Millie Bobby Brown and Louis Partridge return as Enola and Tewkesbury in Enola Holmes 3. Their on-screen chemistry was evident even before the interview began. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
They say their off-screen friendship has helped bring more ease and affection to Enola and Tewkesbury's developing relationship. Partridge says: "We realised we don't do much prep for some of the scenes - we learn our lines and rehearse and it's not that we don't take it seriously but we're really able to be in it."
Brown laughs and turns to Partridge with mock seriousness, noting they often tease each other. She says they spend most of their time on set "belly laughing about the most random things". "People will say to me, 'I just met Louis Partridge and I had a really interesting conversation, he's a really smart guy.' I'm like, who? Louis Partridge is a smart guy? When? We definitely regress into our younger selves," she adds.
Partridge, 23, smiles and describes their dynamic as almost sibling-like. "We were just remarking that we look like brother and sister. There's definitely a bit of that relationship between us," he says.
In the third film, Enola and Tewkesbury's relationship develops further, with the pair getting engaged. The plot takes Enola to Malta, where her future with Tewkesbury is interrupted by a dangerous case involving Sherlock's disappearance.
This chapter pushes the franchise into darker, more grown-up territory, which appealed to new director Philip Barantini, best known for Adolescence and Boiling Point. "My nine-year-old daughter can't watch anything I've ever done. She's a big fan of Enola, and I wanted to make something we could watch together and challenge myself to do something different," he says.
His job was made easier by the fact that Brown, who has been a producer on the franchise from the start, was already thinking along similar lines. "When I pitched my idea, she was already thinking about incorporating some of the darkness so it made my job easy because we were so aligned," Barantini says.
The film also gives Himesh Patel a proper introduction as Dr Watson, after a brief cameo at the end of the second film. Patel laughs: "I was just waiting on news for a third movie and it took longer than expected so for a while I was thinking I was going to be the briefest Watson in history, but thankfully that didn't happen."
He says Brown "cares so much about this franchise, the characters and this world" and is not afraid of "creative friction". "It's not an argument, but she puts her opinion forward and wants to have that discussion," Patel adds.
When asked about her confidence, Brown says: "I have no problem speaking up, that's probably my red flag." Her confidence seems to come from a deep sense of ownership over Enola - she read the book series, pitched the idea, sold it and helped bring it to Netflix. "It feels like a part of my heart forever and I have my heart and hands all over this project, and in so many ways it feels like mine. I am protective, so I'm making sure we're bringing it to life in the best way possible," she says.
But she says she is careful not to tell other actors what to do. "I've been on the other end of it and I don't want to be that annoying producer but I think about it a lot when I go home and write everything down," she explains.
Brown's husband, Jake Bongiovi, who also worked on the film, says she sometimes takes the character home with her. Brown agrees and jokes that Enola's high standards can also follow her home.