Cumberbatch plays with such subtlety because he is bright. He can do complex, because he understands it. Says Richard Eyre, who directed him in Hedda, “Benedict is witty, mercurial… thoughtful and expert. He’s very intelligent but he doesn’t let it show by commenting on the character he is playing.” He has a rare ability to remain present in the moment of the scene he is playing and not act as if he is anticipating events that are yet to come. Susanna White, who directed him as Christopher Tietjens in the 2012 BBC adaptation of Ford Madox Ford’s novel sequence Parade’s End, explains that he, “loves trying different ways of doing a scene. Some actors come with fully set ideas of how they want to play a scene. He’s not like that. He often just works in the moment.”