I always think “Benneton Cumberbund,” but that’s neither here nor there.
He played The Angel Islington in the recent BBC4 radio production of Neverwhere. (BBC radio can be “heard” on the 'net without resorting to shenanigans–if you know when.)
When Steven Moffat & Sue Vertue saw him play the rapist in Atonement, they knew they’d found their Sherlock.
(Back–in pre 'net days–when Young Charles Dance caught many an eye in The Jewel In The Crown, the phrase appeared in print: “the thinking woman’s bit of crumpet.”)
I’m a dude. I don’t think he’s good-looking. Distinctive, yes, and he’s a charismatic guy, but I don’t think he’s attractive, as such.
Straight guy who lives with women who are in love with them both here and tries to see things through their eyes because while even I can figure out without prompting that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are remarkably handsome but with the other two I just didn’t get it: Yes, watch them move and listen to them talk. Cumberbatch’s face seems unfinished and Tennant often looks gawky. In motion they transform. The British theatre scene seems to be creating dancers who can act these days.
But Cumberbatch’s voice by a mile.
Probably the best four word description of him.
For all you Cumberbatch fans: Deleted (very short) scene from the new Star Trek showing him taking a shower.
All of this, in fact. Exactly.
It’s not even just in the characters they play, though I think a lot of my own personal tiny Tennant-crush comes from watching him play the Doctor. I want to hug Tennant’s Doctor and hold his hand and run through horrible danger and laugh about it afterward, and I want to run along behind when Sherlock is solving a case, possibly trading snarky comments with John, but I don’t really want to bang either of those characters. (Maybe John, though.) But the actors are passionate. Their faces are remarkably expressive, and their performances are exuberantly full. Both of them disappear into their characters to the point that the contrast between in and out of character is immediately visible.
There’s at least one picture online where Cumberbatch’s face is split down the middle. Half is him most of the time, the other half is him as Sherlock. Everything changes. The way he holds his cheeks, his mouth, his nose, even his eyes. And yet all of it seems natural and none of it seems like a put-on. He’s so known for his Sherlock, and yet I’ve watched Parade’s End and To The Ends of the Earth and all three are immensely distinctive… and if you’ve never listened to Cabin Pressure, you’re in for a real treat – he plays, effectively, the anti-Sherlock, a stuttering officious twerp who nevertheless captures your heart. Well, my heart.
Tennant, Cumberbatch, and Christopher Eccleston have a similar thing going on. I remember when I got into Doctor Who I was going to skip Nine because I looked at Eccleston and thought ‘Urgh. Weird looking dude. Mean-looking; why would I watch him?’ One episode changed my opinion entirely. He is odd-looking, sure. Big ears, bulky features. But his face comes alive when it’s in motion, and when he grins, the expression almost comes off his face and stretches across the horizon. Again, he’s passionate about his performances. Just like Cumberbatch and Tennant.
And passion in one area might be a signifier of passion in others… 
Paired up with Tom Hiddleston, who could also play either Aziraphale or Crowley.
Maybe they could do it on the West End and swap roles back and forth. 
Different strokes, I guess. Me, I don’t find Brad Pitt at all attractive. He seems to always need a shower and he’s got this weird thing going with his lips that always makes him look like one of those baby dolls with a hole in its mouth for stuffing a bottle in. George Clooney, I agree with you about.
I agree that David Tennant becomes even more compelling when he’s in motion and you can hear him talk. And Cumberbatch has this kind of reptilian or catlike grace that makes him interesting to watch as well. But IMO I’ve rarely seen a bad still of Tennant, while Cumberbatch often looks like he’s smelling something unpleasant in still photos.
I thought he was Dennis Quaid the first time I saw him. Like Dennis Quaid with too much plastic surgery or something. I am still 99% certain he must be Quaid’s love child. Is it just me?
I can see his inner Quaid. Some years back on another board I suggested that he would grow old to look like John Woods (LadyHawke, Chocolat) http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/climate/whoswho/images/merlin.jpg
There’s a picture of Baby Benedict & his parents (actors Wanda Ventham & Timothy Carlton) on this page. (Plus a not-very original article.) “Cumberbatch” is the family name; his father dropped it for the stage…