John Watson

[SherlockedCAMPer]

 

I haven't noticed any difference in Martin's teeth whether he's portraying John, someone else or just being himself.

 

I take it you've never seen Wild Target! :D

Correct, I have not seen it. Only Love Actually, Hobbit, & Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy for his non-Sherlock live action stuff and possibly 1 episode of the office just to see it.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Matt Smith read for Watson & they realized he would have been a better Sherlock if they had been looking for one. He got Doctor Who the following week. They went through a few actors before deciding on Martin.

[Pseudonym]

Can anyone think of any other actors who might have been suited? I'm having trouble but maybe that's just because I am so used to it being Martin.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I think there are a lot of actors who could have done a terrific job of the role (dunno if any of them tried out for it, though). But with each of them, it would have been a different Watson. And considering my own personal taste in acting, I think Martin Freeman would have been awfully hard to beat.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I remember part of their reason for picking Martin was that he upped Benedict's game as Sherlock. I don't remember how many actors they saw but when Martin and Benedict read their lines together, the dynamic changed that they hadn't seen with anyone else who read with Benedict.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Right -- I believe I've heard all of the producers say that, and BC as well. There's no substitute for chemistry.

[Pseudonym]

It's interesting because he sees so spiky and dry, a lot of interviews with him are fascinating but mildly uncomfortable. He was on the Graham Norton Show with Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd recently and there were a couple of extremely dry comments that they seemed to have no idea how to take.

[Boton]

 

I can't figure out what it is, if he smiles differently or something. Hm.

He does seem to have different mannerisms for just about every character, so it's quite possible that he smiles differently too. I'd never really noticed, though (except in Wild Target!).

 

 

I agree.  I think he has a very specific "John smile" that manages to convey "this is funny" and "this is nuts" at the same time, mostly when it is directed at Sherlock.  It has the advantage of making his teeth look very straight when he does it.

[Boton]

It's interesting because he sees so spiky and dry, a lot of interviews with him are fascinating but mildly uncomfortable. He was on the Graham Norton Show with Set Rogan and Paul Rudd recently and there were a couple of extremely dry comments that they seemed to have no idea how to take.

 

I also agree with this.  I feel like, whenever I hear MF speak, I'm getting the genuine him as much as possible.  That's a nice change, because the more that BC gets into big-budget movies, the more I feel like his interviews and appearances are a "packaged and rehearsed" version of himself.  MF always seems like himself, which makes him, to me, more of a draw.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I agree. Of course he's probably still playing a character named "Martin Freeman," but he does seem to speak his mind, sometimes to the point of putting his foot in his mouth. Plus he can be very witty. I enjoy his interviews (and his Q&A's) immensely.

[Van Buren Supernova]

Can anyone think of any other actors who might have been suited? I'm having trouble but maybe that's just because I am so used to it being Martin.

Jeremy Renner? But mainly because he looks like Martin Freeman.

 

I don't think anyone would be more suitable than BC and MF, but I remember thinking James Mcavoy behaves tiny bit like Sherlock in Victor Franskenstein and probably could be a decent one, but he doesn't have the silhouette.

Side, back, that is too freaking uber important.

[T.o.b.y]

I can't imagine anybody else playing John, nor anybody else playing Sherlock, for that matter.

[Arcadia]

They do both seem rather unique, don't they?

[Pseudonym]

I can imagine other people playing Sherlock, not exactly the same way of course but I think because Sherlock is so unique he's actually the easier character to pull off because you can be pretty out there. A lot of actors can play brooding, acerbic etc, though it's hard to say whether any of them could have injected quite the same level of vulnerability I see in BC's Sherlock, a lot of which is through looks and subtle little tells of body language. I think that's what makes him interesting to me is that what he says and how he looks don't always mesh which gives you an insight into the true emotions that he doesn't always quite manage to hide. Whether that's part of the direction and the script or down to BC's performance I don't know. 

[Arcadia]

I've often wondered the same thing.

 

I actually think not a lot of actors can accomplish that layered kind of performance, most of them are more straightforward in how they present their characters. And I think Martin does something similar to what Ben does, but in a different way ... what was that Ian McKellan said about him? That he can convey several ideas at once through one expression, or something like that. Both actors are rather magical, if you ask me.

[Van Buren Supernova]

Yes on their own,

when they are together they are fire-breathing frigging flying unicorn.

[J.P.]

 

what was that Ian McKellan said about him? That he can convey several ideas at once through one expression

Amen. This was what I saw in the NOT DEAD scene.

[Arcadia]

Yeah, exactly. He was amazing in that scene.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I wrote a fanfic scene where John had an expression of "agonized relief." As I was typing that, I wondered if it would make sense to anyone. But then I thought, any readers will be Sherlock fans, so they'll be familiar with Martin Freeman in the role. It'll make perfect sense to them.

[Shadow Dweller]

Is it something like John's face once he realized that Sherlock is alive, just a split second before he throttled him? :D

[Carol the Dabbler]

Not really -- but a complex combination like that, yes.

[J.P.]

The few seconds between John recognizing Sherlock and the attack.

 

I stared at the monitor in stupor and couldn't believe what I just saw. That such acting is possible at all.

[Arcadia]

What did we ever do to deserve such riches?

[J.P.]

We buy the DVDs, Funkos, whatevers, advertise the series, lure people into the Fandom of No Return...

[Pseudonym]

Oh dear, I'm half watching one of those real life cop shows on TV, and there's a guy called Watson on the rampage with a gun who they're trying to hunt down. Every

time they say Watson I perk up in interest, like it's some kind of fic I'm watching, I'm going to be so disappointed when they catch him and it's not John. 

Would be a pretty interesting fic, why is he on the rampage? Where is Sherlock? Off topic even more, are there any stories were Sherlock is just a figment in John's head? I know there's that youtube trailer but never actually seen a story like it.