When you think of Sherlock Holmes there may be a certain image that comes to your mind if you’ve only read the books but if you’ve watched any of the television or movie portrayals of him then a certain actor may come to mind.

For me, there are two actors – Jeremy Brett and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Others may think of Basil Rathbone or – and I cringe even saying this one – Robert Downey Jr.

No offense to those who like Robert as Sherlock but…he’s not Sherlock to me at all. He’s … well, Tony Stark or just Robert Downey Jr. being Robert Downey Jr.

To each our own though.

My husband is the one who introduced me to Sherlock Holmes and to Jeremy Brett portraying Sherlock Holmes in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

My husband is a Holmes connoisseur of sorts and in addition to Brett, he is also a fan of the Basil Rathbone version of Sherlock.

Full confession time: I have not read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories. In fact, I don’t believe I’ve ever read one in full. I have listened to them and to radio dramas of them and I have seen shows based on them. I have also read Moriarity by Anthony Horowitz, which is one of two books he wrote about Sherlock with the permission of the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle.

I hope to delve into the short stories in May or June.

Based on the stories I have heard and partially read, though, Jeremy Brett truly is the embodiment of Sherlock. His mix of seriousness and humor. His brash laughter. His borderline manic excitement when he’s found a clue or close to solving a case. His expressions convey so much in a simple eye roll or smirk.

Jeremy Brett played Sherlock Holmes from 1984 to 1994 in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Some Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts declare him the definitive Holmes – at least when it comes to the classic Sherlock Holmes portrayals. There is, of course, Benedict as the more modern “Sherlock.” He has been claimed by younger Sherlock Holmes fans as the best Sherlock and I don’t deny his version is excellent, but it’s not necessarily how Sherlock is in the books. That isn’t a bad thing, of course. Benedict’s version is his interpretation of the genius detective and I love it, but what I am talking about is the “classic 1880s to early 1900s” Sherlock.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ran from 1984 to 1994 and presented all 56 short stories and four novels by Doyle. David Burke portrayed Dr. Watson in the show until 1985 and then Edward Hardwick took over in 1986 and carried on from there. Rosalie Williams portrayed Mrs. Hudson.

According to an article from The Telegraph, Brett fought hard to make sure the show kept close to the source and insisted on using Arthur Conan Doyle’s original dialogue. When it was once suggested that a non-Doyle novel was used, Brett refused, supposedly saying, “No, I’m not doing anything that isn’t pure Doyle!”

Bretts originally hesitated to take on the role because he had played happier characters on the stage in My Fair Lady and The Three Musketeers and in the movie version of My Fair Lady. I was surprised to see this week that he played Freddie Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady.

Brett didn’t feel he could bring anything to the role after Basil Rathbone played Homes in 14 films between 1939 and 1946.

It was a trip to Barbados that gave him time to read the novels and short stories. He said if he did take on the role, he did not want to change Doyle’s original intentions or words. He took meticulous notes on Holmes’ mannerisms and online sources say he referred to all 80 pages of those notes during filming.

“I think the character of Sherlock Holmes is frankly inhuman,” Gus Holwerda, who hosts the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast with his brother, Luke, told The Telegraph in 2021. “Jeremy was a ‘becomer’, as he would say – a method actor [‘Try to become the creature and erase yourself,’ Brett once said]. Becoming such a heavy and challenging character is a feat that few actors would have seriously attempted. Fans of the show appreciate the enterprise, and the toll it took on him.”

Brett, who was born Peter Jeremy William Huggins in 1933, immersed himself in the character. Some say almost too much. If a person hasn’t read the Holmes short stories they may not be aware of the darker elements of the character – his depression, mood swings, and opium/cocaine/morphine addiction. Some articles online say that Brett, being a method actor in many ways, pulled some of those darker elements into his own personality. Though I didn’t read that he had any drug addictions he did deal with bipolar disorder and then heart problems later in life.

To Brett, no screenwriter could outwrite Doyle, which was why he insisted on keeping the stories so close to the source material and even used Doyle’s dialogue himself.

As for who presents the best portrayal of Sherlock?

Brett himself believed the best Sherlock in the eye of the reader so to speak:

“I’ve done 33 Sherlock Holmes stories and bits of them are all right. But the definitive Sherlock Holmes is really in everyone’s head. No actor can fit into that category because every reader has his own ideal.”

Have you seen Brett’s portrayal of Sherlock? Or any others that you enjoyed? Let me know in the comments. Even if it is Robert Downey Jr. *wink*

(Note: You can find The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on Amazon/Britbox but you can also find some episodes for free on YouTube.)