By Lucas Camacho
This may or may not come as a surprise to many, but the most portrayed literary human character in radio, film, stage, and television is Sherlock Holmes: the famed consultant detective from 221B Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes began dominating the imagination or readers in 1887 when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the first Holmes story titled A Study in Scarlet. While there have been many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes that span over a century, CBS will be adapting the Doyle stories again, but with an interesting twist.
The series Watson will be centered on Holmes’ companion, Dr. John Watson, but the character of Holmes himself will not play a part. According to the premise, the events of Watson takes place one year after Holmes’ death at the hands of Holmes’ most famous archenemy, Moriarty. It is certainly a unique approach as there hasn’t been too many adaptations that focus on Watson (for me it certainly has that Garfield Minus Garfield feel to it). It is also CBS’ second adaptation of the Doyle stories with the first being Elementary. While Holmes is not expected to feature very much in Watson, it’s worth taking a look at the numerous adaptations of the famed detective over the years.
SHERLOCK HOLMES
As mentioned before, Sherlock Holmes has been adapted more times than any other literary character. Holmes is typically portrayed as logical and somewhat cold, but he is also quite eccentric in terms of cleanliness (or lack thereof) and his interactions with others. Some more recent adaptations of Holmes has him very animated in regards to a case or one of his experiments. Another thing about Holmes is how reluctant he is to being in the spotlight. He’s never cared for how Watson portrays him (since many of the original Doyle stories are told from Watson’s perspective), and that has carried over to some of the more recent adaptations.
Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed by a long list of actors over the years in radio, stage, television, and film: Orson Welles, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Roger Rees, Leonard Nimoy, Frank Langella, Charlton Heston, Christopher Lloyd, John Cleese, Roger Moore, Christopher Plummer, Peter O’Toole, Ian Richardson, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and many more (whew, what a list). Steven Spielberg even produced the film Young Sherlock Holmes in 1985 depicting the legendary detective as a teenager. Among the most notable to play the consultant detective is the great Basil Rathbone, who portrayed Sherlock in film from 1939 to 1946.
The most notable recent actors to play Sherlock are Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jonny Lee Miller. Downey came in two Sherlock movies while Cumberbatch was in the most recent BBC series Sherlock. Jonny Lee Miller played Sherlock in the previously mentioned CBS series Elementary. Miller did a fine job by being true to Holmes’ more cold and distant tendencies. Downey portrayed Holmes’ more eccentric qualities (and more physical as well) while Cumberbatch had elements of both Miller and Downey’s performances while also being more animated.
Holmes’ faithful companion, intrepid chronicler, and best friend (though some may argue it’s not a contest): Dr. John Watson is the other occupant of 221B Baker Street. Watson serves as the perfect foil for Holmes in the stories (whereas Holmes is brilliant and emotionally detached, Watson is a typical Victorian/ Edwardian gentleman). Watson is more observant and intelligent about his fellow man than Holmes is, and he is considered an excellent doctor and surgeon.
Like Holmes, there have been quite a few actors to portray Watson over the years, including Ben Kingsley. One of the most notable is Nigel Bruce, who portrayed Watson opposite Basil Rathbone from 1939-1946 (he also portrayed him in several radio plays). Three people who have most recently portrayed Watson include Jude Law, Martin Freeman, and Lucy Liu. Jude Law starred opposite Robert Downey Jr. for both of the recent Sherlock movies while Martin Freeman starred in Sherlock alongside Benedict Cumberbatch. Both Freeman and Law both gave a portrayal of Watson that didn’t just blindly follow Holmes and sometimes even had difficulties in tolerating Holmes’ eccentric nature. Lucy Liu portrayed Watson in CBS’ last Holmes series Elementary. The decision to make Watson a female was very unique and didn’t change the dynamic between Holmes and Watson at all (with Liu also sometimes pushing back on Holmes whenever he went too far).
The latest actor to take up the mantle of Dr. Watson will be Morris Chestnut. Morris first came to prominence in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood portraying Ricky. He’s also come in movies like G.I. Jane, Like Mike, and The Game Plan. He also came in Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, which earned him an NAACP Image Award.
PROFESSOR JAMES MORIARTY
I am reminded of a part in the TV series Once Upon A Time, when they describe “the Savior” always having a villain that brings them down. That is what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had in mind when he wanted to create a character capable of matching Holmes. Doyle was getting tired of writing Holmes’ stories, so he set about finding a way to kill off the famed detective at the hands of someone that Doyle realized had to be Holmes’ intellectual equal. Enter the dreaded Professor James Moriarty, who debuted in 1893 in “The Final Problem”. Since his appearance, he has often been brought back in later adaptations of Doyle’s work as the main antagonist and Holmes’ archnemesis. Moriarty is depicted as being on the same level of brilliance as Sherlock and for being a dangerous criminal mastermind. In the original story, Holmes admits that Moriarty is the most formidable criminal he ever encountered in his career, even nicknaming him “the Napoleon of Crime” (I personally would call him the Darth Vader of literature).
Since most adaptations treat Moriarty as Holmes’ greatest enemy, he has been portrayed by many different actors over the years including Anthony Higgins and Richard Roxburgh. Among the most recent in film was Jared Harris, who starred alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Harris portrayed Moriarty almost as in the original story, being a criminal mastermind who rivals Holmes in every way. In television, the BBC series Sherlock had actor Andrew Scott play the role of Jim Moriarty. This version of the character could be described as a “Joker” variant of Moriarty, as Scott played the character with a psychotic side while still portraying him as a criminal mastermind. In CBS’ last Holmes series Elementary, Moriarty was also portrayed as a woman like Watson, and the role was played by Natalie Dormer. The relationship between Holmes and Moriarty in Elementary can best be described as a Batman/Catwoman relationship as both Holmes and Moriarty develop feelings for one another while also acknowledging each other’s intellectual abilities. Like other adaptations, Dormer portrays Moriarty as a criminal mastermind that controls a vast syndicate with interests around the world.
Moriarty plays a role of some kind in the upcoming series Watson, as the premise states that the series takes place one year after Holmes dies at the hands of Moriarty. As of this writing, no one has been officially cast to play Moriarty in the show, but the premise seems to tease that Moriarty will appear at some point during the series.
