World enews: ‘This ain’t Ali G?’: Social media reacts to Benedict Cumberbatch’s W Magazine cover picture

Benedict Cumberbatch is one of 10 Hollywood stars included in W Magazine’s Best Performances 2022 issue, but his appearance on the magazine’s cover has been dubbed his “most challenging role” yet by fans on social media.

The Dr Strange star was photographed for his cover wearing a bright yellow patterned shirt by Hermes, a matching yellow bucket hat, and light brown-tinted Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Cumberbatch also sports facial hair in the photograph and holds daisies in one hand while leaning on his other fist.

The issue contains a series of interviews with “the year’s most talked-about stars”, which also include Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Denzel Washington, Jennifer Hudson, Tilda Swinton, Kristen Stewart, Gemma Chan, Jessica Chastain, and Cate Blanchett.

Cumberbatch was nominated for Best Actor in this year’s Golden Globes Awards for his role in The Power of the Dog, which won Best Motion Picture, Drama.

However, his cover picture drew attention on social media not for his acting accolades, but because he appeared to be styled after Ali G, a fictional character created by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

The cover photographs were shared by Twitter account, Film Updates, and were quickly retweeted by hundreds of people who added their own comments.

One person wrote: “Benedict Cumberbatch As Ali G covers W Magazine’s Best Performance issue”.

Another referred to Cumberbatch’s upcoming film Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and said: “This is Ali G in the multiverse of madness innit.”

A third said simple: “It’s giving Ali G vibes.”

Others thought his ensemble resembled the outfits worn by musicians such as Tyler The Creator or Sufjan Stevens if the latter “made street art instead of music”.

While some were confused about “what the hell is going on” in the image, other fans complimented Cumberbatch’s look, with one person writing: “He has no business to be this cute.”

In the interview, the Sherlock actor said he never envisioned becoming a leading man when he was a younger actor.

Explaining that he was glad not to have been a child actor, Cumberbatch said: “I sometimes in my twenties thought, ‘Damn, I wish I could have started earlier’, because I was never going to be playing a leading man.

“I look the way I look. Maybe I’m growing into my looks now. I went from playing women to men in an all-boys boarding school within the space of a year.”