The Enola Holmes Netflix series reimagined the classic Sherlock Holmes lore by introducing the iconic detective's little sister, played by Millie Bobby Brown. Enola is a teenager with a rebellious spirit who shares her older brother's brilliant mind, as seen in Henry Cavill's Sherlock. In Enola Holmes 3, which hits Netflix on July 1, Enola travels to Malta, where she's forced to solve the mystery of Sherlock's disappearance.
Enola Holmes 2 introduced two classic characters from the Sherlock Holmes lore into this new Victorian-set world: Moriarty and Dr. Watson. While Sharon Duncan-Brewster's Moriarty was revealed to have been pulling the strings in the sequel, unbeknownst to everyone, Himesh Patel's Dr. Watson was shown in a brief post-credits stinger. Now, with this third outing, these versions of those characters are able to be explored deeper than ever before.
The Direct spoke with Enola Holmes 3 stars Sharon Duncan-Brewster and Himesh Patel, alongside director Philip Barantini, about how they approached reinventing their characters for this Victorian-set version of Sherlock Holmes' legendary world.
While Enola Holmes now has the privilege of starring in three different films, fans are still waiting for another version of Sherlock Holmes to hit the big screen for a third outing with Robert Downey Jr.'s fan-favorite take on the character.
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- The Direct: "After that second movie, what were some of your favorite reactions to that kind of reveal of your character?"
Sharon Duncan-Brewster: I think people didn't see it coming because she was maneuvering in the corners of rooms, physically and actually in shadows. I know we talk about it as a metaphorical thing, but she really was just hidden away, and it was hard for me, because you know, I get to work on a job with some great performers, and it's just sort of like dipping in and out with this weird sort of persona and voice that people like, why is she talking like that?
The actor is excited to "show the world who [Moriarty] is [and how] bastardly she is:"
Duncan-Brewster: And then as the revelation occurred, it was, you know, she's operating on another level, she's a mistress of disguise, and so yeah, a lot of people would stop me and say, God, I didn't see that happening, that's amazing. The way that Jack Thorne and the producers have structured this world, it's old Victorian, but then we have so many sort of modern energies within it, and topics within it, that for me, it's to come from that, and now go into part to part three, where I can show the world who she is [and how] bastardly she is, and how twisted [and manipualtive] she can be. It's been great fun to be able to allow that energy to come out.
She praised that "everyone feels that they have their quintessential Moriarty:"
Duncan-Brewster: This is the challenge as well, because so many people have played Moriarty now, and everyone feels that they have their quintessential Moriarty, who they either grew up with, or they've [enjoyed]... We're seeing different aspects of Moriarty as a human being, and to me that's testimony not only to Jack Thorne, but the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. So, yeah, it's never been a challenge; it's always been a leap in and a rewarding, fulfilling, fun time.
- The Direct: "When any actor jumps into a role, they always have to bring themselves, as well as what's written on the page. What do you feel was your most personal touch or addition to this character?"
Duncan-Brewster: I mean, I'm always adding so many little different things in there when it comes to a major thing. I don't know if there's any one thing I think that I dug in with regards to the darkness of her persona... There are still some demons of hers that can be drawn out. I think we just like to see chinks of that, and I think I wasn't afraid to just throw myself in and start to touch on that, but yeah, there are so many things for her physicality. The real voice of Moriarty as well, because we had something different before, so it was a nice place to be able to be free with that as well.
Enola Holmes 3 director Philip Barantini also offered his thoughts about getting to dive into this character after her mysterious role in the second film:
Philip Barantini: There was an opportunity here to sort of really see her character, and we spoke a lot with Sharon about where she goes and who she is, and it was a real fun challenge to be able to bring this character to life in this way... It was a real collaboration...
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- The Direct: "When you approached this role, what were some of the key differences that you wanted to make sure this character had?"
Himesh Patel: I was very curious when I first was approached for the role, which was many years ago now, to find out what what they wanted to do with Watson in a third movie, and what we see in this movie is basically what we discussed, just bringing out a certain amount of specificity to this version of Watson as he relates to the sort of the story, but also the context of the era that he's living in, so that I found was really that excited me at the time, and I think we pulled it off really well.
The actor also commented that audiences never see Watson outside the context of Sherlock, something that Enola Holmes 3 allowed him to explore:
Patel: ...We never really see Watson outside of the context of Sherlock, so it was really cool for me to go, well, this is Watson, independent of that, he's got Enola in place of that in a way, but his relationship with her is quite different.
- The Direct: "Can you talk about how that dynamic [with Enola Holmes] differs [from Sherlock], and kind of what new sides to Watson it kind of shines a light on?"
Patel: I suppose with Sherlock, and we all know this from the many iterations we've seen that Watson's just sort of riding in Sherlock wake, just sort of following him hither and thither as he goes around, but this is a very different dynamic, in that he's something more of a mentor to Enola, and she turns to him for advice, for help in what is probably her darkest moment, really.
She is trying to think like her brother, and so she turns to Watson to try and access what that is. But of course, you know, in his sort of position as a sort of mentor, as a guide, Watson maybe asks her to think about it a little differently.
Patel was eager to explore just how important it is to Watson to be around the people he surrounds himself with and that they "bring him joy:"
Patel: A lot of it was in the context of this version of Watson and his specific journey, and how he's come to be where he is, and how he's come to be who he is. That was all in the back of my mind, really, every day, and just how much being around Enola, around Sherlock, which we don't really get to see, but you know, [being] around these people, how much that means to him, how safe he feels with them, he feels around them, that they bring him joy, that they bring him happiness, that's that was always there.
Barantini revealed that Himesh read a lot of the original books to prepare as well, especially since "a lot of the books are from Watson's perspective."
Philip Barantini: Himesh and I talked a lot, and we talked about the characterization of Watson. He read a lot of [the books], because a lot of the books are from Watson's perspective... We did talk at one point whether he would have a cane, whether we'd have a limp, to get enough physicality right was important, and you know, his voice and things like that.
And I think also bringing into, to the character, you know, Jack Thorne, who wrote the scripts, was incredibly smart, in saying that he was of Indian heritage, and putting his backstory in the movie as well, in terms of who his father was, and [how] his father fought for the British, and all this kind of stuff. So, bringing that sort of spin on it was really exciting for me.
The Direct's entire interview with Enola Holmes 3 star Himesh Patel and director Philip Barantini can be viewed below.
