Who is the best Sherlock Holmes actor?
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M$7 Answers
Having never been exposed to stage actors playing the great detective (although I wish I could have seen William Gillette, from what I've read), my choice from so many renowned performances is for Rupert Everett's one-off BBC television movie portrayal in 2004's Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking.
While many accoladed actors have played Sherlock Holmes over the past century, I found Everett's portrayal of the indolent, tortured genius in this British telemovie an intriguing one.
Everett actually replaced another well-regarded stage actor, Richard Roxburgh, after he announced scheduling conflicts with the role. Roxburgh portrayed the detective for BBC television audiences two years earlier in The Hound of the Baskervilles.
And while I do enjoy almost anything Robert Downey Jr does, these two thespians have his 2009 version beat when it comes to solving a great crime.
Nevertheles, Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be proud of the level of screen talent prepared to play his most famous creation.
Hammer Horror favourites Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing all played the great detective in various projects: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), and 1968's Sherlock Holmes television series, respectively.
Tom Baker (better known as a "Dr Who") played him in television series "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in 1982, Peter O'Toole played him in four 1983 animated films, and in 1991 screen legend Charlton Heston tried his hand in television's "The Crucifer of Blood".
Personal experience, http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0026631/ and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429032/trivia
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M$I bounced between many actors. I have watched all The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett, but I have also loved watching the old black and white movies on Sunday Cinema with Basil Rathbone.
I grew up in a family that respected and loved Mr. Doyle's stories so much, that I thought he was real until I was 7 or so. That was a bigger let down than the tooth fairy!
With that being said... there is no way I can name just one as the best, so I'll give you a short list.
1. Basil Rathbone
2. Jeremy Brett
3. Nicol Williamson (only because of the great movie The Seven Per-cent Solution
This is a must see movie for any fan! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075194/
4. Gene Wilder He is the only one to ever play his younger and smarter brother.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlM0YqKdKgc
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M$He was actually an incredibly creative, dedicated and loyal man. His wife died of a ruptured appendix when she was quite young where upon her death bed he promised never to remarry; and kept his promise.
He built a remarkable castle for a retirement home using many set design effects to make the stone structure cozy and inviting. He invented, or perhaps more accurately stated, redesigned many architectural elements to be unique and efficient, which he then incorporated into the castle.
Aside from Sherlock Holmes, he contributed greatly to theater on and off stage. He gave Helen Hayes some of the best advice at the start of her career that she says she ever received. Quite a character and distinguished gentleman all around.
Primary Source:
Touring (multiple times) Gillette Castle in CT, which William Gillette built with 1/3 of the $3,00,000 he made during his theatrical career.
This site gives basic statistics for Gillette.
http://www.nndb.com/people/736/000090466/
This site has some great pics and memorabilia of Gillette as Holmes including the letter to him from Doyle.
http://sheryl.org/sh-gillette.html
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M$
I must admit @entelia, that there have been at least 70 actors that have portrayed him in hundreds of films... but William Gillette was the pioneer. He shaped it for everyone else.
What about Jeremy Brett?
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/jeremy-brett-the-best-sherlock-holmes/52055d7812425581977052055d78124255819770-159783649787?q=jeremy%20brett%20sherlock%20holmes&FROM=LKVR5>1=LKVR5&FORM=LKVR1
What few people don't realize is that while Doyle was sick of the Sherlock Holmes series and basically had moved on, he decided he wanted to build a new home and needed the funds to do so. Since the series was widely popular, he decided to write a screen play to generate the money needed. The script wasn't very good, but Gillette was intrigued. Hence his writing to Doyle asking permission to "marry" the character, to wit Doyle replied "You may marry him, or murder, or do what you like with him." Gillette then proceeded to basically rewrite the entire play and flesh out the entire character. It is Gillette's edited play and character that is the foundation of every Holmes since then. Note: Gillette was not the first to play Holmes, as Doyle's play was performed in England a few times before Gillette got inolved. But his character is the one we know today.
I would definitely have to say Jeremy Brett really brings Holmes to life. He's odd and eccentric, able to be completely bipolar in relation to his cases (or lack thereof), and though it's clear he doesn't have a grasp on his social skills, he's still a believable human being. I would say he wins hands-down.
Honorable mentions would go to Robert Downey Jr, who really seemed to be an odd choice for the films from the get-go, but really makes a lot of sense - if Holmes has experience in boxing, shouldn't he be a little more muscular? If he has connections on the streets and is familiar with the lower-class lifestyle, shouldn't he be a little rougher by nature? Holmes has always had an egocentric side that comes through sometimes, but RDJ really blows it out of proportion in a way that seems very much believable. I also just absolutely loved his chemistry with Jude Law on-set, I think their "bromance" makes total sense if they lived together for so long. (Of course, I'm also a firm believer that Holmes and Watson were in a relationship together, so... that may be it, too.)
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M$
pot... don't know whether it's interesting that him and watson had a relationship, but it doesn't bother me...if they did...it seems an unlikely combination however, because they are too disciplined...and also there is an episode where Sherlok has sex in the woods with a woman.
potterarchy...Holmes and Watson didn't live together...to me they seem like best friends...elaborate on the "relationship"...
Yes, they did live together. There were several rooms in 221B Baker Street - one of them was Holmes', one of them was Watson's, and one of them was Mrs. Hudon's. There was a period where Watson left Baker Street to live closer to his practice, and/or to live with his wife (Mary, who later died), but for a great period of time they did live together.
It's been widely speculated as to whether Holmes and Watson were ever involved. "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" in 1970 alludes to their relationship in a joking way, and is completely exploited in this clip from another production. I think a lot of it is people's dirty minds running away from them just because they're two men and happen to live together, but there seems to be a lot of subtext and genuine love between the two.
"It was worth a wound; it was worth many wounds; to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation." (Watson discussing Holmes' reaction to his wound in "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs")
Er, I don't remember that. But Holmes did get engaged with a woman in "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton," if only to get more information for his case. I vaguely recall a kissing scene with Jeremy Brett for that episode (or perhaps it was another one), but no gratuitous sex scenes...
pot...I am really sure it's A Scandal in Bohemia where they have fun in the woods.
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M$
"innocently absurdly clever" ... nice descrpition
@orlantha... I don't like people who comment rudely, then leave a spammy link!
(don't worry @msmuffintop - I reported it, and it should be gone shortly)
Bunnyphuphu...what was orlantha's answer?
My pick is the Kamal Hassan, the Indian star
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M$
Really! I know there was a Russian TV series, but I didn't think there was an Indian Sherlock Holmes. Very cool.
Brett:
Rathbone and Bruce
In literary circles (or at least, in conversations on the subject of literary detectives in the English Dept. where I got my masters) it is generally accepted that Jeremy Brett (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/) on the Granada Television series was the closest to the original sleuth. And the characterizations of Watson, by both Edward Hardwick and earlier, David Burke, were much closer to the actual friend and partner.
The writers of the Brett series managed a good balance in representing Holmes' brilliant but at times flawed character. Rathbone was too "good" a Holmes. And if you think about it, his Holmes was a character in a popular series of movies largely produced during the WWII years (produced from 1939 - 1946), when his role as a champion of good and enemy of the nebulous evil of Moriarty were calculated to boost spirits of a war-weary audience, not intended to most carefully represent Doyle's characters.
Modern iterations in film are probably more popular among younger viewers who haven't read any of the stories or haven't seen the variety of representations in film. But for my money, it's Jeremy Brett.
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M$
Hard to imagine Arthur Conan Doyle being alive still in the early days of film making, isn't it?
Hollywood got the characterization of Holmes directly from William Gillette, who made the 1st Holmes silent movie. With Doyle's blessing, Gillette made many embellishments to the original character and they have stood the test of time.
Hi Entelia,
My pick for best Sherlock Holmes actor is for Rupert Everett's one-off BBC television movie portrayal in 2004's Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking. I thought the others also deserved a mention.
Naomi, but if you had choose one, who would that be?