Sherlock actress moving from Baker Street to Ripper Street…temporarily.
In keeping with the tradition of the entire cast of Sherlock actors making maximum use of their downtime during the maddening but understandable hiatus between series, Louise Brealey will soon be following in the footsteps of series stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Andrew Scott, Mark Gatiss, Una Stubbs and Rupert Graves by taking on other projects. While Cumberbatch has either appeared in or has been rumored to be starring in virtually every film that is set to be released between now and 2015 and Martin Freeman just finished a stellar performance as Lester Nygard in the FX series, Fargo, other cast members have taken the opportunity to enjoy the ability to stretch out and showcase their brilliance both in film and on the live stage.
Louise Brealey, best known as timid pathologist Molly Hooper in the BBC/PBS 21st century adaptation of Sherlock, will step back in time and join the cast of Ripper Street for series three, which is currently being filmed in Ireland. Not a bad gig for Brealey who will temporarily trade in her back and forth with Benedict Cumberbatch for a role opposite Ripper Street star, Matthew Macfadyen. The Sherlock star will play Dr. Amelia Frayn who runs the Obsidian Clinic in Whitechapel, caring for those who cannot look after themselves.
“I’m playing one of the first women doctors,” Brealey told RadioTimes.com recently. “I’m really excited because I did history at university and I love a bit of research. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson blazed the trail in the 1870s and in the intervening decade or so a few extremely intrepid and unusual women started learning to be doctors themselves.”
The Victorian detective drama, which originally had a home on BBC1 and BBC America was revived from the back alleys of Whitechapel by Amazon Prime Instant Video where it will premiere with a not-long-after run on BBC1 in the UK.
