Robert and Jude Create the "Bromance" of Sherlock Holmes

When Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr. and gorgeous Jude Law took on the roles of famous sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his side-kick and pal Dr. Watson, they knew they'd have to hit it off to create the chemistry needed for the tight friendship the two famous characters share.  

We cornered the duo recently to get their take on their Sherlock Holmes roles and their close relationship....

How did you two create the chemistry between Watson and Sherlock?

Jude: We started work the minute we met.

Robert:  Yes. The second we met, we just started bouncing ideas off each other. We were very much on the same page; a pretty eccentric page. We really worked as a team to do justice to these characters and their friendship.

They are talking about Jude and I and "chemistry" as if we should be doing romantic comedies or something. I think Holmes and Watson are aspects of all of us.  We were just a good team. Jude has a huge intellect and love of the game.

Jude: I wanted to bring a yin to Holmes's yang. Robert and I talked a lot about how we would balance out each other's characters so that, together, they make a perfect whole. Their friendship is deeply rooted but there is a part of Holmes that infuriates Watson and vice-versa.

Robert, to you, what is Sherlock Holmes really like?

Robert: He was probably the first superhero, an intellectual superhero. A lot of people actually thought that Sherlock Holmes was a real person. He's very adept at so many things: he plays violin, he's a martial artist, a boxer and a swordsman of sorts. He has a strong moral code in helping good guys catch bad guys and is dedicated to being a consulting detective.

When he feels he's not inspired or motivated by some creative charge, he'll fall into a state where he barely speaks a word for three days but he has incredible amounts of energy when he's engaged in something. He has a passionate curiosity.  

Jude, how do you see Watson?

Jude: Watson has been in a brutal war and has experienced horror and physical pain. With that military background in mind, I really wanted him to represent the slightly more buttoned-up, polished professional, with Holmes being the more wayward, eccentric (guy). He's far from bumbling along. He's in the middle of the action, sometimes ahead of Holmes.

Watson has always been and remains the eyes of the audience watching this great man unravel these extraordinary clues. He gets his hands dirty in their cases together but he is also in awe when Holmes just lets loose with his photographic memory or ability to decipher exactly what happened and how it was done.

Jude, your Watson is a "Hotson"! Not the older, pudgy guy we've seen before.

Jude: They wanted me to play Watson with a bit more edge. It fascinated me. I hadn't read the books as a boy. I went back to the books and realized how much of this new rediscovery was in the source material. It added new energy.

Robert, in the previous films and famous books Holmes is taking some kind of drug. They sort of allude to that in this film, right?
 
Robert: This is a Pg-13 movie and, even if it wasn't, if you go back to the source material, he is never a strung-out weirdo and also back in Victorian times it was absolutely legal and acceptable. You could go down to your corner pharmacist and grab all that stuff.

Robert, did you feel responsible for carrying a legacy playing this famous character?  

Robert: Sometimes you feel like you are in the right groove and feel the legacy, like you are being silently approved of by someone in another space and time. We had to twist it up a little bit.  Like, he invents a silencer (for guns) but it doesn't work.

You look pretty buff and hot in the bare knuckle boxing scene. Was that fun for you?

Robert: It was so fun! I think it set the tone for the film. I'm crazy about fightin'. Love it! The bare-knuckle boxing ring is the only place where Holmes doesn't think.  It's just him and his opponent.