Part of The Avengers featuring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo.
Rise to Fame
His BAFTA nomination came in 2004, playing Stephen Hawking, years before most people knew who he was. Sherlock handled the rest. The BBC series launched in 2010, and his Holmes wasn't theatrical camp. It was brittle, nervy, and socially monstrous in the way that makes bad behavior watchable. The internet treated him like a discovery. An Emmy win followed for the third series. By the time Hollywood came for him, the audience was already there.
In the Spotlight
Disney delayed Doctor Strange's 2016 summer release to accommodate him. That's the kind of studio confidence that should open doors. The franchise hasn't worked out that way. He's said arthouse directors struggle to see past the Marvel association. His 2025 proved it: three projects, including The Roses opposite Olivia Colman, all landed quietly. Meanwhile, the Strange appearances keep coming.
Side Notes
Before drama school, he spent a gap year teaching English at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Darjeeling, which later mapped uncannily onto Doctor Strange's Himalayan origin story. In 2005, gunmen abducted him in South Africa and abandoned him in the countryside. In 2018, near Baker Street, he jumped from a cab to fend off four men attacking a delivery cyclist. His casting as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game came with an uncomfortable detail: he's Turing's 17th cousin. His biography keeps insisting on being strange.