Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch (1976 - )

Film Deaths[]

Amazing Grace (2006) [William Pitt the Younger]: Dies (off-screen) of an unspecified illness; he is last seen talking to Ioan Gruffudd, before the film skips ahead to a later time.
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) [William Carey]: In a deleted scene on the DVD, he died from sweating sickness, his character is based on the real William Carey.
Third Star (2010) [James]: Commits suicide by drowning himself in the ocean rather than waiting to die from terminal cancer.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) [Smaug/Necromancer]: Playing a dual role, providing the voice and motion capture of the dragon "Smaug", he is killed when Luke Evans fires a black arrow into a gap left by a missing scale, his body falling onto Stephen Fry as he dies. (The "Necromancer" survives the movie.)
The Imitation Game (2014) [Alan Turing]: Commits suicide (off-screen) a year after the film closes, after being forced to take female hormone treatment. His death is mentioned in the closing text.
National Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015) [Hamlet]: Dies after drinking Sian Brooke's poisoned drink.
Doctor Strange (2016) [Dr. Stephen Strange/Dormammu]: Playing a dual role both as "Dr. Strange" and the motion capture and voice of the entity "Dormammu", he dies several times: (1) "Strange" is temporarily clinically dead when he flatlines while Rachel McAdams is trying to keep his wounded body alive while his spirit fights Scott Adkins in the astral plane; he's revived when Rachel defibrillates him, supercharging his attacks. (2) "Strange" dies countless times when he confronts "Dormammu" in the dark dimension to make a bargain with him, including being stabbed with spears, impaled, crushed, and blasted with beams, using his powers to create a time loop to imprison "Dormammu" until he submits.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) [Dr. Stephen Strange]: Disintegrated from existence by Josh Brolin’s Infinity powers as he explains to Robert Downey Jr. his reason for giving his Infinity Stone to Brolin. He is later resurrected when Mark Ruffalo uses the Infinity Stones to bring all the people disintigrated out of existence back to life in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) [Shere Khan]: Voicing a CGI tiger, he is stabbed in the head by Rohan Chand as the apparently injured tiger attempts to attack him.
The Power of the Dog (2021) [Phil Burbank]: Dies from anthrax from his infected hand wound. It is implied that he got the anthrax from Kodi Smit-McPhee giving him the hide of an infected cow.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) [Doctor Strange/Sinister Strange/Defender Strange/Supreme Strange]: Playing four versions of the same character. "Sinister Strange" is impaled on a fence post after being sent out by "Doctor Strange". "Defender Strange" is impaled by a monster. He later dies from his wounds and his body is buried and is controlled by "Doctor Strange" to save Xochitl Gomez. "Supreme Strange" is killed by Anson Mount using his destructive supersonic voice, as seen when Patrick Stewart shows "Doctor Strange" the memory. "Doctor Strange" survives the film.
The Book of Clarence (2024) [Benjamin]: Crucified after being mistaken for Jesus Christ in place of the real Jesus (Nicholas Pinnock). (Played for Comedic Effect)
The Phoenician Scheme (2025) [Uncle Nubar] Blows himself up with a grenade at the films end.
The Roses (2025) [Theo Rose] Probably killed in a gas explosion (along with Olivia Colman) when he turns on his fireplace, not knowing that there is a major gas leak inside the house. The film cuts to white the moment the fireplace is lit.

Television Deaths[]

Van Gogh: Painted With Words (2010) [Vincent Van Gogh]: Commits suicide (off-screen) by shooting himself in the chest and dies two days later.
Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall (2012) [Sherlock Holmes]: Seemingly commits suicide by jumping off the roof of a building, which was the conclusion of Andrew Scott's scheme. His apparent death is witnessed by Martin Freeman, who does not see him hit the ground, but does see his bloodied body on the ground by the time he gets over there. By the end of the episode, Benedict is revealed to have faked his death, as he watches Martin grieving for him at his grave. The following episodes offer various theories on how Benedict faked his death, but none are confirmed to be exactly how he achieved it.
Sherlock: His Last Vow (2014) [Sherlock Holmes] Briefly dead after being shot in the chest with a silenced handgun by Amanda Abbington. He is dead when the ekg machines flatline clearly showing nothing but is revived when he comes back from his mind palace. Benedict's corpse is also shown in the morgue while he considers what will happen if he fails to save himself.
The Hollow Crown: Richard III (2016) [Richard III]: Stabbed to death in a sword fight with Luke Treadaway, with Luke forcing Benedict to stab himself with his own dagger.
Good Omens: The Very Last Day Of The Rest Of Their Lives (2019) [Satan]: Providing the voice of a giant CGI Devil, Benedict disintegrates into nothingness when Sam Taylor Buck uses his Satanic powers to erase him from reality.
What If...?: What If Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? (2021; animated) [Doctor Strange]: Voicing two split versions of the character, one ceases to exist when the other absorbs his essence. The other version is left to reflect on his actions after he has destroyed the universe.
What If...?: What If Strange Supreme Intervened? (2023; animated) [Strange Supreme]: Sacrifices himself to restore his universe by allowing himself to fall into a multiversal forge.

Short Film Deaths[]

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) [Henry Sugar]: Dies of a pulmonary embolism at age 63; his death is mentioned in Benedict's own narration as Benedict finishes narrating his portion of the story. (This short film is performed in a very stylized manner, with the characters mostly narrating to the camera.)

Gallery[]

Notable Connections[]

Son of Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham
Mr. Sophie Hunter