Himesh Patel made a surprise appearance as Dr John Watson in the credit scene of Enola Holmes 2, but then he was made to wait. It's been four years since the release of the sequel, and Patel finally got the chance to expand his iconic role in Enola Holmes 3.
It's not lost on the actor, who joked to Digital Spy in an exclusive interview that "there were times where I worried I'd be the briefest Watson in history". "I'm not sure it's a record anyone wants. Turned up at the end of number two, and never seen again," he continued.
"I was waiting with bated breath to hear when schedules might free up so that we could do it. But sometimes you wait for something and it's well worth the wait, and it certainly was for this experience."
Related: Millie Bobby Brown and Louis Partridge aren't ready for Enola Holmes to end yet
The Enola Holmes series has always been a different spin on Sherlock Holmes, focusing on Sherlock's sister Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) and the famed detective playing more of a supporting role. Sherlock is actually the victim here, kidnapped by a mysterious villain on the day of Enola's wedding to Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge).
It brings Dr Watson into the fold in a more active role, helping Enola solve the case to rescue her brother, while he also ends up sharing a personal connection to Tewkesbury. For Patel, it couldn't have been smoother finding his way into the dynamic with Brown and Partridge, who had already worked on two movies together.
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"They were very welcoming. Louis is wonderful, he's a really sweet guy and a fantastic actor and lovely to spend time with him. Millie's really amazing. Everyone knows how great she is as an actor, but to see her as a producer on this movie, to see her lead behind the scenes that way was really amazing," he recalled.
"She cares deeply about the story, about this character, about everyone, and she wanted everyone to have a great time working together. She cared about the crew. She has a real love for everyone and that really shines through. When someone makes that effort to put everyone at ease, to make everyone feel that they're part of the family, that really just helps."
Related: All you need to know about Enola Holmes 3
Even though it's a different kind of Enola Holmes movie, dealing with more mature themes, there's still the aspects that have made it a hit for Netflix from the fourth wall-breaking to its weaving of real-life history into the storyline.
It was this aspect that appealed to Patel too, with the storyline helping him develop why "this version of Watson is this version of Watson". "I did some research into that period of time and how Britain's exploits around the world were coming to bear on various parts of the world," he explained.
"Some of it I just knew already, but some of those details were very interesting to me. I think it's really, really admirable with these movies, and what I really love, is that they're fun, but they also have this level of social consciousness to them. They fold in some really interesting ideas that are historical, but also relate to the world as we know it today."
Enola Holmes 3 is released on Netflix on Wednesday 1 July.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
