We only caught a brief glimpse of Sherlock Holmes' nemesis, Moriarty, at the very end of Guy Ritchie's film. Obviously nobody knew who would really play the criminal mastermind. At one time Brad Pitt and Daniel Day-Lewis were rumored, but that ain't gonna happen, cool as it may be.
Latino Review first reported and Deadline has now confirmed that Jared Harris(B. Monkey
) has signed on to play Holmes' greatest adversary. Sherlock Holmes refers to him as the Napoleon of Crime. He first appeared in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel, The Final Problem, which features the "fatal" duel between the two rivals, falling to their deaths at Reichenbach Falls. This story also features Holmes' older brother Mycroft, whom we recently learned will be in the film portrayed by Stephen Fry. Obviously not my choice but Harris is a very solid actor. He first came to my attention as Asia Argento's lover in 1998's B. Monkey, but he's probably best known as Lance Pryce on AMC's Mad Men. I would've preferred an actor of the same celebrity status as Downey and Law just because of the fun factor, but Harris should fit in just fine.
