JEREMY BRETT THE ULTIMATE SHERLOCK HOLMES LOOKS FORWARD TO HIS LAST CASE
HELLO! Magazine Number 104 - May 26 1990
Interview by Christopher Kenworthy
For hundreds of viewers in over 70 countries around the world Jeremy Brett is Sherlock Holmes. Jeremy may be regarded as "the ultimate Sherlock Holmes", but this year he is making what he swears will be the last of six of the one-hour Holmes films for television which have made him an international star.
The eight-year course which has finally brought him to this decision has not been all easy: while he was working hard on the second series of Holmes back in 1985 his much-loved American second wife, Joan, died. A combination of grief together with the strain of playing the role resulted in him suffering a nervous break-down, and entering a nursing home. It's clear that the man behind the deerstalker and clay pipe is very different from the super-confident Holmes.
As the son of a well-off English country family, acting was far from being the career his background might have marked him out for. And in fact Jeremy regarded himself as an impostor for many years. As an actor, he felt his high point of his career was when he played Hamlet at the age of 27; by way of contrast he was also Freddy in My Fair Lady. But with Holmes he has achieved world-wide fame and is now happily looking forward to some rest. Taking time out from filming he spoke exclusively to HELLO!
Jeremy, you were raised in Warwickshire and sent to Eton, the youngest of four boys. None of your brothers ever showed any sign of wanting to go on the stage. What drew you to the acting profession ?
It was really my singing voice. I was always accused of having histrionic tendencies, and when I went to Eton I was given wonderful things to sing. The audiences were wonderful, and my fan mail was immense. I remember one evening one shaft of sunlight was coming through the window of the chapel, and I assumed it was for me, and I stepped into it. When my voice broke, I became something of a plodder at school. But I never forgot that shaft of sunlight.
Before Holmes, what was your favourite role ?
Well, I was asked to play Hamlet when I was 27 by Frank Hauser. It was intended just to tour the country, but there had been a quite bad one at Stratford that year, so when we came into London, I cleaned up. The poster of me as Hamlet is pretty well the only piece of theatre memorabilia I keep around my home. It is behind glass, and it is going a bit beige now.
Playing Holmes has not always been easy, has it ?
No. When I first started playing him I locked myself into the hotel between 1983 and 1985. I wasn't going home at weekends. I was just sitting thrashing through my lines. When I came in, it depressed me to look at myself in the mirror. I couldn't wait to wash that stuff out of my hair and put on colour. He is such a black and white character. I started drinking champagne as a kind of celebration to lift my spirits. It started with just a glass in my bath, and grew until I needed a whole bottle to put me to sleep at nights. Well, that was getting entirely out of hand, and it had to stop.
Are children important to you ?
Yes, they are. I have three. David, who is my son by Annie (Anna Massey, his first wife) and two step-children by Joan. They are Caleb and Rebecka,- or Beckie as she loved to be called. They all mean a tremendous amount to me, and I feel very spoiled and lucky to have them.
The loss of your second wife, Joan, affected you very deeply.
I have got used to people saying I will get over it. You never do get over it. You just get used to it.
But I am not very good at losing people I love. I lost my mother, she was killed in a car accident, and it threw me for a loop.
How exactly did the loss of your wife affect you ?
I was advised that the way to get over it was to get back on my bike, and I get back to work. That is what I did, but I think it was wrong.
I was worn out, but I went into a kind of overdrive. It wasn't manic depression more of a manic high.
Then when I had finished filming, I was so thrilled to be free and resting, but I couldn't sleep. And then it began to go wrong. I think I probably should have gone on Valium, but as we all know that also has its dangers.
What will you remember best about the Holmes stories ?
They are a great essay in male friendship, which has gone now. Men's friendship has been debased. One of the lovely things about Holmes and Watson is that they do have this great platonic relationship.
When you have finished the six Holmes films what will you do ?
Now I think it is time to take lots of rest and think about what I actually want to do myself, not about what other people want me to do. But it will be a great comfort to me as I get older to be able to look back and say: "Oh, well, I did Holmes and I managed to do it not completely badly."