He spent the first part of his filmmaking career on short subjects; his first feature, 2003's Buddy, earned critical raves, but not a widespread audience. His next feature, Fallen Angels (2008), was equally well-received, but it was his humorous thriller Headhunters that got him international attention. The movie was one of Norway's top-grossing films, and the next step for Tyldum was The Imitation Game, a biopic of code-breaker Alan Turing (played in the film by Benedict Cumberbatch). Tilde's big-time debut earned Oscar nominations for best director, best picture, best actor (Cumberbatch) and best supporting actress (Keira Knightley).