Jonny Lee Miller will play Sherlock on American TV (The Independent)

The two British stars won a joint Best Actor prize after sharing the lead in the National Theatre’s Frankenstein.

But now Jonny Lee Miller will go head-to-head with Benedict Cumberbatch in a battle to determine who is television’s predominant Sherlock Holmes. Miller, 39, the Trainspotting actor, has won the lead role in Elementary, a show created by US broadcaster CBS, in which a detective solves cases inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, set in contemporary New York.

 Elementary has already been threatened with legal action by the producers of the BBC’s Sherlock, amid concerns that its modern-day scenario appears to borrow elements from the hugely-successful series starring Cumberbatch. Sherlock producer Sue Vertue hinted that CBS are now sniffing around her team for casting clues.

She told The Independent: “Johnny is a very fine actor, who I saw recently in the theatre when he and Benedict played alternating roles in Frankenstein. Let's hope their pilot script has stayed further away from our Sherlock than their casting choice." She added: "We have been in touch with CBS and informed them that we will be looking at their finished pilot very closely for any infringement of our rights.” Cumberbatch, 35, has signed on for a third run of Sherlock adventures and the trans-Atlantic screen rivalry with Miller could challenge a friendship forged during their unique job-share at the NT.


Read further:  http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/jonny-lee-miller-to-play-sherlock-holmes-in-us-series-6939158.html