Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed literary human character in film and television history, having appeared on screen 254 times as of 2012. [1] Additionally, many actors have portrayed Sherlock Holmes in audio dramas and stage productions.
| Name | Title | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward H. Smith | The Sign of the Four [2] | 1922 | Radio (WGY) |
| William Gillette | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" | 1930 | Radio (NBC Blue Network) |
| Lux Radio Theatre – "Sherlock Holmes" | 1935 | Radio adaptation of the play (NBC) | |
| Clive Brook | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Red-Headed League" [3] | 1930 | Radio (NBC) |
| Richard Gordon | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [3] | 1930–1933, 1936 | Radio (Mutual, NBC) |
| Louis Hector | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [3] | 1934–1935 | Radio (NBC) |
| Orson Welles | The Mercury Theatre on the Air – "Sherlock Holmes" | 1938 | Radio adaptation of the play (CBS) |
| Basil Rathbone | The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | 1939–1946 | Radio (Blue Network, Mutual) |
| Arthur Wontner | The Boscombe Valley Mystery [4] | 1943 | BBC Home Service |
| John Cheatle | My Dear Watson [4] | 1943 | |
| Cedric Hardwicke | The Adventure of the Speckled Band [5] | 1945 | |
| Laidman Browne | Silver Blaze [5] | 1945 | |
| Tom Conway | The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | 1946–1947 | Radio (ABC) |
| John Stanley | The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | 1947–1949 | Radio (Mutual) |
| H. Marion-Crawford | The Adventure of the Speckled Band [5] | 1948 | BBC Home Service |
| Ben Wright | The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | 1949–1950 | Radio (ABC) |
| Carleton Hobbs | Sherlock Holmes [6] | 1952–1969 | Radio (BBC series) |
| John Gielgud | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [7] | 1954 | Radio series (BBC Light Programme) |
| Richard Hurndall | The Sign of Four Parts 1–5 | 1959 | BBC Light Programme |
| Robert Langford | Sherlock Holmes | 1967 | South African Broadcasting Corporation |
| Robert Hardy | Sherlock Holmes [8] | 1970–1971 | LP record series |
| Robert Powell | A Study in Scarlet [9] | 1974 | BBC Radio 4 |
| Kevin McCarthy | CBS Radio Mystery Theater [10] | 1977 | Radio (CBS) |
| Barry Foster | Sherlock Holmes [11] | 1978 | Radio series (BBC Radio 4) |
| Graham Armitage | The Stories of Sherlock Holmes | 1979–1985 | Radio series (Springbok Radio) |
| John Beal | CBS Radio Mystery Theater – "The Vanishing Herd" [10] | 1981 | Radio (CBS) |
| Gordon Gould | CBS Radio Mystery Theater [10] | 1981–1982 | |
| John Moffatt | Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula [12] | 1981 | BBC radio dramatisation of the novel |
| Mark Wing-Davey | The Mystery of the Reluctant Storyteller [13] | 1986 | BBC Radio 4 |
| Tim Pigott-Smith | The Valley of Fear [13] | 1986 | |
| Roger Rees | The Hound of the Baskervilles [14] | 1988 | |
| Ronald Pickup | The Singular Case of Sherlock H. and Sigmund F. [15] | 1988 | BBC Radio 3 |
| Clive Merrison | BBC Radio Sherlock Holmes (the entire canon – the first actor to do so) [16] | 1989–1998 | BBC Radio 4 |
| The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (British series) | 2002–2010 | ||
| William Chubb | The Adventure of the Pimlico Poisoner [17] | 1990 | BBC Radio 4 |
| Simon Callow | The Seven-Per-Cent Solution | 1993 | BBC radio dramatisation of the novel |
| The Unopened Casebook of Sherlock Holmes [18] | 1993 | Radio series (BBC Radio 5) | |
| John Gilbert | The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (American series) | 1998–2000 | Radio series ( Imagination Theatre ) |
| Roy Hudd | The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes | 1999 | BBC Radio 2 |
| James Fox | The Beekeeper's Apprentice [19] | 2000 | BBC Radio 4 |
| Robert Bathurst | A Capital Case: Karl Marx Meets Sherlock Holmes [20] | 2001 | BBC Radio 4 |
| John Patrick Lowrie | The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (American series) | 2001–present | Radio series ( Imagination Theatre ) |
| The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (the entire canon) | 2005–2016 | ||
| Martin Jarvis | Sherlock Holmes Theatre | 2006 | Hollywood Theatre of the Ear |
| Roger Llewellyn | Sherlock Holmes – The Death and Life, [21] Sherlock Holmes – The Last Act [22] | 2009 | Audio dramas (Big Finish Productions) |
| Nicholas Briggs | Sherlock Holmes [23] | 2010–present | |
| David Warner | Sherlock Holmes | 2011 | California Artists Radio Theatre [24] |
| Mir Afsar Ali | Sunday Suspense [25] | 2012-present | Radio Mirchi / Goppo Mir-er Thek |
| Seamus Dever | The Hound of the Baskervilles [26] | 2014 | Audio drama (L.A. Theatre Works) |
| Derek Jacobi | The Hound of the Baskervilles [27] | 2017 | Audio play (Bleak December Inc.) |
| Orlando Wells | Mrs Hudson's Radio Show [28] | 2018 | BBC Radio 4 |
| Nicholas Boulton | Sherlock Holmes: The Voice of Treason [29] | 2020 | Audio drama (Audible Original) |
| Colin Salmon | The Hound of the Baskervilles [30] | 2021 | |
| Phil LaMarr | Moriarty [31] | 2022-present | |
| Mark Gatiss | Drama on 3 - "The Hound of the Baskervilles" [32] | 2023 | BBC Radio 3 |
| Paterson Joseph | Baker Street Four [33] | 2023 | Audible Original |
| Harry Attwell | Sherlock & Co [34] | 2023-present | Scripted podcast (Goalhanger Podcasts) |
| Name | Title | Date | Type and location |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.H.E. Brookfield | Under the Clock [35] | 1893 | Stage (Royal Court Theatre) |
| John Webb | Sherlock Holmes [36] | 1894 | Stage (Royalty Theatre, Glasgow) |
| William Gillette | Sherlock Holmes | 1899 | Stage (Broadway) |
| The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes [37] | 1905 | Stage (Metropolitan Opera House) | |
| John F. Preston | The Bank of England: An Adventure in the Life of Sherlock Holmes [38] | 1900 | Stage (Clapham) |
| Clarence Blakiston | Sheerluck Jones, or Why D’Gillette Him Off [39] | 1901–1902 | Stage (Terry's Theatre) |
| Walter Edwards | The Sign of the Four [37] | 1903 | Stage (West End Theater) |
| Herbert Kelcey | Sherlock Holmes | 1903 | Stage (Broadway Theatre, Butte, Montana) Stage (Spokane Theatre, Spokane, Washington) |
| Harry Arthur Saintsbury | Sherlock Holmes | 1903–1910 | Stage (London) |
| The Speckled Band [40] | 1910 | ||
| Kenneth Rivington | Sherlock Holmes [41] | 1904–1905 | Stage (UK tour) |
| H. Lawrence Leyton | Sherlock Holmes [42] | 1905–1906 | |
| Károly Baumann | Sherlock Hohmec, the King of Detectives | 1905 | Stage (Hungary) |
| Arthur V. Johnson | The Burglar and the Lady [43] | 1905–1906 | Stage (US) |
| H. Hamilton Stewart | Sherlock Holmes [44] | 1906–1918 | Stage (England) |
| Ferdinand Bonn | Sherlock Holmes [45] | 1906 | Stage (Berliner Theatre) |
| Der Hund Von Baskerville [45] | 1907 | ||
| Dennis Neilson-Terry | The Crown Diamond [46] | 1921 | Stage (London) |
| Eille Norwood | The Return of Sherlock Holmes [47] | 1923 | Stage (UK) |
| Hamilton Deane | Sherlock Holmes [48] | 1923–1932 | |
| Tod Slaughter | The Return of Sherlock Holmes | 1928 | Stage (England) |
| Felix Aylmer | The Holmeses of Baker Street [47] | 1933 | Stage (Lyceum Theatre) |
| Tod Slaughter | Sherlock Holmes | 1930 (~) | Stage |
| Basil Rathbone | "Sherlock Holmes" by Ouida Bergère [49] | 1953 | Stage play |
| Fritz Weaver | Baker Street [50] | 1965 | Stage musical (Broadway Theatre, NYC) |
| John Neville | Sherlock Holmes [51] | 1973 (~) | Stage (Royal Shakespeare Company) |
| John Wood | Sherlock Holmes | 1974–1976 | Stage (Broadway) |
| Leonard Nimoy | Sherlock Holmes | 1976 | Stage (Royal Shakespeare Company) |
| Frank Langella | Sherlock Holmes [52] | 1977, 1981 | Stage (Williamstown Theater Festival), filmed for TV in 1981 |
| Sherlock's Last Case [53] | 1987 | Stage (Nederlander Theatre) | |
| Paxton Whitehead | The Crucifer of Blood | 1978 | Stage (Broadway) |
| Keith Michell | The Crucifer of Blood | 1979 | Stage (London) |
| Valentīns Skulme | Šerloks Holmss | 1979 | Stage (Latvia) |
| Keith Baxter | The Penultimate Problem of Sherlock Holmes [54] | 1980 | Stage (Off-Broadway) |
| Murder Dear Watson [55] | 1983 | Stage (UK) | |
| Paul Singleton | Grit in a Sensitive Instrument | 1980, 1982 | Stage (regional theatre, Off-Broadway), cable TV |
| The Blue Carbuncle | 2007–2008 | Stage (Off Broadway, Los Angeles) | |
| Charlton Heston | The Crucifer of Blood | 1981 | Stage (Los Angeles) |
| Sherlock's Last Case | 1990 | Stage (Broadway) | |
| Tom Baker | The Mask of Moriarty [56] | 1985 | Stage (Dublin) |
| Alec Baldwin | A Study in Scarlet [57] | 1987 | Stage (The Free Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival) |
| Jeremy Brett | The Secret of Sherlock Holmes | 1988–1989 | Stage (touring, British) |
| Time Winters | Sherlock Holmes and the Hands of Othello | 1987 | Stage (Off-Off Broadway, NY) |
| Ron Moody | Sherlock Holmes: The Musical | 1989 | Stage |
| Christopher Lloyd | Sherlock Holmes [58] | 1990 | Stage (The Weston Playhouse) |
| Javier Marzan | The Hound of the Baskervilles [59] | 2007 | Stage (West Yorkshire Playhouse) |
| Jay Baruchel | Sherlock Holmes [60] | 2013 | Play by Greg Kramer (Canada) |
| Julien Masdoua | Le Cabaret Sherlock Holmes | 2013 | Stage (France) |
| Benjamin Lawlor | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 2013 | Stage (UK) |
| Simon Michael Morgan | Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol | 2013 | Stage (Britain) |
| Peter Land | To Kill a Canary [61] | 2014 | Stage (Britain) |
| Gregory Wooddell | Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery [62] | 2015 | Arena Stage in Southwest, Washington, D.C. |
| Euan Morton | Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery [63] | 2015 | Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California |
| Paul Andrew Goldsmith | Sherlock Holmes & the Case of the Christmas Carol [64] | 2015–2016 | UK theatre tour |
| David Arquette | Sherlock Holmes [65] | 2015 | Play by Greg Kramer |
| Jay Taylor | Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery [66] | 2017–2018 | Liverpool Playhouse |
| Luke Barton | Sherlock Holmes – The Sign of Four [67] | 2018–2019 | UK theatre tour [68] |
| Alan Tudyk | Mysterious Circumstances [69] | 2019 | Geffen Playhouse (America) |
| Collin Conway | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 2022 | Stage (Encore Center Threatre, Southern Pines, NC, USA) |
| Danny Richter | Sherlock Holmes und der Hund der Baskervilles [70] | 2023–2025 | European theatre tour [71] |
| Colin Baker | The Hound of the Baskervilles [72] [73] | 2022-2025 | Live script reading |
| Ed Hawkins | Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four [74] | 2024 | Opera (UK) |
| Name | Title | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louis Hector | The Three Garridebs [75] | 1937 | Television play for NBC (American) |
| John Longden | The Man Who Disappeared | 1951 | Television pilot (British) |
| Andrew Osborn | The Mazarin Stone [76] | 1951 | Television film for BBC (British) |
| Stewart Granger | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1972 | Television film (American) |
| John Cleese | Comedy Playhouse series 13 – "Elementary, My Dear Watson" | 1973 | Television film (British) |
| Roger Moore | Sherlock Holmes in New York | 1976 | Television film (American) |
| Christopher Plummer | Silver Blaze | 1977 | Television film (Canadian) |
| John Cleese | The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It | 1977 | Television film (British) |
| Algimantas Masiulis | Blue Carbuncle | 1980 | Television film (Belarusfilm) |
| Frank Langella | Standing Room Only – Sherlock Holmes [77] | 1981 | Television play for HBO (American) |
| Tom Baker | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1982 | Television serial in four parts (British) |
| Peter O'Toole | Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear | 1983 | Animated television film (Australian) |
| Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four | 1983 | ||
| Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse | 1983 | ||
| Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet | 1983 | ||
| Ian Richardson | The Sign of Four | 1983 | Television films (British-American) |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1983 | ||
| Peter Cushing | The Masks of Death | 1984 | Television film (British) |
| Guy Rolfe | The Case of Marcel Duchamp | 1984 | |
| Michael Pennington | The Return of Sherlock Holmes | 1987 | Television film (American) |
| Edward Woodward | Hands of a Murderer | 1990 | |
| Charlton Heston | The Crucifer of Blood | 1991 | Television film adaptation of the play (American) |
| Christopher Lee | Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady | 1991 | Television films |
| Incident at Victoria Falls | 1992 | ||
| Patrick Macnee | The Hound of London | 1993 | Television film (Luxembourgian/Canadian) |
| Anthony Higgins | Sherlock Holmes Returns | 1993 | Television film (American) |
| Matt Frewer | The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire | 2002 | Television films (Canadian) |
| The Sign of Four | 2001 | ||
| The Royal Scandal | 2001 | ||
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 2000 | ||
| James D'Arcy | Sherlock: Case of Evil | 2002 | Television film (American) |
| Richard Roxburgh | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 2002 | Television film (British) |
| Rupert Everett | Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking | 2004 | |
| Jonathan Pryce | Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars | 2007 | |
| Ben Syder | Sherlock Holmes | 2010 | DTV film (American) |
| Michael York | Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes | 2010 | Animated DTV film; voice only (American) |
| Anthony D.P. Mann | Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow Watchers | 2011 | DTV film (Canadian) |
| Vernon Dobtcheff | L'hypothèse de la reine rouge | 2018 | Online short film (French) |
| Jack Chambers | Holmes: The Myth of Whitechapel | 2025 | Short film/television pilot [78] |
| Name | Title | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Berle | Texaco Star Theatre – "Sherlock Holmes in the Mystery of the Sen Sen Murder" [79] | 1949 | TV episode (American) |
| Alan Napier | Your Show Time – "The Speckled Band" | 1949 | |
| Alan Wheatley | Sherlock Holmes | 1951 | TV series (British) |
| Basil Rathbone | Suspense – "The Adventure of the Black Baronet" | 1953 | TV episode (American) |
| Ronald Howard | Sherlock Holmes | 1954–1955 | TV series (American) |
| Boris Karloff | The Elgin Hour – "Sting of Death" | 1955 | Based on the novel A Taste for Honey (American) |
| Douglas Wilmer | Detective – "The Speckled Band" | 1964 | Backdoor pilot for the 1965 series (British) |
| Sherlock Holmes | 1965 | TV series (British) | |
| Erich Schellow | Sherlock Holmes | 1967–1968 | TV series (German) |
| Peter Cushing | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes | 1968 | TV series (British) |
| Nando Gazzolo | Sherlock Holmes | 1968 | TV series (Italian) |
| Vasily Livanov | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson | 1979–1986 | TV film series (USSR) |
| Geoffrey Whitehead | Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson | 1979 | TV series (American-Polish) |
| Peter Lawford | Fantasy Island – "Save Sherlock Holmes" [80] | 1982 | TV episode (American) |
| Guy Henry | Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House | 1982 | TV series (British) |
| Roger Ostime | The Baker Street Boys | 1983 | |
| Jeremy Brett | Sherlock Holmes | 1984–1994 | |
| Taichirō Hirokawa | Sherlock Hound | 1984–1985 | TV animated series (Italian-Japanese) (Japanese version) |
| Larry Moss | 1984–1985 | TV animated series (Italian-Japanese) (English dub) | |
| Elio Pandolfi | 1984–1985 | TV animated series (Italian-Japanese) (Italian dub) | |
| Pat Fraley | BraveStarr – "Sherlock Holmes in the 23rd Century" Parts 1 and 2 | 1988 | Animated TV episodes (American) |
| Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. | Alvin and the Chipmunks – "Elementary, My Dear Simon" | 1988 | |
| Brian Bedford | Alfred Hitchcock Presents – "My Dear Watson" | 1989 | TV episode (American) |
| Jeremy Irons | Saturday Night Live – "Sherlock Holmes' Birthday Party" [81] | 1991 | TV sketch (American) |
| Peter Capaldi | The All New Alexei Sayle Show – "Sherlock Holmes & Watson" [82] | 1994 | TV sketch (British) |
| Jason Gray-Stanford | Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century | 1999–2001 | Animated TV series (American-British) |
| Robert Webb | That Mitchell and Webb Look – "Holmes and Watson" | 2007 | TV sketch (British) |
| Ian Buchanan | Batman: The Brave and the Bold – "Trials of the Demon!" [83] | 2009 | Animated TV episode (American) |
| David Mitchell | That Mitchell and Webb Look – "Old Sherlock Holmes" | 2010 | TV sketch (British) |
| Benedict Cumberbatch | Sherlock | 2010–2017 | TV series (British) |
| Alexander Armstrong | The Armstrong and Miller Show | 2010 | TV sketch (British) |
| Jonny Lee Miller | Elementary | 2012–2019 | TV series (American) |
| Zach Sherwin | Epic Rap Battles of History – "Batman vs. Sherlock Holmes" | 2012 | Online series episode (American) |
| Igor Petrenko | Sherlock Holmes | 2013 | TV series (Russian) |
| Louis Oliver Moffat | Sherlock – Flashbacks of Holmes as a child | 2013 | TV series (British) |
| Kōichi Yamadera | Sherlock Holmes | 2014–2015 | TV series (Japanese) |
| Ewan Bremner | Houdini & Doyle – "Bedlam" | 2016 | TV episode (American) |
| Mark Caven | Houdini & Doyle – "The Pall of LaPier" | 2016 | |
| Yūji Oda | IQ246: The Cases of a Royal Genius | 2016 | TV series (Japanese) |
| Yūko Takeuchi | Miss Sherlock | 2018 | |
| Dean Fujioka | Sherlock: Untold Stories | 2019 | |
| Katsuyuki Konishi | Case File nº221: Kabukicho | 2019–2020 | TV anime series (Japanese) |
| Ian Sinclair | 2019–2020 | TV anime series (English dub) | |
| Camilla Arfwedson | Ghostwriter – "The Case of The Missing Ghost" | 2020 | TV series (American-Canadian) |
| Maksim Matveyev | Sherlock in Russia | 2020 | TV series (Russian) |
| Makoto Furukawa | Moriarty the Patriot | 2020–2021 | TV anime series (Japanese) |
| Theo Devaney | 2021 | TV anime series (English dub) | |
| Henry Lloyd-Hughes | The Irregulars | 2021 | TV series (British-American) |
| Masato Obara | Lupin the 3rd Part 6 | 2021-2022 | TV anime series (Japanese) |
| Yong Yea | 2022 | TV anime series (English dub) | |
| Shin-ichiro Miki | Undead Girl Murder Farce | 2023 | TV anime series (Japanese) |
| Mark Gatiss | Inside Classical - "The Hound of the Baskervilles" [84] | 2023 | Televised concert (British) |
| David Thewlis | Sherlock & Daughter | 2025 | TV series (American-British) |
| Hero Fiennes Tiffin | Young Sherlock | 2025 | TV series (British) |
| Name | Title | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broncho Billy Anderson | Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom | 1905 | Silent films (American) |
| Sherlock Holmes in the Great Murder Mystery | 1908 | ||
| Alwin Neuß | Sherlock Holmes | 1908 | Silent films (German) |
| The Stolen Legacy (Den stjaalne millionobligation) | 1911 | ||
| Detektiv Braun | 1914 | ||
| Der Hund von Baskerville | 1914 | ||
| Viggo Larsen | Sherlock Holmes in Deathly Danger | 1908 | One-reel short films (Danish) |
| Raffles Escapes From Prison | 1908 | ||
| The Secret Document [85] | 1908 | ||
| Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes | 1910 | Silent film (German) | |
| Otto Lagoni | Sherlock Holmes i Bondefangerklør | 1910 | Silent short films (Danish) |
| The Bogus Governess (Den forklædte barnepige) | 1911 | ||
| The Black Hand (Den sorte Haand) | 1911 | ||
| A Confidence Trick | 1911 | ||
| Einar Zangenberg | Hotel Thieves | 1911 | Silent short film (Danish) |
| Lauritz Olsen | Den sorte hætte | 1911 | Silent film (Danish) |
| Mack Sennett | The $500 Reward | 1911 | Silent short film (American) |
| Georges Tréville | The Speckled Band | 1912 | Éclair series short films (British-French) |
| Silver Blaze | 1912 | ||
| The Beryl Coronet | 1912 | ||
| The Musgrave Ritual | 1912 | ||
| The Reigate Squares | 1912 | ||
| The Stolen Papers | 1912 | ||
| The Mystery of Boscombe Valley | 1912 | ||
| The Copper Beeches | 1912 | ||
| Harry Benham | Sherlock Holmes Solves The Sign of the Four [86] | 1913 | Silent two-reel film (American) |
| James Bragington | A Study in Scarlet | 1914 | Silent film (British) |
| Francis Ford | A Study in Scarlet | 1914 | Silent film (American) |
| William Gillette | Sherlock Holmes | 1916 | Silent adaptation of the play (American) |
| Harry Arthur Saintsbury | The Valley of Fear | 1916 | Silent film (British) |
| Hugo Flink | Der Erdstrommotor | 1917 | Silent films (German) |
| Der Schlangenring | 1917 | ||
| Die Kassette | 1917 | ||
| Eille Norwood | 45 short silent films | 1921–1923 | Stoll film series (British) |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1921 | ||
| The Sign of the Four | 1923 | ||
| John Barrymore | Sherlock Holmes | 1922 | Silent adaptation of the play (American) |
| Carlyle Blackwell | Der Hund von Baskerville | 1929 | Silent film (German) |
| Clive Brook | The Return of Sherlock Holmes | 1929 | American film |
| Paramount on Parade : "Murder Will Out" | 1930 | Anthology film sequence (American) | |
| Sherlock Holmes | 1932 | American film | |
| Arthur Wontner | The Sleeping Cardinal | 1931 | 1931–1937 film series (British) |
| The Missing Rembrandt | 1932 | ||
| The Sign of Four | 1932 | ||
| The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes | 1935 | ||
| Silver Blaze | 1937 | ||
| Raymond Massey | The Speckled Band | 1931 | British film |
| Robert Rendel | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1932 | |
| Reginald Owen | A Study in Scarlet | 1933 | American film |
| Bruno Güttner | The Hound of the Baskervilles (Der Hund von Baskerville) | 1937 | German film |
| Basil Rathbone | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1939 | 1939–1946 film series (USA) |
| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | 1939 | ||
| Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror | 1942 | ||
| Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon | 1942 | ||
| Sherlock Holmes in Washington | 1943 | ||
| Sherlock Holmes Faces Death | 1943 | ||
| Crazy House (short cameo) | 1943 | ||
| The Spider Woman | 1944 | ||
| The Scarlet Claw | 1944 | ||
| The Pearl of Death | 1944 | ||
| The House of Fear | 1945 | ||
| The Woman in Green | 1945 | ||
| Pursuit to Algiers | 1945 | ||
| Terror by Night | 1946 | ||
| Dressed to Kill | 1946 | ||
| The Great Mouse Detective | 1986 | Animated film (archive; voice only) (American) | |
| Peter Cushing | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1959 | British film |
| Christopher Lee | Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace | 1962 | West German-French-Italian film |
| John Neville | A Study in Terror | 1965 | British film |
| Peter Jeffrey | The Best House in London (short cameo) | 1969 | British film |
| Robert Stephens | The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes | 1970 | American film |
| Douglas Wilmer | The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother | 1975 | |
| Nicol Williamson | The Seven-Per-Cent Solution | 1976 | |
| Peter Cook | The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1978 | British film |
| Christopher Plummer | Murder by Decree | 1979 | British-Canadian film |
| Nicholas Rowe | Young Sherlock Holmes | 1985 | American film |
| Mr. Holmes [87] | 2015 | British-American film (cameo in a film-within-the-film) | |
| Michael Caine | Without a Clue | 1988 | British film |
| Juan Manuel Montesinos | Sherlock Holmes en Caracas [88] | 1992 | Venezuelan film |
| Joaquim de Almeida | A Samba for Sherlock | 2001 | Brazilian-Portuguese film |
| Robert Downey Jr. | Sherlock Holmes | 2009 | American-British films |
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | 2011 | ||
| Gary Piquer | Holmes & Watson. Madrid Days | 2012 | Spanish film |
| Ian McKellen | Mr. Holmes | 2015 | American film |
| Yoshimitsu Takasugi | The Empire of Corpses | 2015 | Voice role; anime film (Japanese) |
| Chuck Huber | 2016 | Voice role; anime film (English dub) | |
| Johnny Depp | Sherlock Gnomes | 2018 | Voice role; computer-animated film (American) |
| Naoki Tanaka | Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger en Film | 2018 | Japanese film |
| Will Ferrell | Holmes & Watson | 2018 | American film |
| Henry Cavill | Enola Holmes | 2020 | American-British film |
| Enola Holmes 2 | 2022 | ||
| Les Best | Sherlock Holmes: Mare of the Night | 2025 | American film |
A small number of actors have played both Holmes and Watson, including Reginald Owen who played Watson in Sherlock Holmes (1932) and Holmes in A Study in Scarlet (1933); [95] [96] Jeremy Brett, who played Watson on stage in the United States prior to adopting the mantle of Holmes on British television; [97] Howard Marion-Crawford, who played Holmes on British radio and Watson on American television; Carleton Hobbs, who played both roles in British radio adaptations; [98] Patrick Macnee, who played both roles in American television movies; [99] and Anthony D.P. Mann who played Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow Watchers (2011) and Watson in the 2017 Bleak December audio adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.