A Cumberbatch Moment: The Oscar-Poised Rise of The Imitation Game Star

by John Powers

Mac 譯

A Cumberbatch Moment: The Oscar-Poised Rise of The Imitation Game Star

本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇：“卷?！钡膴W斯卡時刻

by John Powers

Mac 譯

我更喜歡稱本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇為“卷?！保驗檫@里面代表了影迷對他以及這個角色的喜愛，而這個角色也必定是他演藝生涯的一個重要注腳。你看他那種略帶神經(jīng)質(zhì)的表演會禁不住疑問：他本人是這樣的嗎？如果不是，為什么能把這個角色演繹得如此惟妙惟肖？

康伯巴奇出生演藝世家，名校出身，一直得到不同程度的錘煉和賞識。如果你以為“卷?！敝暗目挡推嬉皇聼o成、籍籍無名，那你就錯了，他在舞臺劇、電視劇以及電影都有作為，所以他可以在名利突然而至的時候不至于失態(tài)，可以在所謂的“無名小卒”時期不至于變態(tài)。他在健全人格形成之前并沒有在名利漩渦中被刺激得找不著北，這歸功于他的家庭，也可以歸功于他接受的教育，甚至于他自己本身。到目前為止，他的人生是成功范本中最具有可模仿性和可行性的例子，里面沒有太多偶然性和上天眷顧。厚積薄發(fā)，一鳴驚人—成功到來的時候，他以一種自然和舒服的姿態(tài)撥地而起，讓所有人都打心里為他祝福。

—Mac

I really, really love my job,” says Benedict Cumberbatch in the lush1)baritonethat is one of his trademarks. “I love sets. I love crews. I love theaters. I love audiences.”

And he has every reason to be feeling the love. After all, this is his time—the Cumberbatch Moment. Not only is his new film, The Imitation Game, a front-runner for the Academy Award (it won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, a traditional2)bellwether), but he himself is a surefire Best Actor nominee for his touching, slyly funny performance as Alan Turing, a real-life genius who helped save England during World War II only to die alone and forgotten, a prophet without honor in his own land.

The Imitation Game is an exciting crowd-pleaser about Turing, a socially awkward misfit whom most everyone finds weird, arrogant, and offputting. But he’s also a cosmic genius. It’s Turing who cracks the so-called Enigma code, which3)encryptedall of the Nazi military’s wartime messages. He’s ably assisted by a team of world-class4)cryptanalysts, which includes Joan Clarke, a brilliant mathematician whom Turing champions despite the military’s sexist objections, and with whom he becomes intimate. She’s played with resourceful intelligence and warmth by Keira Knightley, who became mates with Cumberbatch one summer when they shared a communelike farmhouse while filming Atonement, and discovered a mutual pleasure in cooking and live music.

我真的真的熱愛我的工作，”本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇用其標(biāo)志性的渾厚男中音如此道來，“我熱愛片場、工作人員、劇場還有—觀眾。”

于他而言，這份熱愛合情合理，畢竟，當(dāng)下正是他事業(yè)的全盛時期—康伯巴奇時刻。不僅僅因為他的新電影《模仿游戲》成為奧斯卡大熱—該電影在多倫多國際電影節(jié)里贏得“大眾之選獎”，而多倫多電影節(jié)是傳統(tǒng)的電影頒獎領(lǐng)頭羊，還因為他本人憑借觸動人心、機智幽默的表演必將毫無爭議地獲得最佳男演員提名—他扮演的是阿蘭·圖靈是真人真事中的一位天才，曾幫助英國在二戰(zhàn)中取得勝利卻最終被世人遺忘，作為一名無冕先知在自己的國土孤獨離世。

《模仿游戲》劇情激動人心，很對觀眾口味，講的是關(guān)于圖靈的故事，這個人不善社交，與周遭格格不入，在大多數(shù)人眼中古怪、傲慢而且令人掃興。但同時他也是一名非一般的天才。就是圖靈破解了所謂的英格碼—納粹軍隊就是用這種代碼來傳達(dá)戰(zhàn)時信息。一群世界一流的密碼專家巧妙地幫助圖靈，其中包括才華橫溢的數(shù)學(xué)家瓊·克拉克，盡管在軍隊中因為性別備受歧視，但是圖靈一直很擁戴她，和她關(guān)系親密。凱拉·奈特利以機智與熱情詮釋了這個角色。奈特利與康伯巴奇在某個夏天拍攝《贖罪》時，因為共用一個公社式的農(nóng)舍，發(fā)現(xiàn)彼此都喜歡烹飪和露天音樂會而變成好友。

1) baritone [?b?r?t??n] n. 男中音

2) bellwether [?bel?wee?] n. 領(lǐng)頭羊，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者

3) encrypt [?n?kr?pt] v. 將…譯成密碼

4) cryptanalyst [kr?p?t?n?l?st] n. 密碼專家

Although The Imitation Game is set 70 years ago, it still feels relevant. For one thing, the team’s codebreaking equipment, known as the Turing Machine, was the5)prototypeof today’s modern computer. “The algorithms Alan used during the war,” Cumberbatch says, “are still used in Google’s search engine.” Yet what gives the movie its sting is the heartbreaking fate of this lonely, decent man. Because his wartime work was marked top secret, the public never knew of his heroic achievements. More tragically, because he was totally unabashed about his homosexuality at a time when it was still illegal in Britain—Turing is today a gay icon—he was a target of police harassment.

“I felt a responsibility to show him properly,” says Cumberbatch. “Alan’s face should be on the back of banknotes like Darwin and Newton. It should be on the front of history textbooks and science books.”

In person, you grasp what a fne actor Cumberbatch is: He’s not remotely arrogant or fragile. Youngerlooking than on-screen, he comes across as sweetly boyish, a quality that may6)beliehis sophistication as an actor but helps seal the deal with his female fans. His words come in enthusiastic flurries—“God, I talk quick,” he says when I play back a moment of tape to make sure the recorder’s working—and you never quite know where his conversation may swirl. He exudes an aura of innocent, almost7)star-struckpleasure in his good fortune, as when he talks about the “bliss” of hanging out with Depp: “We rolled cigarettes and sat around and talked and talked and talked. He’s a friend now, which is an amazing thing to think about.”

Now that Cumberbatch is riding so high, it’s easy to forget that, for nearly a decade before stardom hit, he’d already been a successful actor. Indeed, he was nominated for an award for his frst stage performance, back in 2001. Before the show Sherlock became a certifed hit, he had already starred as Stephen Hawking for the BBC and been cast in such big movies as War Horse, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and 12 Years a Slave.

With Sherlock, which debuted in 2010, it did. Actor and role merged8)alchemically. Cumberbatch instantly became identifed with an irresistible hero who satisfes everyone’s fantasy of9)thumbing one’s nose atthe world, especially authority, yet always being right.

盡管《模仿游戲》講述的是70年前的故事，但是依然沒有過時。其一，劇組那個破譯密碼的儀器—廣為人知的“圖靈機器”，是今天現(xiàn)代計算機的原型?！皥D靈在戰(zhàn)爭期間使用的算法，”康伯巴奇說道，“今天的谷歌搜索引擎還在使用?！比欢?，這部電影觸動人心之處在于這位孤獨而正派的男人那讓人心碎的命運。因為他在戰(zhàn)爭期間的工作是至高機密，公眾從來就不知道他的英雄壯舉。更可悲的是，因為他完全不羞于承認(rèn)自己的性向—而同性戀在當(dāng)時的英國仍被視作非法的—因而當(dāng)時成為警察騷擾的對象，盡管今天他已是同性戀人士的標(biāo)桿偶像。

“我覺得我有責(zé)任正確地詮釋這個人物，”康伯巴奇說道，“阿蘭的頭像應(yīng)該像達(dá)爾文和牛頓一樣印在鈔票的背面，他應(yīng)該印在歷史教科書和科學(xué)圖書的首頁。”

見過本人，你就能了解康伯巴奇為什么是一名好演員：他有親和力、不傲慢，也不敏感。真人比上鏡更加年輕，他流露出討人喜歡的孩子氣，這個特質(zhì)隱于他作為演員的世故之下，對女性“粉絲”極有殺傷力。他的談話熱情洋溢—“天啊，我講太快了，”當(dāng)時我倒帶檢查錄音機是否運作正常，他這樣說道—另外，你很難確定他的談話會向哪個方向延伸。當(dāng)說到他與戴普一起外出的“福氣”時，他流露出一種天真，幾乎是追星族碰上好運的那種欣喜：“我們卷好煙，坐在一起，然后天南地北地聊啊聊。我們現(xiàn)在是朋友了，想起這件事真快樂。”

既然康伯巴奇現(xiàn)在地位超然，那就很容易讓人忘記成為巨星前的那近十年，他其實已經(jīng)是一名很成功的演員。事實上，在2001年他就因為第一次登上舞臺表演而獲得提名一個獎項。在《神探夏洛克》成為公認(rèn)的大熱之前，他就已經(jīng)為BBC扮演史蒂芬·霍金，并且參演過諸如《戰(zhàn)馬》、《諜影行動》以及《為奴十二載》這樣的大熱電影。

《神探夏洛克》于2010年首登電視屏幕，成功隨之而來。演員與角色完美結(jié)合?？挡推骜R上成為了不可抵抗的英雄化身—他對世界，特別是權(quán)威那不屑一顧的態(tài)度滿足了很多人的幻想，但最后他又總能證明自己是對的。

“The BBC liked the choice, too, but with one10)proviso,” recalls Sherlock’s co-creator Steven Moffat. “They said, ‘Is he sexy enough? You promised us a sexy Sherlock.’ Back then nobody thought of him as sexy—not even Benedict.” He laughs. “Who knew that he’d wind up being a sex symbol in China?”

He’s not kidding. When I was recently in Asia—where some Chinese people charmingly call Sherlock “Curly Fu”—people kept asking me, “Have you met Benedict Cumberbatch?” in the same awed tones with which they would’ve asked about Mick Jagger in the late sixties. He fnds such11)adulationenjoyable (“I’m tickled pink”) and occasionally12)daft. Some fans ask him to sign pictures of otters, an animal he’s said to resemble—“It’s a great disservice,”he says dryly, “to a wonderful woodland13)amphibiouscreature.” Others simply melt in his presence. “I have boyfriends coming up to say, ‘My girlfriend is obsessed with you,’ and I say, ‘I’m so sorry.’ ” He laughs in delighted14)commiseration.

It was his range and versatility that impressed Dominic Cooke, who first directed him in Rhinoceros seven years ago at the Royal Court and is now helming The Hollow Crown, a far grander production, complete with battle scenes that show off Cumberbatch’s abilities as a horseman.

“BBC電視臺也很喜歡這個選角，但帶有一個附加條件，”《神探夏洛克》的聯(lián)合制作人史蒂芬·莫法特回憶道，“他們說：‘他足夠性感嗎？你保證要給我們塑造一個性感的夏洛克。’在那時候沒人認(rèn)為他性感，就連本尼迪克特本人都不這樣認(rèn)為?！彼Φ?。“誰會想到他在中國會成為性感符號？”

他不是開玩笑。當(dāng)我最近去到亞洲，那里的一些中國人親昵地稱夏洛克為“卷福”，人們不斷問我：“你見過本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇嗎？”那種充滿敬畏的語氣就好像在上世紀(jì)六十年代末期問有關(guān)米克·賈格爾的事情一樣。他享受這樣的奉承（“我都要臉紅了”），有時候卻覺得太過瘋狂了。有一些“粉絲”讓他在水獺的照片上簽名，大家認(rèn)為他和水獺長得很像—“對那么可愛的森林兩棲動物而言，這是極大的侮辱，”他冷冷地說道。有些人只要他出現(xiàn)就心滿意足。“我的一些男孩朋友對我說：‘我的女友很迷你?！缓笪艺f，‘我感到很抱歉?！彼笮Γ瑧阎老驳耐?。

多米尼克·庫克對康伯巴奇的能力與才藝印象深刻，他七年前在皇家劇院第一次執(zhí)導(dǎo)康伯巴奇主演的《犀?！罚F(xiàn)在掌舵更為宏偉的作品《空王冠》，該劇的戰(zhàn)爭場景充分展示了康伯巴奇作為騎士的能力。

5) prototype [?pr??t?ta?p] n. 原型

6) belie [b??la?] v. 掩飾

7) star-struck 追星族

8) alchemically [?l?kem?k?l?] adv. 完美地

9) thumb one’s nose at 對…不屑一顧

10) proviso [pr??va?z??] n. 限制性條款，附加條件

11) adulation ['?dj??le???n] n. 奉承，阿諛

12) daft [dɑ?ft] adj. 愚蠢的，神經(jīng)的

13) amphibious [?m?f?b??s] adj. 兩棲的

14) commiseration [k?'m?z??re???n] n. 同情

“Benedict’s one of those actors who really can transform into something different,” Cooke tells me. “I went to see him in two roles, back to back. One was in Terence Rattigan’s play After the Dance, a very English role, uptight on the surface and filled with emotion underneath. Then I saw him15)buck nakedon the stage doing something like modern dance in Frankenstein. I don’t know any actor anywhere who could do both things as well as that. They aren’t just different characters. They are totally different kinds of acting performance.”

Still, it’s one measure of his good sense that he tries to keep his success in perspective. Rather like George Clooney, who also didn’t get big until his mid-30s, Cumberbatch took off when he was old enough to appreciate fame without being undone by it. He can be tickled by Oscar speculation but not16)enthralledby it. “I sometimes worry about the currency surrounding the furor—the Internet, the teens. I’m careful that it doesn’t obscure other things that I care about. When somebody says that I’m perfect for a role because it will get an audience, that immediately makes me cold on it.”

Indeed, when I ask whose careers he might like to emulate, he names actors who he feels have“gone the distance,” meaning they17)rose through the ranks, did decades of great work, and keep going strong—Michael Gambon, Ian McKellen, Bill Nighy…

“The adoration thing is amazing,” he tells me,“but it won’t carry on forever, and I want my work to carry on forever”—he stops, laughing at such18)grandiosity. “Or at least for the next 40 years.”

“本尼迪克特是那種真正能在各種不同角色中轉(zhuǎn)換的演員，”庫克告訴我，“我連續(xù)去看過他演的兩個角色。其中一個是泰倫斯·拉提根的戲劇《舞會之后》，他演繹一個非常地道的英國人角色，表面上沉靜規(guī)矩，內(nèi)里卻熱情洋溢。然后我看到他在舞臺上一絲不掛似地跳著類似《科學(xué)怪人》這樣的現(xiàn)代舞。我不知道哪個演員可以同時精彩地演繹出這樣兩種角色。他們不僅僅是不相同的角色，更是大相徑庭的表演方法?！?/p>

然而，他良好的判斷力讓他對于成功有正確的看法?？挡推婧蛦讨巍た唆斈岷芟嘞瘢际侵钡浇换笾瓴乓慌e成名天下知，他在成熟的年紀(jì)面對成功，而不至于在名利的漩渦中迷失。他對奧斯卡的提名心動，但又不至于沉迷?！拔矣行r候會擔(dān)憂這份狂熱背后的依托—網(wǎng)絡(luò)以及青少年。我會提醒自己不讓名利蒙蔽雙眼，凌駕我在乎的事情。當(dāng)有人說我很適合某個角色，因為這樣的角色有市場，我會立刻熱情消退?！笔聦嵣希?dāng)我問及哪些人的職業(yè)生涯他認(rèn)為可以效仿的時候，他說了一些他感覺“一直堅持到底”的演員的名字，意思是這些人一步一步往上爬，數(shù)十年都有上佳表現(xiàn)，并且一直表現(xiàn)強勁—邁克爾·剛本、伊恩·麥凱倫、比爾·奈伊……

“崇拜這件事很有意思，”他對我說，“但是不會永遠(yuǎn)持續(xù)，而我希望我的工作能夠永遠(yuǎn)持續(xù)，”—他打住了，然后因自己的宏圖大志笑起來，“或者至少能持續(xù)接下來的40年。”

15) buck naked 一絲不掛

16) enthrall [?n?θr??l] v. 迷惑，迷住

17) rise through the ranks 出身寒微

18) grandiosity ['gr?nd???s?t?] n. 堂皇，宏圖