Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes? Yes. As Doctor Strange? Sure. The Grinch? Why not? But Severus Snape... Say what, now?
It is true, though, that Benedict once portrayed Severus Snape. He's got nothing on the late Alan Rickman, of course, whose interpretation of the 'Harry Potter' staple throughout all the films was spot-on.
To be fair, Cumberbatch does have excellent range. He's done everything from drama to comedy on film and on stage to soundtracks (well, if Jimmy Fallon counts) to producing work. Not to mention, he's been cast in the upcoming 'Spider-Man 3,' which will no doubt be fantastic.
And in a unique twist, between playing Necromancer in 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' and Ford in '12 Years a Slave' (among a few other projects), Benedict Cumberbatch voiced Severus Snape on 'The Simpsons.'
IMDb lists Benedict as acting as Severus Snape/Prime Minister on a 2013 'Simpsons' episode titled "Love Is a Many Splintered Thing." The episode centered on Bart's failed relationship with Mary Spuckler, who returns to town, and Homer messing up with Marge, too.
Cumberbatch's roles were part of an in-episode TV show in a spoof of 'Love Actually,' in that classic show-within-a-show thing the cartoon does. What's cool about the episode is that Alan Rickman was in 'Love Actually,' so the Simpsons reference was a dual reference to Rickman himself.
Of course, the question fans want to be answered is how, exactly, did Benedict Cumberbatch wind up guest-starring on 'The Simpsons'?
As The Digital Fix explained, the actor just happened to be attending a meeting at the same spot where the cast of 'The Simpsons' records their parts. When he realized what was going down -- and that there was an uncast role -- Benedict "muscled' his way in.
He's quoted as having asked, "I hate to muscle in here guys but could I record it?" Clearly, the show's producers said yes (it likely helped that Benedict's British accent matched Alan's) and the rest is history.
Cumberbatch elaborated that 'next thing,' he was in a room with all the folks who voice the famous voices; Bart (Nancy Cartwright), Marge (Julie Kavner), Homer (Dan Castellaneta), and Lisa (Yeardley Smith).
What's interesting is that other celebs like Quentin Tarantino have passed on opportunities to voice characters on 'The Simpsons.' Benedict, on the other hand, tracked down the opportunity to voice not just Snape, but a secondary cameo character, and he was super enthused about the opportunity.
But as fans already know, Benedict is a different kind of celebrity than most, and it almost seems like he's never turned down a chance to get creative in one way or another.