Mark Gatiss, the writer and star of hugely popular TV show 'Sherlock', which has made global stars out of Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott, says reinventing the famous fictional character was never a cheap gimmick for him and co-creator Steven Moffat.
Gatiss will visit India from December 19 to 21 to meet 'Sherlock' fans at Mumbai Film and Comic Con 2014, and is looking forward to connect to a new set of audience that has loved all the three seasons of the BBC show.
Gatiss, 48, who plays Sherlock's disapproving elder brother Mycroft Holmes in the series, reveals that like all literary reinterpretations, their decision to update Sherlock for a younger audience was met with resistance initially.
"The idea is not new. It has been done before but when we started you could tell the resistance. There was a newspaper article that criticised us. "But we have been very clear from the beginning that the series is made by people who adore Sherlock Holmes. It is not a cheap gimmick for us. We were just trying to find a new way to reintroduce the character to a younger audience and I am glad that people have taken our version to their heart," Gatiss told PTI in a telephonic interview from London ahead of his visit to India.
Gatiss is glad that Cumberbatch, who has created Oscar buzz with his role in 'The Imitation Game', became very popular after playing Sherlock. Scott, known to the series' fans as Moriarty, meanwhile, has bagged a role in the newly announced 24th James Bond movie 'Spectre'. "Benedict genuinely became a star overnight with 'Sherlock'. At first Martin (Freeman) was obviously the bigger star but Benedict became a star after the first episode. Now they are equal global stars. "Steven and I are both mad James Bond fans, so it is great to have Andrew there. The global reach of 'Sherlock' is immense. The only downside is that everyone is so popular and busy that it is quite hard to get them together to make more shows," says Gatiss.
Arthur Conan Doyle's creation seems to be having a moment in pop culture with films and TV exploring the character further. "The resurgence of Sherlock Holmes is inevitable. I am happy that the new generation has loved our version. Sherlock has found his fan moment. When we were making the pilot, we heard about Guy Ritchie making a film. But the one thing that I love about the character is that different versions don't destroy each other, they just add to the legend of Sherlock Holmes," he says. Gatiss, whose writing credits includes another iconic British TV show 'Doctor Who', has become busy himself, starring in several other shows, including a role in 'Game of Thrones'.
The actor, who has had a long and varied career as a writer, producer, actor and author, feels television is a more interesting place to be now. "Things have changed a lot. There used to be a lot of snobbery about television earlier. But TV is more interesting and intelligent than films at the moment. Films are generally getting dumber and TV is getting more clever and exciting.
"People are very happy to move between the two in a way that was not possible before. Look at shows like 'Breaking Bad', 'House of Cards' and 'Game of Thrones'. 'Sherlock' is a part of that. TV is where people want to be," Gatiss said. Ever since the completion of the third season of the show, there has been a lot of anticipation regarding the next and Gatiss advices all the fans of 'Sherlock', to have more patience. It was recently revealed that the fourth season will be preceded by a one-episode special, which will begin filming next year.
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