Talk:List of actors who have played Sherlock Holmes

Actors should only be listed once

Okay, I reformatted the table so each actor is listed only once, but it retains the ability to sort by date, name, type, and performance name.

--Cygnosis (talk) 17:31, 25 October 2014 (UTC)

Sort by date?

While alphabetic-by-last-name is simple, would there be more value in sorting the list by first performance date? This could reveal influences, connections to popular culture and world events, etc. Not mention making it easier to add new artists to the bottom of the list.--Phil Wolff (talk) 17:07, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

The curious incident with when these guys portrayed Holmes

It would be a good idea to mention which Film/TV series/TV special/Audio/Stage/Whatever these actors played Sherlock Holmes in, Eh? -Davros27

Okay, I did this. I'm not sure if the list format I used is the best option; feel free to change it. I removed the following from the list: Vincent D'Onofrio (mistake, played Moriarty), John Gielgud (mistake, never played Holmes), Jeremy Irons (never played Holmes, as far as I can tell), Malcolm McDowell (was supposed to play Holmes but the project seems to have been abandoned), Jon Pertwee (can't find anything about Holmes), Robert Powell (can't find anything), George C. Scott (he played a character who thought he was Holmes, not Holmes himself), Brent Spiner (his character on Star Trek pretended to be Holmes; doesn't really count). Magnus Bakken 19:28, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Accuracy?

• Vincent D'Onofrio played Moriarty, not Holmes, in Sherlock: Case of Evil. someone seems to be confused since his face is the one on the cover. I didn't check, but is D'Arcy on the list? Kingerik 13:20, 26 August 2006 (UTC)
• John Gielgud did play sherlock holmes I think for the BBC radio dramas but I do not know in wich years.
• Tom Conway, who also played Holmes in '46 and '47? on the radio for "Kreml Hair Tonic" has also been omitted.24.247.56.118 23:38, 16 September 2007 (UTC)Chris Carlson

Star Trek: The Next Generation

I'm not sure in the exact episodes, but I'm sure it's numerous, but I do believe Data plays Sherlock Holmes on multiple occasions. Aaron5367 00:47, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

Where to start?

Yes, Data does play Holmes, but does that make Holmes himself a character in Star Trek? Tricky! Yes, Tom Conway did take over the radio series (and Nigel Bruce's Watson) from Rathbone, sounding amazingly like his predecessor (and I usually sneer when people say things like "You can hardly tell them apart").

Where to start and where to stop with actors of Holmes? Especially if you include all the media. We're including radio and TV - Alan Wheatley did a BBC TV series, Simon Callow a radio series, Barry Foster a radio series, Roy Marsden an audio series. Do we include one-offs? Keith Michell and Gerald Harper both played Holmes in "Crucifer of Blood" in London. Do we want all the provincial ones? I saw Alan Rickman play Holmes in Birmingham. Robert Powell did a revival of the Leslie Bricusse musical that was much better than the West End version. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rogersansom (talk • contribs) 13:44, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

Ability to sort by surname

I love being able to sort the list by different columns, ascending and descending; however, the name column only sorts by first name, which is frustrating, to say the least. PlaysInPeoria (talk) 18:27, 20 January 2016 (UTC)

Should remove actors who play someone playing Sherlock Holmes

Michael Caine played Reginald Kincaid, not Sherlock Holmes, in Without a Clue. Brent Spiner played Data in Star Trek the Next Generation, not Sherlock Holmes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.85.18.68 (talk) 03:41, 18 August 2016 (UTC)

The list could probably do with some more clean up, feel free to remove those titles acordingly, all though maybe additional column for parodies could be use full given how many and how frequent they are. DoctorHver (talk) 02:38, 25 November 2017 (UTC)

I agree and I removed those entries. I like DoctorHver's suggestion but since that would be such a long list I think a separate article for List of Sherlock Holmes Parodies would be better. ThaddeusSholto (talk) 19:47, 21 December 2017 (UTC)

Without reference

I removed the entry for Nis Bank-Mikkelsen in the radio section because I couldn't find any reference other than mirrors of this article that make this claim. If someone can provide a reference then we should absolutely add it back in. ThaddeusSholto (talk) 19:45, 21 December 2017 (UTC)

Actors who have played the entire canon

For some years the article has said that Clive Merrison is the the only actor who has played the entire canon and there is a reference to support this.

An IP editor has repeatedly changed this to say that he is the "only english (sic) actor" to have done this and has refused to supply any evidence for this.

In his latest edit summary he has said that I "have to prove that he is the only actor worldwide", when there is already a reference for that.

I am asking for mediation on this issue. FerdinandFrog (talk) 10:02, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

Response to third opinion request:

Hi. I've never edited this article. We first need to know what the reference says. Here is what I found is said in Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition. pp. 231-232: ...On the strength of that success, the BBC commissioned Coules to write more scripts, but new actors were cast: Clive Merrison (born 1945) as Holmes and Michael Williams (1935–2001) as Watson. They appeared in A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four, broadcast on BBC Radio Four in 1989, and then embarked on the Adventures and Memoirs in 1991, with the intent of dramatizing all sixty of the Canonical tales, the first time any radio team had done that. Other writers were involved, but Coules remained throughout, and for most of the project the producer-directors were Enyd Williams and Patrick Rayner..... From this, I think the proper statement is that Clive Merrison was the first but we can't say the only. In another source (a website maintained by the head writer of the series), they use the term first as well: Coules., Bert. "the BBC complete audio SHERLOCK HOLMES". This gives more support to stick with first, and drop only. I'll add that using the word only is only as good as the date the source is written. -- Work permit (talk) 00:39, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

In other words, I suggest we change "only" to "first". There is no support in the reference to say he is the only actor, english or otherwise, to have played the entire canon. ---- Work permit (talk) 00:48, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

Seeing no objections, I'm going to go ahead and make the change.---- Work permit (talk) 12:55, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

Bill Pullman?

His Zero Effect character may be named Daryl Zero but it is otherwise 100% Sherlock Holmes. I'm not sure what the rules for this article are, but it to me seems he should be included. Thmazing (talk) 16:49, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

Pullman is playing Daryl Zero not Sherlock Holmes. The fact that the character was based on Holmes doesn't make it a portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. Hugh Laurie playing Gregory House isn't included here for the same reason. ThaddeusSholto (talk) 18:24, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

That's what I figured, but I couldn't see a discussion. Where is the line drawn between Holmes and not Holmes? Sherlock Gnomes, for instance, makes the list, and his name is not Sherlock Holmes. Thmazing (talk) 19:18, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

I probably wouldn't include Sherlock Gnomes because it is a parody and Depp isn't voicing Sherlock Holmes. Daryl Zero and Gregory House are clearly not Sherlock Holmes characters though. ThaddeusSholto (talk) 13:38, 26 May 2023 (UTC)