It was 125 years ago that a young Scottish physician called Arthur Conan Doyle wrote some stories about a master detective, mainly to amuse himself between appointments at his surgery.
His creation, Sherlock Holmes, loosely based on his mentor, forensic surgeon Joseph Bell, first appeared in the 1887 Beeton’s Christmas Annual, in a story called A Study In Scarlet. The maverick detective has since appeared numerous times in films and on television, portrayed by a range of actors.
With Ian Mckellan the latest actor to take on the role, we thought we'd take a look at our favourite portrayals.
Nicholas Rowe
Nicholas Rowe was the star of the 1985 Steven Spielberg movie Young Sherlock Holmes. The film followed Sherlock’s early life and his first meeting with John Watson as the two were caught up in the first of many exciting mysteries. The film is noted for having, arguably, the first fully 3-D digital (or CGI), or computer generated, photorealistic animated character in a full-length feature film.
Robert Downey Jr
Over the course of two Guy Ritchie films, Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (2011), the casting of Robert Downey Jr has brought another dimension to the character. His Holmes is crass, flighty, infuriating, brilliant and incredibly likeable.
Peter Cushing
Although Peter Cushing first portrayed Holmes in the 1959 Hammer version of The Hound Of The Baskervilles, he is perhaps better remembered for the 16-episode, 1968 BBC series, Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. With his legendary cheekbones and sharp blue eyes, he was perfectly cast and brought his trademark class to the iconic role.
Basil Rathbone
Arguably the actor most commonly identified with Sherlock Holmes on film, Sir Basil Rathbone made 14 Sherlock Holmes movies between 1939 and 1946, creating the deerstalker and cape look in the process. Nigel Bruce played Watson in a blustering and bewildered style, which more recently has fallen by the wayside. Rathbone’s performance in the 1939 version of The Hound Of The Baskervilles was a cinematic benchmark for all the actors who followed.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Star of the current BBC series Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch is Holmes for the 21st century. Doctor Who supremo Steven Moffat and writer and actor Mark Gatiss created a series of stories loosely based on Conan Doyle’s work, but with a distinct modern day slant. Cumberbatch's Holmes is a brilliant updated take. Aloof, positively rude yet of course entirely correct at all times, Gatiss has assured that Mr Holmes will be stalking around for some time yet.
