Benedict Cumberbatch to Play American Folk Singer Pete Seeger In Upcoming Bob Dylan Biopic

Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the most quintessentially British actors working today: Cerebral, known primarily for his starring roles in high-end prestige dramas and memorable turns as real-life figures such Stephen Hawking and Alan Turing. (Heck, even his turn as a Marvel superhero has him playing the guy who's a magical brain surgeon for goodness' sake!) And, of course, there's his distinctly Britsh, aristocratic name, which spawned a small cottage industry of internet jokes and memes when he first rose to international prominence as the star of Sherlock.

But after his Oscar-nominated turn as a repressed cowboy in Jane Campion's should-have-been-Best-Picture winner The Power of the Dog, Cumberbatch seems to be stretching into new territory, from playing a disturbed puppeteer in upcoming Netflix series Eric, a man who can practically live forever in How to Stop Time, and a young father who may well be losing his grip on reality in The Thing with Feathers. But the strangest role that's popped up on the actor's to-do list has to be....American folk icon Pete Seeger?

Yes, apparently Cumberbatch has joined the cast of the upcoming A Complete Unknown, which is set to chronicle the early life of Bob Dylan. Current "It Guy" Timothee Chalamet is playing Dylan and director James Mangold apparently confirmed the British actor's involvement in a recent interview with Deadline. And it's an....intriguing choice to say the least. (No word if Cumberbatch will be singing in the film at any point, but given that Chalamet is...well, the odds aren't exactly zero, are they.) And what on earth will the accent be like?