The 10 Best Sherlock Holmes Actors, Ranked

Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin in 1841's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is the first fictional detective to appear in literature, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is hands down the most well-known detective in all of pop culture. 

Identifying himself as a "consulting" detective, Sherlock Holmes is intelligent beyond all reason, analytical to a fault, and emotionally distant due to his obsessions with logic. But when he's hot on the case in an investigation, his flair for the dramatics kicks in and he lives to show off his findings. Not because he wants to be the center of attention, but because he must let everyone know just how brilliant he is for cracking the case. He's also a morally questionable individual, who has no problems lying to law enforcement or committing petty crimes of his own if it means getting one step closer to solving the mystery. 

There have been a truly insane number of Sherlock adaptations made over the last 100+ years, with /Film even ranking 70 different adaptations (Part One | Part Two). But what about the best actors to have played the character? Nearly 350 actors have taken on the role of the great detective dating back to the days of silent film, but we've narrowed that list down to 10 of the very best across film and television history.

In 2015, Sir Ian McKellen starred in Bill Condon and Jeffrey Hatcher's "Mr. Holmes," based on the book "A Slight Trick of the Mind" by Mitch Cullin. The film is set primarily during Sherlock Holmes' retirement, with the 93-year-old detective's mind slowly deteriorating. He's trying to recall the details of old cases but struggling to do so, and the film examines what happens when a person renowned for their intelligence can no longer rely on their own mind. Instead of telling a thrilling mystery story, "Mr. Holmes" is a moving drama that allows McKellen to really flex his acting muscles. It's a peek inside the personal life of one of literature's most famous characters, and McKellen demystifies him in a beautiful manner that reminds viewers that even legendary men are still mortal.

If you haven't listened to the "Moriarty" podcast/audio drama from Audible, you're missing out. We've talked at /Film before about how much we adore Phil LaMarr, but few probably know that he's also played the most famous detective in history, which also makes him one of the very few Black men to play Sherlock Holmes. Before film and television were a thing, Sherlock Holmes stories were frequently adapted into radio plays. Hell, even Orson Welles has lent his voice to the character, but "Moriarty" completely subverts the world by painting the famed Professor Moriarty as an innocent man and Holmes as a bit of a villain. It's a must-listen for any fans of this world and a great way to pay homage to how many people first discovered the character in the early 20th century.

Sure, it's probably a little unfair to pair up Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in one ranking but hear me out. Cushing and Lee are two of the greatest British actors of their era and often played opposite one another. Cushing famously played Van Helsing and Baron Victor Frankenstein, while Lee became one of the definitive Count Draculas — but they also appeared together in "The Hound of the Baskervilles," with Cushing as Sherlock Holmes and Lee playing Sir Henry Baskerville. It's a shock that Hammer didn't turn this winning combination into a bona fide film franchise, but it turned out for the best. In the years that followed, both men would appear in various Holmes adaptations, and their performances always feel like they're in conversation with one another like two sides of the same brilliant coin.

Apologies to all of the humans on this list who spent their lives studying their craft and becoming world-class actors, but you'll never be able to compete with a dog as adorable as the titular star of "Wishbone." The PBS children's adventure series would take everyday events and relate them to classic literature, and two Sherlock Holmes stories were given the treatment. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "A Scandal in Bohemia" were adapted into "The Slobbery Hound" and "A Dogged Exposé." In both adaptations, Holmes is portrayed by the adorable dog named Soccer and voiced by Larry Brantley. There's something so hilariously camp about watching human actors play it deadly straight with a dog in a Sherlock Holmes costume, but "Wishbone" is doing a fantastic service by existing. Children's educational entertainment doesn't get enough credit for serving as a gateway to the classics, but "Wishbone" undoubtedly was the introduction to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work for a generation. That is just as important as doing a good interpretation of a character we've been exploring for over a century.

Basil Rathbone may have set the standard, but Jeremy Brett perfected it. From 1984 to 1994, Brett starred as Sherlock Holmes in a series of episodes and television movies produced by Granada Television. Coincidentally, before taking on the role of the detective, he had starred opposite Charlton Heston in "The Crucifer of Blood" as Dr. Watson, which means he's also one of the few people to play both Watson and Holmes. Brett became the definitive portrayal of Sherlock for the generation that followed Rathbone, but I'd argue that he's still the definitive portrayal even today. In preparation for the role, Brett became somewhat of a scholar of Arthur Conan Doyle's works, and would often correct the scripts to ensure all of the stories told were as accurate as possible to what Conan Doyle had established in literature. Later in life, Brett was transparent about his struggles with substance abuse and manic depression, which only made his performances look even stronger. To see the depth and vibrancy of his Holmes knowing how much he was personally struggling is an act of brilliance.