After last season’s cliffhanger ending, Sherlock (PBS) starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the sleuth and Martin Freeman as his Watson, has returned for its highly anticipated three-episode third season of thrilling mysteries with high-tech twists.

The show has gained a passionate cult following and plenty of praise from critics: “This is TV pleasure at its most intense, without even a shade of guilt,” said one reviewer, and another lauded it as “clever and classic.”

And Cumberbatch’s Holmes may not smoke a pipe (though he does play violin), but his Sherlock ranks among the other great Holmes portrayals, from Robert Downey Jr. to Peter Cushing and beyond. Who’s the best? Check out our picks for the most memorable Sherlocks, and vote for your favorite, below.

Benedict Cumberbatch

The 37-year-old actor delivers Sherlock‘s whip-smart dialogue with an acerbic edge.

(Courtesy of ©Hartswood Films for MASTERPIECE)

Robert Downey Jr.

Downey Jr. won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the eccentric sleuth in the 2009 Guy Ritchie-directed film in and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (check out a digital copy of the film here). One reviewer raved: “Downey has a winning take on Holmes: He’s always on. As he assesses situations, we see things happen as he predicted or surmised.”

Jeremy Brett

Brett played Sherlock throughout the 80s and 90s in several TV movies, including The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.



Basil Rathbone

Between 1939 and 1946, Rathbone was Sherlock in 14 films alongside Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.



Peter Cushing

Cushing played Holmes in the 1968 TV series as well as the 1959 film The Hound of Baskervilles.



Nicol Williamson

In the 1976 Oscar-nominated film The Seven Percent Solution, Williamson played a Sherlock who crosses paths with Sigmund Freud, played by Alan Arkin.



Jonny Lee Miller

Miller plays another modern Sherlock alongside Lucy Liu‘s Watson in the TV series Elementary.

