Henry Cavill is the latest actor to play the detective Sherlock Holmes, a character that has been interpreted and reinterpreted in several on-screen adaptations. Even though the actor features in a supporting role in Enola Holmes, he makes his presence felt, evoking certain accurate characteristics of the British detective. He makes his portrayal pretty similar to the character that’s featured in the Enola Holmes series of novels, as well as Arthur Conan Doyle’s original short stories and novels.
But is Henry Cavill is an accurate representation of the maestro of deduction? Is he the most accurate to the source material so far, or are there other performers who have channeled the bizarre smartness of the character in even more impressive ways?
10 Accurate Portrayal: Physique And Strength
While Sherlock Holmes is always portrayed as a lean, lanky figure, Doyle’s writings mostly describe him as a tall figure who possesses great strength in his upper torso. His fighting sense and physical strength help him master the skills of boxing, fencing, and a slew of martial arts.
While Cavill is not particularly lean, he still possesses enough height and physical strength to match up to this description (as can be seen in his previous roles in Man of Steel and Mission Impossible). The character is also introduced as a top-level fencer and boxer.
9 Alternative: Vasily Livanov
The Russian actor played the British detective in a limited series called The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. His nationality didn’t serve as a deterrent, as he was praised by fans for accurately channeling the eccentric behavior of the character, and added to it a dash of uptight and awkward physical language that included a cold-eyed stare and robotic walk.
The actor was even decorated as an Honorary Member of the British Empire in 2006.
8 Accurate Portrayal: Socially Distant
Henry Cavill’s Holmes makes it clear that common human affairs hold no interest to him. For him, all activities of the people around him are just cases. Even though he cares for his sister Enola, he still is slightly distant from her.
As pointed out by other characters, he might have emotions, but he buries them deep down to present an unempathetic and slightly introverted personality. Cavill has had a similar experience playing a socially distant character when he played the Kryptonian Superman in Man of Steel.
7 Alternative: Benedict Cumberbatch
Arguably the best modern incarnation of Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch gained worldwide fame playing the sleuth in the BBC series Sherlock. He plays the character with a truly unique charm and is great at capturing the sudden bursts of anger and mood swings that the character goes through, even in the source material.
Another quality in the character that Cumberbatch encapsulates is the detective’s superiority complex. He often comes off as rude to his peers and associates like Watson, Lestrade, and Mycroft, or acts too moody if he can’t arrive at a solution in a particular case. Even though the show is set in the present-day, this portrayal represents the classic personality traits in Holmes that make him intellectually superior to others.
6 Accurate Portrayal: Relationship With Mycroft
Enola Holmes’ Mycroft (Sam Claflin) is quite different to Arthur Conan Doyle’s original character. While in both cases, Mycroft Holmes is a man of political influence, obsessed with the manners of British society, the film’s Mycroft isn’t shown to have good deduction skills (as compared to other portrayals that equate his intellectual prowess to Sherlock).
And yet Henry Cavill’s Sherlock shares a pretty accurate relationship with Mycroft. Both brothers are hardly on good terms with each other. Even though Sherlock’s superiority is slightly subdued, Mycroft’s brashness and ‘god complex’ is quite evident in the conversations they have about Enola. And Sherlock, being the wise one, just listens to him calmly with a sarcastic smile, as was seen in the movie’s final scene set in the Royal Academy.
5 Alternative: Basil Rathbone
Having played the detective in several films in the 1940s, Basil Rathbone’s chief strength as Holmes was his commanding skills in oration. His voice represents the leadership that Holmes assumes as an independent detective in the original stories. The detective might work with the Scotland Yard, the police, and other private investigators, but he’s hardly a team player. He often takes the lead in all cases.
Rathbone went on to reprise the role in several radio plays, too. While his portrayal is pretty accurate, he also revolutionized the character with some new elements, such as wearing the deerstalker hat that Sherlock Holmes is now associated with.
4 Accurate Portrayal: Political Disconnect
Sherlock Holmes often engages in cases that can alter the history of London or at least a few of the city’s neighborhoods. An avid reader of books and newspapers, the character is also well-versed in the political affairs of the country, as well as the world. At the same time, he’s selfish enough to stay in his own cramped apartment, apart from any social or political discussions.
Henry Cavill captures this apolitical nature of the detective well. His own mother and sister indulge themselves in making British political life less sexist with their attempts to push the Reform Bill. But Sherlock doesn’t seem to care about the political upheaval, as long as it’s not a case.
3 Alternative: Peter Cushing
The character actor Peter Cushing played Sherlock Holmes in the 1968 BBC series Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. While his theatrical, slightly melodramatic acting is top-notch, he certainly fits the part because of his rather bony physical features. He could be nuanced, too, in certain introspective scenes from the series that shows the detective’s deep and disconnected thought processes.
He suits the latter cases of Holmes, when the detective starts aging and grows more detached from society, in general. Even after the series ended, Cushing ended up playing Holmes in his later years, on TV, showing his dedication to the character.
2 Accurate Portrayal: Superiority Complex
In Enola Holmes, Sherlock Holmes’ somewhat rude superiority is underplayed compared to other portrayals. However, even Cavill’s performance boasts a superiority, as he doesn’t even accept all cases that come on his way. He does enjoy his newfound stardom, with several high-profile cases.
However, it’s evident that unlike other famous sleuths or detectives, he doesn’t work for any agency. He clearly works for his own interest, with every case being a new opportunity for him to exercise his grey cells. This aura of fascination with every case and his intellectual superiority is shown in Henry Cavill’s polished mannerisms, too.
1 Alternative: Jeremy Brett
Several actors have reprised Sherlock Holmes in all kinds of media but Jeremy Brett has easily been the unparalleled competitor when it comes to literary accuracy. He looks, breathes, and walks like the character, and his intense research and acting for the role was such that he went on to behave like Holmes in his real-life, too.
Brett might have given the most perfect reprisal of Sherlock Holmes in several Granada TV series because he stands for almost all the detective’s quirks. His bony eyes, lanky face, polished accent, dry humor, and dominating screen presence have made him universally memorable amongst all fans of the character’s original source material.
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