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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Today in Ashland calendar, Dec. 3 Matthew Mangino: U.S. Supreme Court takes on Facebook threats 10 things to know for Wednesday 10 things to know for Tuesday The Haven Education In Portland, mindfulness classes ease stress of high school Student beats the odds AHS students form ribbon for AIDS awareness Kiwanis, Lions team up to help Nature Center Teacher's Tips: College not the end-all for every student Environment ‘Tis the season — for wild mushrooms Don't like weather where you are? Move a mile or two Salmon: A force of nature can be restored Students nurturing nature SOU eyes burning biomass instead of gas Business The Haven Ride & Drive: Ford Transit Ride & Drive: Canyon 2015 GMC Ride & Drive: The 2015 Toyota Camry Greg Zyla: Gift suggestions for car and motorsport enthusiasts Politics and elections Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn’t mean what you think it means Miller write-in campaign lands Ashland Parks and Rec seat Granlund cartoon: GOP wrecking balls Oregon voters narrowly reject GMO labeling measure Kitzhaber wins fourth term State News In Portland, mindfulness classes ease stress of high school GMO label measure, losing by 809 votes, headed for recount Resent ballots, late results likely to trigger GMO recount Nation - World Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting Obituaries William (Bill) Carl Caldwell Death Notices Freda Lee Davidson Earle Morgan Swift Jr. Death Notices Sports Latest Stories Raiders invite parents, boosters to join team on charter flight No. 17 Southern Oregon stuns No. 8 Columbia at nationals Raiders look to climb out of deep NAIA pool Keeping Fit: Runners need to do more than run to stay in shape Dodge repeats as Frontier Conference OPOY as 15 Raiders make all-league High school Six Grizzlies voted MWL first-teamers Grizzlies roughed up at Silverton Upset-minded Grizzlies brace for undefeated Foxes Georgia Williams commits to Columbia Gabe Lehrburger, Grizzlies clean house in MWL all-star voting Southern Oregon University Raiders invite parents, boosters to join team on charter flight No. 17 Southern Oregon stuns No. 8 Columbia at nationals Raiders look to climb out of deep NAIA pool Dodge repeats as Frontier Conference OPOY as 15 Raiders make all-league No. 8 SOU, No. 1 Carroll ready for QF showdown Opinion Latest Stories Jim Brock: Protesters have power Michelle Teheux: Lack of diversity leads to myopia Matthew Mangino: U.S. Supreme Court takes on Facebook threats Guest Opinion: The Keystone XL pipeline — a quixotic objection Other Views: Tax reform won't be easy Editorial Other Views: Tax reform won't be easy Our View: Give market vendors a break Our View: Gray, Black and Cyber Our View: Pool is not a priority Our view: Keep it simple in OSF courtyard Letters Letters to the Editor, Dec. 3 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 2 Letters to the Editor, Nov. 28 Letters to the Editor, Nov. 26 Letters to the Editor, Nov. 24 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: The Keystone XL pipeline — a quixotic objection Herb Rothschild Jr.: Congress won't stand up Herb Rothschild Jr.: Greed, love and the Shmoo Guest Opinion: Save the SOU swimming pool Chris Honoré: Was the midterm election a mandate? Revels Latest Stories Meet the real Jacob Marley Community blog: Poetry for birders, birds for poets Festival of Light brings cheer to downtown Ashland Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas Best Bets: Nov. 28-Dec. 3 Theater Meet the real Jacob Marley New design for Bricks takes shape Hard to keep a straight face with 'Red Noses' 'Red Noses' is a romp through slapstick and pathos 'The Drunken City': Bachelorettes meet bar-crawlers Music Peter Chianca: Top 40 songs even a dad could love The Farr Side: Different artists, common songs Longtime area musician Steve Read, 64, dies The Farr Side: CMA telecast was a disappointment Bass Clarinet Takeover Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists Movies Interview: Benedict Cumberbatch on playing ‘The Imitation Game’ Interview: Reese Witherspoon experiences life in 'The Wild' Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'Citizenfour' is a matter-of-fact bore Movie review: ‘Foxcatcher’ will leave you shaken and spellbound Food and Drink Blue bows out of Granite Street site, Agave moving in Chef count up at feast for the senses Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Troubleshoot common water boiler problems 5 Things to Do This Weekend (Dec. 5-7) Lost in Suburbia: Out of the cast iron pan and into the fire Dear Monty: Ten helpful home-listing tips Dave Ramsey: A properly budgeted Christmas Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Missing teen's mom hopes for safe return ... Guest Opinion: The Keystone XL pipeline — a quixotic objection ... Two missing Ashland teens planned to run away, police say ... Missing teen's mom hopes for safe return ... Guest Opinion: The Keystone XL pipeline — a quixotic objection ... Two missing Ashland teens planned to run away, police say ... Interview: Benedict Cumberbatch on playing 'The Imitation Game' By Ed Symkus More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Ed Symkus More Content Now Posted Nov. 28, 2014 @ 4:07 pm By Ed Symkus More Content Now Posted Nov. 28, 2014 @ 4:07 pm » Social News If you’re having trouble keeping track of Benedict Cumberbatch’s acting career, you’re not alone. Over the past half-decade or so, the busy Brit has been in, among other films, “Atonement,” “The Whistleblower,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “War Horse,” both “Hobbit” movies (the third is weeks away), “Star Trek into Darkness,” “12 Years a Slave,” “The Fifth Estate” and “August: Osage County.” Let’s not forget his ongoing stint as a certain deductive detective in the BBC TV series “Sherlock.” And next year, he’ll be playing Billy Bulger in the film “Black Mass.” But first, he’ll be seen in “The Imitation Game” as Alan Turing, the British mathematician who headed up the secret code-breaking project that eventually cracked messages from Germany’s Enigma machines during WWII, and dramatically shortened the war. Turing was a true hero, but remains mostly unknown outside of England where, after the war, he was accused of homosexual activities, which was at the time illegal there. Cumberbatch spoke about preparing for the playing this part and others, at the Toronto International Film Festival. Q. Were you aware that so many people haven’t even heard of Alan Turing? A. His story isn’t as upfront as it should be. It is known, and last year, there was a huge deal of light shown on him again. There were royal and the governmental pardons (in England), as well as Obama listing him as one of three or four great British scientists, along with Isaac Newton and Darwin. But as we all know, celebrity isn’t a signifier of importance. So what needs to be investigated is what he actually achieved. I think one of the things I was most passionate about with this film, and want from its audience and its reception, is for an as broad as possible amount of people to see it in order for him to be far more widely known. Q. Turing did a lot of work at University of Manchester, and you studied there, so you must have known about him. A. Yes, I was aware of him at school, and I was aware of Derek Jacobi’s phenomenal performance of him in the play “Breaking the Code.” I saw the televised version of it. But I didn’t know the whole story until then. I had an idea of him, but when I read Graham Moore’s script for our film, and tried to sort of forensically scavenge as best I could for further reading material, I discovered a lot more. There is quite a bit of literature about him, such as Andrew Hodges’ biography and David Leavitt’s biography, and a few people were generous enough to give me their time to talk about meeting him and knowing him. But you immediately hit walls as a sort of dumb actor trying to understand algebra. It is another language, and it’s an expertise that takes a lifetime and a Ph.D. in pure math. It’s incredibly distant, so to try and get closer to someone who we don’t have footage of ... but there are lots of accounts of how he talked, they way he moved, and his body language around people. It was an evolving kind of experiment in how much to play with what is known of him through these accounts. Q. You’ve portrayed a lot of very smart people in your films, from Turing to Julian Assange to Stephen Hawking (in the 2004 TV movie “Hawking”). Why do you think people think of you for those parts? A. I don’t know; you’d have to ask my directors. (laughs) It’s very flattering on one account, it’s quite disturbing on another. Because I’m far removed from the level of intelligence of the characters I’ve been lucky enough to portray. What I try to look for is something that a general audience can relate to, to have an investment in these extraordinary people who achieve extraordinary things. That’s an easy task for an actor, to humanize these incredible machines of ideas that some of these people are. It’s not always easy, but that’s the challenge, and that’s what I’ve enjoyed doing. I’m very lucky. Q. Have you found that there’s a big difference between playing a real person and a fictional character? A. If you’re talking about playing an iconic superhero, then there’s a huge pressure that comes with the expectations of what you do with that material, even though it’s fictitious. Obviously, if it’s someone that’s real, there’s the pressures and the rightful kind of responsibility of protecting a legacy. But they’re very, very different kinds of pressures. At the end of the day, it’s about trying to do a good job. Ed Symkus writes about movies for More Content Now. By Ed Symkus More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Ed Symkus More Content Now Posted Nov. 28, 2014 @ 4:07 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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