BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / An Observation

**Posted by canonlover** October 23, 2013 1:10 am

I'll be the first to admit, Sherlock is fantastic. Both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories, as well as the show. I only have one qualm with the modernization and that is, Mr. Cumberbatch. One again, I'll be the first to admit he is a fantastic actor, in fact every role I've seen him in i'm blown away by his performance, the one thing that distracts me from his acting though is his odd looking face. It's eccentric to say the least, and frankly frightining at some angles. Anybody else had this problem?

**Posted by sj4iy** October 23, 2013 1:13 am

canonlover wrote:
I'll be the first to admit, Sherlock is fantastic. Both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories, as well as the show. I only have one qualm with the modernization and that is, Mr. Cumberbatch. One again, I'll be the first to admit he is a fantastic actor, in fact every role I've seen him in i'm blown away by his performance, the one thing that distracts me from his acting though is his odd looking face. It's eccentric to say the least, and frankly frightining at some angles. Anybody else had this problem?

They light him very angularly on purpose. They want Sherlock to 'look' exotic, stand out from the ordinary people.

**Posted by canonlover** October 23, 2013 1:17 am

sj4iy wrote:
They light him very angularly on purpose. They want Sherlock to 'look' exotic, stand out from the ordinary people.

Oh I'm not saying I disagree with the artistic choices of the cameraman, just I think Cumberbatch might not have been the best choice, at least visually, to play Sherlock.

**Posted by canonlover** October 23, 2013 1:26 am

This website accuratley sums up my thoughtts on their most recent post

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Last edited by Sherlock Holmes (November 1, 2013 7:43 pm)

**Posted by Russell** October 23, 2013 2:57 am

I haven't had that problem, but I just wanted to say your opinion is understandable! Sure, there's some roles I can't imagine anyone other than the person who got cast playing it, because they just totally own/belong in it and become iconic to it, and I know some people cherish Rathbone or Brett for it, and Benedict is certainly one of those actors who you either warm up to, or sometimes don't. Sherlock was always regarded as a bit sharp-featured, and I think all of them have that going for them, but yeah... agree there's a difference. Ben even joked his mum was surprised when he got the part, saying 'but your nose is wrong for it!' I agree with the creators though, that they wanted Holmes to be slightly different/exotic than 'normal' (and that's not just with the camera/lighting) and that he just owned the role.

**Posted by tobeornot221b** October 23, 2013 4:34 am

canonlover wrote:
the one thing that distracts me from his acting though is his odd looking face. It's eccentric to say the least, and frankly frightining at some angles. Anybody else had this problem?

No, I never had this kind of problem with Ben's face. Frankly, Jeremy Brett's look appears more diabolic and frightening to me at times.

**Posted by Schmiezi** October 23, 2013 6:47 am

Actually, I think he is perfect for the role BECAUSE OF his face.

And personally, I can't find beauty in those "perfect" even, easy-to-look-at faces that are often regarded as attractive, especially in the US. But maybe that is a cultural thing.

**Posted by SusiGo** October 23, 2013 7:05 am

Tbh, I have never been a fan of Brett's Holmes. I find him overly theatrical and to me he often has a threatening air that does not really fit this very classic and canonical interpretation of Holmes. Benedict's face never distracts me from his acting because he is so good and uses the most subtle movements and nuances to express his character's attitudes.

**Posted by Mattlocked** October 23, 2013 8:28 am

Oh, I love the word "odd"!!
I found his face "odd" for about..... 5 minutes? After that it changed to "special", "unique", "beautiful" and not least "expressive". And no, it doesn't distract me from his performance, as he always uses it and it's expressions just perfectly for any role he's playing.
I agree with a lot of others here (->Schmiezi): "normal" is boring. Not interesting at all to me.

**Posted by Harriet** October 23, 2013 8:30 am

I was kind of fascinated by his face, and it grew and grew on me. If I hadn't seen a photo in a newspaper review, I wouldn't have given the show a try...

**Posted by QuiteExtraordinary** October 23, 2013 6:14 pm

Oh, I am sometimes distracted from other things by Ben's face, but only because it's so pretty.

**Posted by Edgeucated** October 23, 2013 6:40 pm

I can't imagine anyone else in that role. When I first saw the Sherlock,I thought for a millisecond "wow,what an interesting face" and now BC's face is the one and only Sherlock for me. And that face is absolutely gorgeous with all it's "oddities"

**Posted by Michele** October 23, 2013 10:37 pm

Edgeucated wrote:
I can't imagine anyone else in that role. When I first saw the Sherlock,I thought for a millisecond "wow,what an interesting face" and now BC's face is the one and only Sherlock for me. And that face is absolutely gorgeous with all it's "oddities"

I have to agree. I know that ACD's Sherlock doesn't look like Benedict but when I read the books now I can't help but picture him. I personally think that Benedict does an amazing job and makes his face (no matter what you think of it) work perfectly for the role.

**Posted by Ormond Sacker** October 24, 2013 3:10 pm

I admit that I do occationally find Benedict's face distracting. But not I think, in the same way th OP does

**Posted by SilverMoonDragonB** October 24, 2013 3:28 pm

Schmiezi wrote:
Actually, I think he is perfect for the role BECAUSE OF his face.

And personally, I can't find beauty in those "perfect" even, easy-to-look-at faces that are often regarded as attractive, especially in the US. But maybe that is a cultural thing.

Could not agree with you more!

**Posted by Pav** October 24, 2013 6:13 pm

When I first saw Sherlock I thought he looked too young and a little odd but during SiP I decided he was perfect for the role although I didn't consider him attractive... I think charismatic is precisely the right word for it. However, when I decided to buy Sherlock and watch it again I totally fell in love with the show (before I only thought it was great but I wasn't obsessed) and I also started fangirling. So in my opinion BC is attractive but not at first sight...

**Posted by SusiGo** October 24, 2013 6:28 pm

I don't think he ever looks average. And I like the current short hair very much as you can see from my sig. But that's of course just my personal opinion.

**Posted by Frozen Silence** November 1, 2013 11:15 am

At first, I didn't think he was very attractive (not that looks matter to me when it come to acting ability), but then I noticed how adorable his smile was. He has such a cute smile, I couldn't help but love him.

**Posted by tonnaree** November 1, 2013 12:17 pm

Frozen Silence wrote:
At first, I didn't think he was very attractive (not that looks matter to me when it come to acting ability), but then I noticed how adorable his smile was. He has such a cute smile, I couldn't help but love him.

Yes, that smile. Have you noticed how often he also looks down and away when he smiles? Like he gets all bashful? ADORABLE!

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** November 1, 2013 7:44 pm

canonlover wrote:
This website accuratley sums up my thoughtts on their most recent post

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