Professor Moriarty: The Actor

The main antagonist of the famous English detective Sherlock Holmes, Professor James Moriarty, was remembered by readers according to the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle and the films created on their motives. He is the head of a dangerous criminal network operating throughout Europe, with which the famous master of the deductive method is fighting . Who is he, the criminal genius of Europe, and did he have a prototype? What actors embodied his image on the screen?

The prototype of a dangerous criminal

Arthur Conan Doyle took many of the character traits and appearance of the characters of his books from real life. Professor Moriarty also has several prototypes. According to the researchers of the work of the English writer, the image of Holmes' main opponent was basically copied from Adam Worth, who in the nineteenth century was called "Napoleon of the underworld". It is this characteristic that Moriarty gave in his stories as a writer.

The real genius of the underworld of the XIX century - what is the similarity to the literary character?

Wart's parents lived in Europe, but then emigrated to the United States. During the Civil War, Adam fought for the Union. After the end of hostilities, he began a criminal career and became a pickpocket. Very quickly, Worth became the leader of his own gang and engaged in looting. Was caught and sent to Sing Sing, one of the most terrible prisons. Safely fled from it and again returned to the underworld. He was famous for having robbed the bank in Boston, having penetrated there through the tunnel, which had been dug from a nearby shop. This story Conan Doyle later uses in his stories about Sherlock Holmes. After a daring robbery, Worth fled to England, where he created a criminal network engaged in looting. He arranged the case in such a way that none of the participants in his criminal schemes knew the organizer in person. This is what Moriarty Conan Doyle described as a man in the shadow and directing through intermediaries by hundreds of his henchmen throughout Europe.

The fate of Worth is extremely interesting. In the end, he himself came to William Pinkerton and told his story. The last years of his life he spent decent, together with the children. Son Worth became a detective at the Pinkerton Agency.

In what of Doyle's original stories there is the evil genius of the underworld of London?

This seems strange, but the main opponent of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Moriarty, is found in only a few stories. "Contractor from Norwood" and "Empty House" - in them the famous detective and Dr. Watson reveal the crimes behind which their sinister opponent stands. The criminal genius is not personally shown in them, Holmes only speaks of him as an organizer and compares it with a spider weaving a net.

And only in the story, which in its time caused a storm of indignation, in which the brilliant detective perishes, Professor Moriarty finally appears before the readers. This is the story "The last Holmes affair." With this work, Doyle wanted to finish the order of the detective who had bothered him, but caused a flurry of indignation. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty were too bright characters to just get rid of them. His favorite detective story had to be resurrected, but his main opponent was not lucky. Professor Moriarty died at the bottom of the Reichenbach Falls.

The best screen version of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes with the participation of his main opponent

The whole history of the film adaptation of stories about the great detective and his arch-enemy was many. But especially liked and remembered the audience only a few.

Soviet television movie of 1980 "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson" and is now considered one of the most successful adaptations of Doyle's stories. Vasily Livanov themselves Englishmen have repeatedly recognized the best Holmes of all time. Of contemporary paintings, Guy Ritchie's films were very successful. The British television series "Sherlock" and the Russian "Sherlock Holmes" are popular.

Who played Professor Moriarty. Actors and their incarnations

To portray the role of the evil genius of London and Europe on the screen is a complicated matter. Arthur Conan Doyle gives a very specific description of the appearance of the villain. Professor Moriarty (photo can be seen below) had a thin face and gray hair. Outwardly, he was most like a priest. He had a fast, high-spirited speech.

In the Soviet adaptation, Professor Moriarty is an actor Victor Evgrafov. He managed to convey the literary appearance of the criminal. Tall, thin, with a piercing gaze, dressed in a black suit, he really looked like a poisonous spider, always ready to jump.

In the second film Guy Ritchie about the adventures of the famous detective spectators finally saw the main enemy of Holmes. During the filming of "The Game of Shadows" there were many rumors that Moriarty was an actor Brad Pitt. In the first part of the director the villain's face never showed, which gave him the opportunity to choose any celebrity for this role. But Richie chose the British actor Jared Harris, and did not lose. Moriarty in his performance turned out to be convincingly cruel and calculating. Before the audience appears the image of a brilliant mathematician, who for many moves forward develops an action plan and coolly removes unwanted witnesses. Such a professor and described Conan Doyle. And although outwardly Harris looks a little like Moriarty's description, he played a role entrusted to him brilliantly.

In the adventure film of the year 2003, the League of Outstanding Gentlemen, the most famous characters of the books of the XIX century were collected: Captain Nemo, Allan Quatermain, Tom Sawyer, Dorian Gray. Their opponent was the Phantom, under the name of which was hidden Moriarty. He was played by Australian actor Richard Roxberg.

In the popular modern series "Sherlock" Professor Moriarty - actor Andrew Scott. The opponent of Sherlock Holmes in his performance is very different from the classical image. He is not a descendant of a noble family, possessing good manners, but a real villain is a psycho. So it was conceived by the creators of the series, who wanted to move away from the cliche. Even the action they have suffered in our time. Another difference of Moriarty, played by Scott, from the work of other actors - he is very young.

In 2013, the Russian TV series about the adventures of the famous detective - "Sherlock Holmes." The role of Professor Moriarty in it was played by Alexei Gorbunov.

Paradoxes of the film "Young Sherlock Holmes"

Actor Anthony Higgins played in this 1985 film the sinister Professor Moriarty. He also in 1993 embodied on the screen already the famous detective on the television series "1994 Baker Street: The Return of Sherlock Holmes."

This is not the only time when an actor plays the role of ideological opponents in different films. Richard Roxburgh, a year before filming in the League of Outstanding Gentlemen, where he embodied the image of Professor Moriarty, played Sherlock Holmes in the film The Dog of the Baskervilles.

James Moriarty in the works of other authors

The famous criminal of the XIX century, invented by Arthur Conan Doyle and killed by him, received a second birth in the books of other writers. The most interesting works, popular with readers, are the novels of modern author Kim Newman. In them, the main character is not the famous detective, but Professor Moriarty. "The Dog d'Herberville" - one of the books of the cycle, dedicated to "Napoleon of the underworld." In it, he, along with his assistant, Sebastian Moran, unravels complex riddles.

John Edmund Gardner is another author, whose hero of the trilogy was Professor Moriarty. Finally, Anthony Horowitz, a popular writer, wrote several works based on Doyle's stories. His latest novel is called simply "Moriarty".

Conclusion

The figure of a brilliant criminal, the sinister enemy of the famous detective, is no less interesting than Sherlock Holmes himself. And thanks to the actors, who perfectly embodied his image on the screen, viewers can imagine what the "Napoleon of the underworld" of the 19th century, Professor Moriarty, looked like.