Douglas Wilmer Sherlock Holmes actor interview

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• published: 05 Jun 2014
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Here's a short amateur interview from the mid 2000's with the veteran actor Douglas Wilmer who played Sherlock Holmes in the superb 1965 BBC series. Douglas Wilmer is described by many in the Society as the Sherlock Holmes. Born January 8th, 1920 in London, and educated at King's, Canterbury, Douglas Wilmer's film debut was in 1954, in Laurence Olivier's Richard III as Dorset. Established as a supporting actor, his best-remembered film role is Nayland Smith in the Christopher Lee Fu Manchu series, when he was cast after Nigel Green declined the part. Produced by David Goddard in 1964, the BBC production of The Speckled Band was the first of Wilmer's appearances as Sherlock Holmes, with Nigel Stock as Watson. Wilmer and Stock were brought back in 1965 for twelve more episodes with a supporting cast that included Mary Holder as Mrs Hudson, Peter Madden as Lestrade and Derek Francis as Mycroft Holmes and guest stars such as Peter Wyngarde. Two episodes have been released on video by the BBC, The Speckled Band and The Illustrious Client. "I think you could complain that my Holmes was unpleasant. I'm sure that on the face of it...Holmes was unpleasant.... It didn't mean that he had no heart, and in the books, you see, Watson says he has. Watson softened the impact" Douglas Wilmer One reviewer has described Wilmer's performance as: "smooth and sardonic without seeming bitchy and rude. He's intelligent and quick on his heels without seeming neurotic and egotistical. All in all, he's exactly what Conan Doyle wrote. Even the physical resemblance to the Sidney Paget illustrations is startling" - a point picked up by a contemporary Times review. Nigel Stock's Watson was seen as more serious and intelligent than audience's familiar with the Nigel Bruce interpretation, a trend begun by Andre Morell in Hammer's Hound of the Baskervilles, and continued by actors such as James Mason and Edward Hardwicke.