7 actors who, in different ways, but each great, played the role of Sherlock Holmes

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The works of Arthur Conan Doyle, it seems, will never lose their popularity. And this means that directors will again and again turn their eyes to the work of a genius writer in the hope of filming another masterpiece about a talented detective. At the same time, it is even difficult to imagine how many film adaptations exist today. Our review presents the actors who are rightfully called the best performers of the role of a talented detective, whose name has become a household name.

Christopher Lee

The British actor had a chance to embody the image of a talented detective on the screen several times. In addition, in one of the films he appeared in the form of taking Holmes Mycroft. In one of the films, Christopher Lee played Sherlock Holmes when he himself was already 70 years old. Perhaps that is why Holmes, played by the actor, seems very wise.

Ian McKellen

The actor had to play the role of a detective, already retired and enthusiastically engaged in beekeeping. By the way, Ian McKellen took the role so seriously that he even graduated from special courses of beekeepers, where he studied the art of handling bees. The training was not in vain, and during the filming, not a single bee stung the actor. But Ian McKellen admits: this image was not easy for him and in the future he is unlikely to agree to play Sherlock Holmes again.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Undoubtedly, the actor played the role of Sherlock Holmes to the fullest. Yes, his hero, like the series itself, seems very far from the literary original, but after all, the English detective found himself in the 21st century and had to correspond to the new time.

Benedict Cumberbatch admitted in one of his interviews: it was not at all easy for him to play the eccentric Sherlock Holmes. One must constantly keep in mind that his character is ahead of everyone around him in terms of the speed of thinking and the strength of the intellect. And no one should understand where, in the end, Sherlock's speculations will lead.

Johnny Lee Miller

The series "Elementary", filmed by American filmmakers, is also completely different from the literary source. Despite the abundance of criticism, the series gained very high ratings, and Johnny Lee Miller, who played a detective who suffered from drug addiction in the past and then took the position of a police consultant, became very popular.

The actor himself is sure that the modern reading of Arthur Conan Doyle has a right to exist. John Lee Miller was quite pleased with his work on this project.

Jeremy Brett

Surprisingly, Jeremy Brett, who played Sherlock Holmes for ten years, always seemed unsympathetic to his character. However, this attitude was too biased, because the actor was simply afraid to remain forever in the image of a detective and not to play any other roles. In fact, he starred in more than 60 projects, but the role of a detective became the most striking and significant in his acting career.

Robert Downey Jr

The Hollywood actor was given a very difficult task: to play the role of Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's action films. There is, of course, a brilliant detective in them, but the plot is very far from the literary image created by Arthur Conan Doyle.

In the films, Richie Holmes is too fond of alcohol and drugs, and also extracts incredible gypsy melodies from his violin. But viewers and critics fully appreciated this image, and the actor himself was awarded the Golden Globe Award for his Sherlock Holmes.

Vasily Livanov

The Soviet viewer associates the image of a genius detective exclusively with Vasily Livanov. But the fact that he is one of the best performers of this role, they will agree in Great Britain, it is not for nothing that he became an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his work.

In fact, Vasily Livanov looks very much like the portrait of a detective, as Sydney Paget once painted him. The illustrator was a friend of the writer and during the preparation for the publication of Arthur Conan Doyle's book strictly followed the instructions of the author. And the writer personally approved the image of the protagonist.

Vasily Livanov does not hide: the image of a genius detective is very sympathetic and understandable to him, they have a certain similarity in character and, at least, both have a desire to help others.

Since 2007, a sculpture "Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson" has been standing near the British Embassy in Moscow, where you can recognize the heroes performed by Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin.

In the TV series by Andrey Kavun "Sherlock Holmes" Dr. Watson becomes the main character. However, the director does not hide: he did not intend to directly use any of Conan Doyle's stories, but compiled both those that had already been embodied on the screen, and those that filmmakers had not yet reached.