ROUGH TRANSLATION FROM SWEDISH:
Martin Freeman: “Sherlock and Watson are a love story”
From office drone in “The Office” to Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming “The Hobbit” - Martin Freeman makes yet another success as Doctor Watson in BBC’s “Sherlock”
There are already many versions of Sherlock Holmes, is there really a need for one more?
“Yes, if it’s good. The series is quality, not a way to pass your time,” says Martin Freeman.
The audience do love BBC’s modern Sherlock which after success in the UK now is distributed half across the world, including Sweden. Unlike many earlier versions of the duo, Doctor Watson has in this updated version taken a step from the fat caricaturesque bumbling fool with walrus moustache and gun. Instead, he’s an army doctor, just back from Afghanistan. He’s got problems sleeping, and his wounded leg drives him mad.
”Sherlock and Watson meet at the right point in their lives, when they need each other the most. It’s a love story. Sherlock is upset because nobody can see the world the way he does. Watson misses the adrenalin and the constant life or death situations,” says Martin Freeman.
“It’s a very loyal adaptation of their friendship, but Watson is not a stumbling sidekick but more of a capable colleague.”
The modern Sherlock doesn’t smoke a pipe, instead he’s addicted to nicotine patches (the classic line “It’s a three pipe problem” has become “It’s a three patch problem”) and his genius is probably thanks to some modern diagnose.
“He’s a genius, probably with a cocktail of diagnoses, like Aspergers. He’s extremely talented, but it’s almost a disability. He wonders why everyone around him is so stupid.”
Martin Freeman has an interest in fashion himself and he says that the style was one of the vital parts of the characters.
“Benedict (Cumberbatch, who is playing Sherlock) looks amazing, he’s still got an Sherlockian silhouette, with a large overcoat, but in a classic cut. Watson dresses with an urban elegance, a touch of old school dashing, giving a feeling of both the military and the medical profession. I suppose it’s something they have in common as well. They’re a bit metrosexual”
(Source: kriegspeil)
