Sherlock Holmes is the most chameleon-like character in popular culture. He has been a dashing New Yorker, a Tokyo woman in a suit—and yes, it works every time. Not everyone has served the great detective’s heart, brains, and sense of humor. So, who did the deerstalker justice? Let’s count down the 10 greatest Holmes performances, from good to legendary.
10. Jonny Lee Miller — Elementary (2012–2019)
Sherlock Holmes’ move to today’s New York City was a risk, but one so worth taking with Jonny Lee Miller. His take on Holmes has the detective tattooed, quirky, sober from addiction, and astonishingly sensitive under the genius. What distinguishes Miller is how ordinary his detective looks—gritty but earthy, flawed but empathetically amazing. He’s the Holmes you can picture both as a child prodigy and as a pal.
9. Christopher Plummer — Murder by Decree (1979)
Plummer’s Holmes is a smoldering ember. With eyes afire with restless astuteness and purposefulness in this bleak reinterpretation of the Holmes canon linked to the Jack the Ripper murder case investigation, there’s something in his performance—a hunger for justice—that makes his detective interesting. It’s an overlooked but lasting performance in the part.
8. Ronald Howard — Sherlock Holmes (1954–1955)
With nearly four decades of programs behind him, Ronald Howard gave a more affable, light Holmes. His detective is considerate of polite manners, affable, and particularly courteous to H. Marion Crawford’s Watson. His interpretation of the show emphasizes the buddy-ship in the middle of Doyle’s stories, depicting Holmes as not just a lone mastermind but also a good buddy.
7. Yūko Takeuchi — Miss Sherlock (2018)
Why not a female Holmes? Yūko Takeuchi delivered a dazzling reinvention in HBO Asia’s Miss Sherlock. Elegant, aloof, and razor-sharp, her detective is as stylish as she is brilliant. Her dynamic with Shihori Kanjiya’s “Wato” updates the Holmes–Watson bond with both sass and sincerity. Takeuchi’s performance is bold, riveting, and a reminder that Sherlock doesn’t need to fit a mold.
6. Vasily Livanov — The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1980–1987)
Vasily Livanov in the Soviet Union became the archetypal Holmes. His own pointed features and precise mannerisms served him well, but most impressive was the feeling behind the mask. Livanov’s Holmes never hesitated to display emotion, and his rapport with his Watson ensured that the show became highly popular far outside Russia.
5. Benedict Cumberbatch — Sherlock (2010–2017)
Cumberbatch’s Holmes was the buzz of the early 2010s. Witty, snappy, and crudely social, his detective landed a punch into the BBC’s techno-savvy modern reimagining. The repartee with Martin Freeman’s Watson anchored the series, warming what could otherwise have been icy and austere to become warm and endearing. Cumberbatch provided us with a Holmes who was exasperating and fascinating.
4. Douglas Wilmer — Sherlock Holmes (1964–1965)
Douglas Wilmer emerged out of Sidney Paget’s initial drawings for Holmes, seemingly out of magic. Lanky, eagle-eyed, and dominant, his detective was oozing assurance and haughtiness. He was Holmes incarnate, the ultimate careerist: tough-around-the-edges, demanding, and unshakable in focus. To most people, Wilmer is nearest to the book’s vision of Holmes.
3. Arthur Wontner — Sherlock Holmes’ Fatal Hour (1931) and others
Arthur Wontner lent warmth and nuance to the part in a series of films during the 1930s. Gentle but unwatered down, his Holmes broached the detective’s genius without slipping into caricature. Resolutely naturalistic, with a lived-in feel, Wontner created an early standard for what Holmes on film must—and could—basically feel like.
2. Basil Rathbone — The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) and beyond
For a century, Basil Rathbone was Sherlock Holmes. He played him in fourteen movies, rendering him a commanding, intelligent, and self-sure Holmes. His interpretation became the cultural benchmark, establishing the way people imagined the detective to be for generations to come. Rathbone wasn’t merely great—stating nothing against later actors—conceptually fundamental.
1. Jeremy Brett — The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984–1994)
And Jeremy Brett, the favorite hero of ill fans everywhere, was the greatest Holmes of them all. Gritty, hyper, and gloriously untethered, his acting balanced on the fine line between icily controlled and hysterically violent bursts of energy. Brett clung to Holmes’s mannerisms—his disguises, his guffawing fits, his kinetic brilliance—grounding them in the real world. If there’s a last judgment on Holmes yet to be written, this is it. Case closed.
From traditional renderings to revolutionary reinterpretations, these actors show Sherlock Holmes to be eternally malleable but never fascinating. Regardless of what your taste, old-school, new-school, or transgressive, all of these portrayals demonstrate why Holmes continues to fascinate—and why the game is never afoot.