Best Sherlock Holmes Actors

More actors have portrayed Sherlock Holmes than any other literary character in history. Some have been laudable, some, shall we say, less so, and everyone has their favourites. As a rabid fan of Sherlock Holmes, I present my list of the top three, based purely on my own opinion. Take that for what it's worth.

Please note: it can be difficult to separate the actor from the film, but I intend to try all the same.

Number 3:

Ronald Howard, Sherlock Holmes, 1954-55

Although the series is not nearly as accurate as it needs to be, sometimes devolving into unpardonable silliness, I am very fond of this portrayal of Holmes. Howard captures parts of Holmes's extremely complex personality that most screenwriters, with their superficial understanding of the Canon, completely miss. And he gave us the historic first meeting between Holmes and Watson, a treat for any Sherlockian.

Number 2:

Arthur Wontner, Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour, The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and the Missing Rembrandt, The Sign of Four, Murder at the Baskervilles, 1931-1937

I haven't seen every one of these films, but the ones I've seen favorably impressed me. Wontner seems to have it all: the look, the manner, the voice...really, I can't think of a thing to change that would improve his portrayal.

Number 1

Jeremy Brett, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, 1984-1994

My favourite Holmes portrayal, bar none. Brett's Holmes has been beloved...and criticized, ever since his Sherlockian debut, and there is little for me to add. Certainly he was helped by some very Canonical scripts (and a pair of excellent Watsons); also it is difficult to watch his physical decline as the series progresses (I personally watch the episodes in reverse order so that Mr Brett grows younger and stronger). But the man himself deserves our eternal thanks for capturing so much of the Great Detective so brilliantly. To this Woman, he is always The Sherlock Holmes.