was a British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, computer scientist, and mathematical biologist, and created the concepts of “algorithm” and “computation.” His Turing machine was the model for the modern-day computer.
Turing was also gay, and despite saving England from Germany in World War II, he was prosecuted and convicted of the “crime” of homosexuality in 1952. He was chemically castrated by the British government. Two years later, he died of cyanide poisoning — likely a suicide.
Time magazine says “The Imitation Game,” which also stars Keira Knightley, has “already been dubbed ‘Oscar bait’ because it’s, well, a World War II movie coming out in the fall, a particularly jam-packed time for award-worthy releases. Though the trailer focuses mostly on his wartime accomplishments, the movie is said to cover Turin’s entire life story.”
While the film may cover Turing’s life story, the film’s website doesn’t mention that he was gay, except for this glossy line: “Turing may have been the eventual victim of an unenlightened British Establishment.”
Regardless, the trailer is amazing.
Watch:
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Turing biographical information via Wikipedia