17 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Sherlock
By Lacy Baugher
Benedict Cumberbatch rocking the iconic Holmes look. (Photo: (Photo: BBC/Robert Viglasky/Hartswood Films for MASTERPIECE)
Sherlock is Hardly the First Holmes Adaptation to Hit Big
The mainstream, worldwide success of Sherlock may be surprising to some, but it shouldn’t be. The character of Sherlock Holmes has not only been around for well over a hundred years, viewers have been enjoying watching various incarnations of him solve crimes for almost that long. The modern day twist may feel new to us right now – between Sherlock and Elementary, it’s kind of the trendy interpretation – but there are so many other versions of Holmes to explore while you wait out the increasingly-long hiatuses between seasons.
The first Holmes adaptation dates from around 1900, a short silent film called Sherlock Holmes Baffled. It ran for less than a minute, but it kicked off a long line of films, television series, radio plays and stage adaptations that continue to this day. There have even been video games, comic books and animated series made about Holmes.
Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch is just the next in a long line of actors who have portrayed the great detective since then. Over 75 people have taken on the role of the great detective – including Jeremy Brett, Roger Moore, Michael Caine, Christopher Lee, Buster Keaton, Basil Rathbone, Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch and many more.
In fact, Holmes currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most portrayed literary human in TV and film. He has apparently been depicted a whopping 254 times. For reference, compare that to Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet, who has been depicted just 48 different times. Interestingly enough, however, Holmes is only the most frequently portrayed human character on film. The human thing is actually an important qualifier. As it turns out, the non-human Dracula actually tops the list of the most portrayed literary character, clocking in at 272 appearances.
Next: The Definitive Ranking of Every Sherlock Episode (So Far)
With a brand new season of Sherlock headed our way in January, there are sure to be even more interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits headed our way. (They added a baby and a dog to the cast list this year, so just imagine.) In the meantime, why not binge the previous three seasons – but with the commentaries on? The cast’s remarks not only offer great insight on the episodes themselves, but some fun stories about each other and the process of filming.