Jonny Lee Miller is best-known to TV fans as quirky, brilliant Sherlock Holmes, the recovering addict and crime solver who teams with Dr. Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) on “Elementary” to help the NYPD crack labyrinthine cases (usually involving murder). The modern-day take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s sleuth is now in its fourth season on CBS.
The British-born Miller, 43, took time out from his hectic shooting schedule to talk to The Post about “Elementary,” why Sherlock and Watson will (likely) never hook up, his love for New York City and his late grandfather — actor Bernard Lee (“The Third Man”), who played intelligence chief “M” in the first 11 “James Bond” movies (from 1962 to 1979).
Is there more room for Sherlock to evolve after four seasons?
The great thing about this creation, both in Conan Doyle’s version and our version, is it delivers what people want from Sherlock Holmes — a rock-steady presence. And we can, therefore, serialize our stories. The core element — Holmes and Dr. Watson — are going to be there and are, essentially, the same people [as in the original]. The fact that Sherlock is in recovery gives you somewhere to move, but we don’t want to move too far away from who he is. I don’t think that would really satisfy viewers.
“Elementary” has, so far, steered away from any romance between Holmes and Watson.
I think we’re all on the same page here as far as that goes. Holmes and Watson’s relationship is sacred, and if you change that, then the show is not about Holmes and Watson anymore. There are some things you can play with and some you can’t. The fact that one’s a man and one’s a woman is irrelevant; it’s who they are as people that’s important. The original Holmes and Watson were not romantically involved and, therefore, neither should we [be romantically involved]. It’s good to have people’s minds racing and thinking one thing or another, but we’re in the Holmes and Watson business. That won’t change unless someone else swoops in and takes over and turns the ship upside-down.
Is it difficult to shuttle back and forth between the US and the UK?
I live here. I’m a New Yorker now. We shoot [in New York City] nine-and-a-half months of the year, 24 episodes a season, and New York is my home. I was on the Left Coast but I sold my house when we got picked up for a second season — and I’ve been here ever since. I absolutely love it. I was somewhat familiar [with New York] — I worked here and spent some time here, including four months in a Broadway show [“After Miss Julie”] — but I’ve really come to know the city and dive into it in a completely different way.
Was your grandfather, Bernard Lee, an influence on you?
I did know him and I remember him very fondly. He was a very funny man. Unfortunately he passed away when I was 8 years old, but I remember his voice and I have very vivid memories of him. My dad [Alan Miller] was also involved in the theater, in stage management, so there was a lot of that stuff around. I was absolutely very lucky to know, from a very young age, what I was going to pursue.
You’re an advocate for research into curing Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare metabolism disorder.
I do what I can. It’s a dreadful and insidious disease affecting kids and the funding gets cut when the purse strings are tightened. We need advocates … if we can get a few million bucks, the science is there and we can get a cure going. People can look up jonahsjustbegun.org and can learn about the effort.