By Jila Hamrang
Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to play Johnny Depp’s brother in the upcoming Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass. However, it seems odd to think of Cumberbatch as Depp’s onscreen brother, because quite frankly, they look nothing alike. As this post from RadioTimes points out, by including this as one of their most comparable looks:
Again, this goes back to the concept of typecasting, which I discussed in my previous post. In today’s age, there are multiple ways of changing an actor’s appearance, so if the casting directors chose Cumberbatch because of his caliber of acting, does it really matter if he looks nothing like Depp whatsoever? Also, do our developed skills with media and make-up make the idea of typecasting based on looks somewhat irrelevant? Granted, there are things one simply cannot change (or it would be too expensive to edit), like height, and some aspects of body type (i.e. having broad shoulders), but with our developments, can actors now be chosen based on you know, their ability to act?
Not to mention, before the Internet decides to comment on Depp and Cumberbatch’s lack of similar apperance, it might want to check out how Depp is going to look for the movie:
Depp does not even look like Depp when he is in character as Bulger, so who knows what they will do to Cumberbatch’s famous face (which was recently revealed by Moffat to be almost not sexy enough to play Sherlock..”.how dare he!” say Cumberbitches). Rest assured Internet: if they can make Johnny Depp into the creepy guy you do not make eye contact with at the bar, the least they can do is make Cumberbatch look like his brother.
However, in the likely event your brain is still searching for candidates more similar in appearance to Cumberbatch than Depp, let me put it at ease:
1. Ian Harding, who currently plays a scandalous English teacher on Pretty Little Liars.
2. Colin Morgan, former Merlin-star who is currently playing Ariel from The Tempest at Shakespeare’s Globe. He also, like Cumberbatch, suffers from high cheekbones syndrome.
You’re welcome, Cumberbitches.