Star Magazine – 21st December, 2002

By Steve Clark

Britain’s most famous detective Sherlock Holmes throws away his trademark deerstalker hat for a new version of the classic spine-chiller The Hound of the Baskervilles this Christmas. And the English sleuth is played by a dashing Aussie actor in the new multi-million pound production, which uses the latest computer generated imagery to bring the famous devil hound to life.

Richard Roxburgh, who starred with Nicole Kidman as The Duke in the hit movie Moulin Rouge and who will star with Sean Connery next year in The League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen, beat dozens of Brit actors to the role. His trusty sidekick Dr Watson is played by Ian Hart, last seen on the big screen as Professor Quirrell, the villain in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Richard E Grant plays archaeologist Stapleton, whilst Midsomer Murders and Bergerac star John Nettles appears as local Dr Mortimer and Matt Day as Sir Henry Baskerville. Linda Green star Liza Tarbuck plays dowdy Mrs Barrymore, Sir Henry’s housekeeper and Geraldine James is Mrs Mortimer.

Set on mist-covered Dartmoor, Devon in 1901, Sherlock Holmes is called in after Sir Charles Baskerville dies in mysterious circumstances – he may have been killed by a terrifying beast which is said to roam the desolate moor. Instead of using real-life Dartmoor, the film was shot largely on the Isle of Man, which has become very popular with film-makers because its government is happy to invest in movies.

On set in a spooky Victorian house, which is well-suited to the creepy tale, John Nettles (in a very straggly beard), who spent years on the tiny island of Jersey quips: “I can’t seem to get away from bloomin’ islands.”

Meanwhile, Liza Tarbuck enjoyed sessions of the game Boggle in between scenes. “One of the highlights of my year was trouncing Richard E Grant at Boggle,” she laughs. “He was really good, but I was even better! Every time we had a break we’d sneak off for a game – but I can’t possibly tell you the words that Richard came out with!”

In the film Geraldine James – who as medium Mrs Mortimer has to conduct a séance to try to find out from dead Sir Charles Baskerville how he was killed – talked to real-life medium to learn how to contact the dead. “I’d been to a real séance before to prepare for another role so this time I spoke to a medium on the phone,” says Geraldine. “We talked for hours and she was fantastically helpful. I do believe people can talk to the other side. I am convinced that humans can have certain powers. The only similar experience I had was years ago. I was miles away from home, but I just got a strong sense that my mother needed me – so I came home and was right.”

Sherlock Holmes itself was all-new to Swaziland-born movie star Richard E Grant. “I’ve never seen a Sherlock Holmes film or read a book before doing The Hound of the Baskervilles,” he said. “I only really know him because of Baker Street tube station. I grew up in Africa and I read voraciously. I remember I used to read Agatha Christie novels as a teenager, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books passed me by.”

Richard Roxburgh was thrilled to win the role of archetypal Englishman Holmes. “The producers spotted me in an Australian film I did five years ago,” he says. “I played a broad Aussie drug dealer, so I don’t know how they made the link. But I’m delighted that they did. Holmes is a great character to play and The Hound of the Baskervilles is a great story. It plays on a very basic fear of a big black dog that’s out there and is gonna get you! I read the book as a kid and it made a real impression on me, because it’s a very well put together thriller,” adds Roxburgh, 39, who starred alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible II.

Dapper Holmes might be seen in smart suits some of the time, but that didn’t mean Richard didn’t have to rough it during filming and on one occasion, filming on the Isle of Man moors had to be abandoned due to high winds. He also spent a day up to his neck in mud for another scene.

“I had to dive into a big vat full of filthy peat and mud,” he says. “It was the riskiest thing I had to do for the film. It was really viscous and it actually did start to pull me under, which was what it was supposed to do to Holmes. I had to spend the best part of the day in it – and it took me days to get clean afterwards.”

He might be playing a super-brained sleuth, but Richard reckons his powers of deduction are pretty useless. “I am so unlike Holmes,” he laughs. “On the first day of rehearsals I went out to the shops from the studio and got lost!”