Selected career chronology
Credits Index
Major screen, stage, music, sport or broadcast work. This is a selected public-career index, not a complete employment history.
| Year | Title | Medium | Role | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | To Kill a King | film | Royalist | IMDb |
| 2004 | Hawking | film | Stephen Hawking | IMDb |
| 2005 | To the Ends of the Earth | series | Edmund Talbot | IMDb |
| 2005 | Hedda Gabler | stage | George Tesman | — |
| 2006 | Starter for 10 | film | Patrick Watts | IMDb |
| 2006 | Amazing Grace | film | William Pitt | IMDb |
| 2007 | Atonement | film | Paul Marshall | IMDb |
| 2007 | Stuart: A Life Backwards | film | Alexander Masters | IMDb |
| 2008 | The Other Boleyn Girl | film | William Carey | IMDb |
| 2008 | The Last Enemy | series | Stephen Ezard | IMDb |
| 2009 | Creation | film | Joseph Hooker | IMDb |
| 2009 | Small Island | series | Bernard | IMDb |
| 2010 | Four Lions | film | Negotiator | IMDb |
| 2010 | Third Star | film | James | IMDb |
| 2010 | Sherlock | series | Sherlock Holmes | IMDb |
| 2010 | The Whistleblower | film | Nick Kaufman | IMDb |
| 2010 | After the Dance | stage | David Scott-Fowler | — |
| 2011 | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | film | Peter Guillam | IMDb |
| 2011 | Wreckers | film | David | IMDb |
| 2011 | War Horse | film | Major Jamie Stewart | IMDb |
| 2011 | Frankenstein | stage | Victor Frankenstein / Creature | — |
| 2012 | Parade’s End | series | Christopher Tietjens | IMDb |
| 2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | film | Necromancer (voice) | IMDb |
| 2013 | Star Trek Into Darkness | film | Khan | IMDb |
| 2013 | The Fifth Estate | film | Julian Assange | IMDb |
| 2013 | 12 Years a Slave | film | Ford | IMDb |
| 2013 | August: Osage County | film | Little Charles Aiken | IMDb |
| 2013 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | film | Smaug / Necromancer (voice) | IMDb |
| 2013 | Little Favour | short film | Wallace | IMDb |
| 2013 | Little Favour | short film | Producer / executive producer | IMDb |
| 2014 | The Imitation Game | film | Alan Turing | IMDb |
| 2014 | Penguins of Madagascar | film | Agent Classified (voice) | IMDb |
| 2014 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | film | Smaug / Necromancer (voice) | IMDb |
| 2015 | Black Mass | film | Billy Bulger | IMDb |
| 2015 | Hamlet | stage | Hamlet | — |
| 2016 | Doctor Strange | film | Stephen Strange | IMDb |
| 2016 | The Hollow Crown: Richard III | episode | Richard III | IMDb |
| 2016 | Saturday Night Live: Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange | television | Self - Host | IMDb |
| 2017 | The Child in Time | film | Stephen Lewis | IMDb |
| 2017 | The Current War | film | Thomas Alva Edison | IMDb |
| 2017 | Thor: Ragnarok | film | Doctor Strange | IMDb |
| 2017 | The Child in Time | film | Executive producer | IMDb |
| 2018 | Patrick Melrose | series | Patrick Melrose | IMDb |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | film | Doctor Strange | IMDb |
| 2018 | The Grinch | film | The Grinch (voice) | IMDb |
| 2018 | Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle | film | Shere Khan (voice) | IMDb |
| 2018 | The Order of Time | audio | Narrator | — |
| 2019 | Brexit: The Uncivil War | film | Dominic Cummings | IMDb |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | film | Doctor Strange | IMDb |
| 2019 | 1917 | film | Colonel MacKenzie | IMDb |
| 2020 | The Courier | film | Greville Wynne | IMDb |
| 2020 | The Courier | film | Executive producer | IMDb |
| 2021 | The Mauritanian | film | Stuart Couch | IMDb |
| 2021 | The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | film | Louis Wain | IMDb |
| 2021 | The Power of the Dog | film | Phil Burbank | IMDb |
| 2021 | Spider-Man: No Way Home | film | Doctor Strange | IMDb |
| 2021 | The Simpsons: Panic on the Streets of Springfield | episode | Quilloughby (voice) | IMDb |
| 2021 | Double Blind | audio | Narrator | — |
| 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | film | Stephen Strange | IMDb |
| 2022 | Super/Natural | series | Narrator | IMDb |
| 2022 | Rumpole: A BBC Radio Collection | audio | Young Horace Rumpole — collected recordings | — |
| 2022 | Saturday Night Live: Benedict Cumberbatch/Arcade Fire | television | Self - Host | IMDb |
| 2023 | Arctic: Our Frozen Planet | film | Narrator | IMDb |
| 2023 | The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar | film | Henry Sugar / Make Up Artist | IMDb |
| 2023 | The Book of Clarence | film | Benjamin | IMDb |
| 2023 | The End We Start From | film | AB | IMDb |
| 2023 | The End We Start From | film | Executive producer | IMDb |
| 2024 | Eric | series | Vincent / Eric | IMDb |
| 2024 | We Live in Time | film | Executive producer | IMDb |
| 2025 | The Phoenician Scheme | film | Uncle Nubar | IMDb |
| 2025 | The Roses | film | Theo Rose | IMDb |
| 2025 | The Thing with Feathers | film | Dad | IMDb |
| 2025 | The Roses | film | Executive producer | IMDb |
| 2026 | How to Live on Earth | film | Presenter | IMDb |
| 2027 | Blood on Snow (upcoming) | film | Actor | IMDb |
| 2027 | Wife and Dog (upcoming) | film | Actor | IMDb |