NEW YORK — Like many people, British actor Benedict Cumberbatch knew very little about Alan Turing, the genius mathematician he portrays in "The Imagination Game," who helped to hasten the end of  World War Two by cracking Germany's wartime communications code.

 

Turing's top-secret work with cryptologists and math wizards at Britain's decryption center, Bletchley Park, saved countless lives by breaking Germany's Enigma machine code. But the computer pioneer received no credit, died a broken man, and was only pardoned for charges of homosexuality, a crime in 1952, 60 years after his death in 1954.

 

"I was shocked at how little I knew before reading the story," said Cumberbatch, 38, best known for leading roles in TV series "Sherlock" and "The Fifth Estate" film.

 

"It is such a heart-wrenching true story that needs to be heard. There is an urgency about presenting it to the world."

 

"The Imitation Game," is based on the book "Alan Turing: The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges, and opens in US theaters on Friday. — Reuters