This is one of those stories that has been written about so much that it actually becomes difficult to find the facts. We all know, either because we have read the stories or watched various film adaptations, that Sherlock Holmes’ arch-enemy was Professor James Moriarty. He was known as “The Napoleon of Crime” and Holmes had told Watson that he was “the most dangerous criminal in London.” Moriarty was an evil genius, who thought up new and fiendish schemes for his gang to carry out.
But where did Sherlock Holmes get such an idea? How did he know there even was a Moriarty? Wasn’t it just a bit odd that crime should be organised in such a way that the man with the ideas would not come into direct contact with the men who carried them out? I mean, how many big criminal operations do you know where the boss never meets any of his gang members?
There are plenty of theories around about this famous literary character, but where did Conan Doyle get his inspiration from?
Sherlock Holmes is probably the most famous fictional detective in history. His cases are still being reprinted, and he even survived a battle with his evil nemesis Moriarty, making it into the twenty-first century. One of the reasons for this is that Holmes’s creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was a true gentleman and a scholar. He was not just a writer; he was also a physician and an expert on the paranormal and spiritualism. Even today, many people believe that Sherlock Holmes should be considered as one of the greatest detectives that ever lived.
However, even though Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in 1887, there are many mysteries surrounding his life and career. These mysteries have led some people to believe that he actually existed and that his adventures were real. There are also those who think that Conan Doyle was simply using Holmes as a character in order to tell us about real life events and situations. Whatever the truth may be, there is certainly no doubt that Sherlock Holmes has captured our imagination for more than a century!
All the canon stories of Sherlock Holmes have been adapted to film or television. Most were done in the past, and many were played by actors who are now considered legendary in their own right. Most of these versions were silent films, and many were made with only a single film to their credit. For some of the non-silent films, there are no copies that survive. With all this history, any attempt to make a list of favorite actors should be made with caution.
The following is an attempt to highlight some of the versions that we found most interesting, regardless of how well known the actor was at the time. It is not meant to be comprehensive, and should not be taken as such. We hope it will serve as a starting point for further exploration by those interested in learning more about Sherlock Holmes.
Let us know which you think we missed (or simply let us know which one you like best), and why!
At the end of The Final Problem, we see Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty come to their fatal struggle beside the Reichenbach Falls. And at the end of “The Empty House,” we are told that only one man could possibly have survived that struggle…
Now, at first glance, this might seem to be a simple matter. After all, Conan Doyle only wrote about one Moriarty, didn’t he? Sure…but there were two actors who played him.
Let’s look at the details. First of all, it’s worth noting that Doyle didn’t actually invent the character of Moriarty-he was based on a real-life Jesuit priest named Father James Moriarty. Father Moriarty was an instructor at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire from 1860 to 1875 (the same years Sherlock was attending), and later became president of St. Mary’s College in Kansas (which is where Doyle’s brother attended college).
Father Moriarty was a brilliant lecturer and writer; he published several books on theology and philosophy during his lifetime. He also had a rather eccentric personality; he liked to dress in black robes with a skullcap and a skull staff (like the iconography of death), and would often walk around campus with a pet lizard on his shoulder or
We’ve had a lot of questions about who should play Moriarty in our upcoming Sherlock Holmes release. We chose the perfect actor to play him, Andrew Scott.
Andrew Scott is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He is probably most widely known for playing Jim Moriarty in the BBC series Sherlock. The first time I saw him was when I watched Pride, a British gay themed film that focuses on the 1984-1985 miners’ strike in the UK, and how a group of gay and lesbian activists raised money to support the families of the striking miners. In Pride he played a militant LGBT demonstrator named Gethin.
His performance was outstanding, his passion was so believable that I almost wanted to join him in his fight for equality!
He has also starred in several other films including John Adams (2008), My Last Five Girlfriends (2009), The Stag (2013) and Calvary (2014). He has received two Laurence Olivier Award nominations for his roles in Philip Ridley’s Mercury Fur at the Royal Court Theatre and 2008’s A Girl in a Car with a Man at London’s Royal Court Theatre.
Jared Harris, British actor known for his work in Fringe, Mad Men and the British television series, The Crown, has signed up to play the iconic villain, Professor Moriarty. He’ll be playing him in a recurring role and will be one of the lead villains in the show.
Jared Harris first appearance as Moriarty was in Season 2 episode 1, “A Scandal In Belgravia”. It is unknown how many episodes he will appear in Season 2 or if he will appear again in future seasons or not.
Moriarty is Sherlock Holmes’s arch-nemesis and is considered the world’s only criminal genius. He is described as “The Napoleon of Crime” by Holmes himself.
Moriarty is the first of Holmes’s enemies to be introduced in “A Study In Scarlet” (1887), and he remains one of the most notable.
While Holmes is a genius, Moriarty is a super-genius – his intelligence is said to be even higher than that of Holmes. He has been described by Professor James Moriarty as “the Napoleon of crime”, a description which was repeated by Holmes in “The Final Problem”.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) – Jared Harris will play Professor James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis.
