Why Mycroft From Enola Holmes Looks So Familiar
The Holmes family is full of familiar faces in Netflix's new comedy-mystery adventure film Enola Holmes – with everyone's favorite Witcher, Henry Cavill, playing Sherlock and Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown taking on the titular role of Enola. Middle child Mycroft Holmes should look familiar as well: He's played by English actor Sam Claflin.
Much like her older brothers, Enola is a natural crime-solver, and when her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) goes missing, she evades her siblings' attempts to ship her off to finishing school in favor of taking on the case herself. This leaves Sherlock and Mycroft with their own mystery to crack: the case of where their 16-year-old sister has gone.
For Claflin, the role of Mycroft in Enola Holmes represents yet another opportunity for him to play a literary character. Even if you don't immediately recognize Claflin's name, you almost certainly know the actor, who's starred in a number of high-profile projects. Here's where you've seen him before.
Sam Claflin brought 65th Hunger Games winner Finnick Odair to life
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire wasn't Claflin's first Hollywood blockbuster – that honor goes to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, in which he played the mermaid-loving missionary Philip Swift — but it's certainly the movie that earned him a devoted fanbase. In the film, Claflin stars as Finnick Odair, the witty District 4 winner of the 65th Hunger Games who allies himself with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) during the uprising against President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland). Thanks to his charm and, let's be real, good looks, Finnick became an instant favorite amongst Hunger Games fans, and the role put Claflin on Hollywood's radar in a major way. Following the release of Catching Fire in 2013, Claflin went on to star in the final two films in the franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2.
In addition to his role in the Hunger Games movie series, the actor also played William in the 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Chris Hemsworth and Kristen Stewart, and made a cameo appearance in its 2016 sequel The Huntsman: Winter's War. These projects happened around the same time as The Hunger Games, making Claflin a regular fixture on the blockbuster scene in the 2010s.
The movies that turned Sam Claflin into the King of the Weepy Romance
In between action-packed installments of The Hunger Games, Claflin found time to star in the charming 2014 romance Love, Rosie, opposite Lily Collins. The movie follows best friends Alex (Claflin) and Rosie (Collins) as they begin to realize they've fallen for each other. Despite flying under the radar when it was released, the movie introduced Claflin as Hollywood's go-to man for romance movies designed to make viewers cry.
Claflin followed up Love, Rosie with a heartbreaking adaptation of Jojo Moyes' novel Me Before You. The Hunger Games star took on the role of Will, a paralyzed man who falls in love with his caretaker Lou, played by Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke. The 2016 film met with mixed reviews, particularly from those with disabilities, as reported by Vanity Fair. Even with the controversy, it was hard not to be charmed and heartbroken in equal measure by Claflin's performance.
In 2018, the actor starred in the based-on-a-true-story film Adrift — yet another tear-jerking romantic drama, this time on the high seas. He starred as Richard Sharp opposite Shailene Woodley as Tami Oldham, a couple sailing to San Diego who wind up adrift on the Pacific Ocean after a hurricane hits. Two years later, Claflin circled back to the romance genre but kept it markedly more lighthearted with his role as Jack in the Netflix rom-com Love Wedding Repeat.
Sam Claflin portrayed a historical figure on Peaky Blinders season 5
In 2019, the busy Claflin took a break from his booming movie career to join the season 5 cast of the popular British crime drama Peaky Blinders. The actor plays real-life historical figure Oswald Mosley, a Member of Parliament who goes on to become the leader of the British Union of Fascists. Mosley becomes an uneasy political ally — and sometimes enemy — of Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby before the seasoned gang member begins to understand just how dangerous Mosley truly is.
It's clear from Claflin's career so far that he excels at playing real-life and literary characters — and after he hangs up Mycroft's impressively large hat, he'll keep the trend going by portraying Billy Dunne on Amazon's miniseries adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid's book Daisy Jones & The Six. So rest easy, Claflin fans: The actor appears prepared to keep playing your favorite book characters — and many other characters — for years to come.