Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed literary human character in film and television history, having appeared on screen 254 times as of 2012. Additionally, many actors have portrayed Sherlock Holmes in audio dramas and stage productions.

Radio and audio dramas

Stage plays

Television and DTV films

Television series

Theatrical films

Video games

Actors who have played both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson

A small number of actors have played both Holmes and Watson, including Reginald Owen who played Watson in Sherlock Holmes (1932) and Holmes in A Study in Scarlet (1933); Jeremy Brett, who played Watson on stage in the United States prior to adopting the mantle of Holmes on British television; Howard Marion-Crawford, who played Holmes on British radio and Watson on American television; Carleton Hobbs, who played both roles in British radio adaptations; Patrick Macnee, who played both roles in US television movies; and Anthony D.P. Mann who played Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow Watchers (2011) and Watson in the 2017 Bleak December audio adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.