Guy Ritchie directed
Sherlock Holmes
to get away from his trademark gangster movies. After making a name with British crime capers after
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
and
Snatch
wanted a big screen challenge to prove his versatility as a filmmaker.
“I just felt that I wanted to move away from what I’d been associated with and I’d had enough of doing. Then
Sherlock Holmes
landed on my desk and I felt I could help reboot an otherwise rather dusty, iconic literary hero,” he said.
Meanwhile, Guy, 41, insists on ignoring criticism for not casting a British actor in the lead role as the detective. “People have asked me, ‘Why didn’t you cast a Brit’?’ The whole point is that you employ actors to act and Robert Downey Jr. is dramatically talented. Also, his English accent is better than mine,” he added.