But as the months have passed and I've seen more of the Sherlock star - he's bloody everywhere these days - I've come to realise my original assessment was correct. He is, I believe, an arse.
Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock Holmes
What's more, I think other people are coming to see it as well. In fact, I think Cumberbatch is on the brink of a backlash.
At Monday's Golden Globes ceremony, the ever-so-clever Cumberbatch jumped up to photobomb a picture of Meryl Streep and Margaret Cho (dressed as a North Korean general in one of the night's many dud jokes).
Ho ho, how terribly witty. Except, he did the same thing last year behind U2 at the Oscars, which was already old after Jennifer Lawrence first pulled the stunt behind T-Swift at last year's Globes.
We get it, you're hilarious. Can we try a new joke now?
In fact, that may be my ultimate issue with Cumberbatch - he's fast becoming a one-trick pony.
Admittedly, he's very good at the trick; playing the intense genius with no social skills. But it doesn't make him the acting prodigy Hollywood's trying to peddle. And it certainly doesn't make him likeable.
* Joanna Hunkin is the Herald's head of entertainment
Lydia Jenkin says
It isn't really Mr Cumberbatch's fault that "he's everywhere" at the moment. A key reason that everyone's a bit obsessed with him at present is because he seems so nonchalant about all the fuss.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing British mathematician in the film The Imitation Game
He somehow manages to convey an air of being thankful for the accolades and attention (and of course the work), while also being bemused that anyone might think of him as a Hollywood star or why he seems to have gaggles of women going gaga the world over. He's slightly embarrassed by it all, and yet warm and welcoming of his fans - if you saw the episode of The Graham Norton Show where he leapt out of his chair and strode into the audience to hug the young lady who'd come from Hong Kong to see him, you'll know what I mean.
What a guy. I wouldn't count myself a Cumberbitch (the title his fans have given themselves, despite Benedict's reservations), but I definitely get his appeal.
You'll never catch him gushing or being insincere, and he clearly enjoys sending up the hoopla that surrounds awards season - a little Cumberbombing levity is always refreshing.
He's a good sport during chat shows and media appearances, doing rapid-fire celebrity impressions (google it), or endearingly laughing at his own inability to pronounce "penguins" correctly (google it).
And of course, he's a first-rate actor, just as transfixing when he's playing Julian Assange (The Fifth Estate) as he is when playing Stephen Hawking (he played him in a TV miniseries back in 2004), or Alan Turing (The Imitation Game) or Khan (Star Trek). Yes, they're all on the "genius with limited social skills" spectrum, but no one else has made Sherlock such a magnetic figure, or could've made Smaug so menacing, yet vulnerable. And you can bet when he takes on the voice of Shere Khan in the Andy Serkis reboot of Jungle Book it'll be a masterclass in how to play a conflicted tiger.
We always applaud stars when they're on their way up, and then take turns knocking them down once they've had some success, but I think we could give BC his due as an actor who continues to be enthusiastic about quality film-making, and handles the media with aplomb.
*Lydia Jenkin is an entertainment feature writer for the Herald
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- TimeOut
