The new Netflix movie Enola Holmes brings together one of the most iconic names in literature, with a quite impressive cast. Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things plays the lead and Superman himself, Henry Cavill plays the World's Greatest Detective, Sherlock Holmes. With a duo like that, it's no wonder that Sam Claflin, who plays Sherlock's older brother Mycroft, felt slightly intimidated.
Sam Claflin apparently had to deal with a couple of different problems while working on the set of Enola Holmes. First, there was the problem of being cast as Sherlock Holmes' older brother, when Claflin is actually three years younger than Henry Cavill who plays Sherlock. As Claflin told Yahoo, he felt a little bad about that, apparently because somebody thought he looked like he was much older than Cavill. Then there was the fact that he had to share scenes with two actors who have achieved a pretty significant level of fame due to playing very popular characters. As Claflin explained...
I felt somewhat ashamed to be cast as Henry Cavill’s older brother! He’s a very handsome man, isn’t he? And it’s amazing working with somebody at the peak of their career. Having Superman and Eleven as my younger siblings made me feel slightly inferior, so that added to the flavor of the character, if anything.
Sam Claflin has certainly had his share of significant movie roles. He had a major role in a Pirates of the Caribbean film and he was part of the Hunger Games franchise, but it's certainly true that he hasn't done anything that's become quite the pop culture phenomenon as Henry Cavill's Superman or Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven. And honestly, is there any way you could not be intimidated by Henry Cavill's hair alone? It makes me feel inferior and I'm just watching the movie.
Although, in this case, since Mycroft Holmes is essentially playing third fiddle to Enola and Sherlock, Sam Claflin suggests that position actually worked out for the movie itself. Within traditional Holmes canon Mycroft Holmes is the smarter of the two Holmes brothers in the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but he's generally lacking in Sherlock's energy and has little desire to do any of the actual work involved in Sherlock's line of work. Of course, Mycroft is generally described as being fairly soft and overweight from his lack of movement, so if nothing else Sam Claflin maybe the sexiest Mycroft ever put on screen.
While Sam Claflin may have felt slightly inferior, it appears from most reviews that the trio makes Enola Holmes work quite well. It may not be the smartest movie ever made with the Holmes name attached, the new Netflix production is generally being viewed as a lot of fun, and right now, is there really anything anybody needs more than a bit of fun?
