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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/38166
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

This is one of those instances where Show Don't Tell comes into play quite strongly.

Not everyone likes Benedict Cumberbatch, and there are readers out there who won't recognize who he is straight away — and while you've got the benefit of having this story already in your imagination, the readers don't. And looks like Cumberbatch in what, exactly? Real life? _Sherlock? Dr Strange? Enigma? The Hobbit?_

It's also extremely lazy writing.

Instead of telling us that your character looks like x, describe the features.

"He had that kind of messy, unkempt look, like Benedict Cumberbatch in _Sherlock._"

Please note, though, that this only works if the story is taking place in a specific place at a specific time. Describing a character that is supposedly living in the middle ages as "looks like Benedict Cumberbatch" is incredibly jarring, anachronistic and throws the reader right out of the story.

Either way, unless it's a defining and plot relevant detail (e.g., the six-fingered man) then descriptions are best left as general — tall, thin, dark hair etc. This allows the reader to build their own imagination into the characters and become slightly more immersed in the story itself..

Original score: 7