Cumberbatch on why ‘Imitation Game’ has no gay sex scenes
By Josh Haggis
Benedict Cumberbatch has explained why there are no sex scenes in The Imitation Game.
The forthcoming films stars Cumberbatch as World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, who played an integral role in defeating Nazi Germany in the Second World War after solving the Enigma Code.
Turing was later convicted of indecency when it emerged he was in a homosexual relationship, which was illegal in the UK in 1952. He was chemically castrated as an alternative to prison, before committing suicide in 1954.
Asked why the film does not show Turing behaving sexually, Cumberbatch told The Wrap: “The film is not an exploration of someone’s sex life. The fact that Turing’s chemically castrated [is] because he admits to being a homosexual; He talks about entreating a young man to touch his penis. I mean, it’s pretty explicit.”
“If you need to see that [sex scenes] to understand that he’s gay, then all is lost for any kind of subtle storytelling.”
The film’s director, Morten Tyldum, went on to reveal that he made a “conscious choice” not to include sex scenes in the film.
“First of all, it’s historically correct and second of all, him being gay is just one part of the character that we wanted to reveal,” he explained.
The Imitation Game will be released on November 14 in the UK and on November 21 in the US. Read our early review of the eagerly-anticipated film here.
Watch Cumberbatch discussing the film in the clip below:
[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHaTt83tcz4[/youtube]