“I wanted to be an actor at first,” said Harry Bradbeer. “Then I was directed with some great directors in school and the way they would direct us on stage made me start to see things in frames and shapes, then I directed a play. One day I just took a left turn and made a film.”

As a director, Bradbeer is known for working on Killing Eve, Ramy, and Fleabag. But after he landed the job of directing Jack Thorne’s Enola Holmes screenplay, he fell in love with the character and started writing the story for the sequel.

In Enola Holmes 2, Harry is the director and has a story by credit for the film that gives writing credit to Thorne (The Aeronauts, Wonder) once again. The description reads, “Now a detective-for-hire, Enola Holmes takes on her first official case to find a missing girl as the sparks of a dangerous conspiracy ignite a mystery that requires the help of friends – and Sherlock himself – to unravel.”

“Films sort of crept up on me and grabbed by the throat when I wasn’t expecting it. American films from the 70s — Chinatown, Midnight Cowboy, French Connection, The Exorcist — those four movies just obsessed me. The level of reality of cinema at that time made me excited about portraying veracity. It turned me off from the theater actually. I wanted to take the camera to the streets.”

Harry Bradbeer

This led to somewhat of a natural interest in television, where character-based stories live. “I started working on cop shows that were shot like a documentary or legal shows about kids living in a flat. They weren’t bright and shiny, but gritty and real. I felt completely in my zone there. It was about performance and speed of work.”

Writing Enola Holmes

“The last thing I expected was to make a family-adventure film,” joked Bradbeer. “I had done Killing Eve and Fleabag, which were not exactly aimed at children. But I had started to work in comedy. I’d basically worked in all the genres and this was something I hadn’t done before.”

The original story comes from Nancy Springer’s book which was based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters. “What struck me is that it had a compelling central female character, but she also had something to say. I only want to make something that has something to say.”

Bradbeer saw a simple, yet complex message about feminism in the middle of the story. “There was this bomb-building mother played by Helena Bonham Carter who has this influence over her daughter (Millie Bobby Brown as Enola) and she’s dealing with her mother’s feat of clay and also her own mystery.” The story also leans into the typical Sherlock Holmes mystery, as Henry Cavill plays Enola’s brother, the iconic detective.

When setting up the style for the first movie, Bradbeer said his first meeting had just three words on the wall: eccentricity, energy and emotion. “Those were the three key words we all kept to. It was also this Englishness to it, imposed in an American studio film. I was in love with the details.”

“I had gotten involved as a lot of directors do, working with the writer. Sometimes I’ve ended up writing a scene but not always taking credit. I wrote my first three short films. But the most useful thing in terms of directing for a writer is that you are sort of directing a scene when you write it. A character walks in with intention, they don’t get what they want, they think all is lost, then find a new solution and go into another chamber. That’s what a scene is.”

Bradbeer said he’s got a drawer of screenplays he would never show anyone, but after directing the first movie and reading all of the books, he knew he had an idea for the sequel. “Character is contradiction,” he said, quoting Robert McKee. “There’s one little chapter in it about character where he says a good character isn’t just an array of characters, but a central contradiction. This is also true for actors. We see each other in two ways at the same time.”

Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) and Eudora (Helena Bonham Carter) Photo by Alex Bailey/ Legendary

“Sibling relationships, after the parental-child relationship, are the most complex. We know them so well and yet, we are in a little power struggle and that intimacy bears fruit and baggage. You have to be a bit of a psychologist to write a character,” he said of the sibling rivalry in these two films.

Scripts that Stand Out

As a director, Bradbeer has read hundreds if not thousands of scripts. Like many other directors who have appeared on the podcast, Bradbeer said there are several pet peeves directors see in modern screenplays. “Often in stage direction, there are moments for details, but less is more. I’d be hesitant to write too much.”

“It’s true that dialogue is what gets read,” he continued. “Stage directions are important, but the less you can write strengthens what remains. Be economical. I think people actually put less stage direction these days. If you look at Chinatown or Casablanca, there’s a lot of description. People had more patience for them. Now, people want to get straight in.”

Exposition aside, Bradbeer is looking for something specific with each script. “If anything, I think the individual viewpoint is something that there is always a shortage of. The real fresh view is to hang on to your own voice. You’ve got nothing but your voice as a director or a writer. That’s always in short supply.”

Carrying this to set, Bradbeer said when he speaks to actors, the first thing he does is ask them about their character. He wants to enhance their own perspective rather than try and box them into any preconceived notions. “Just sit down with a cup of coffee and say ‘what do you think?’” He said he also met with Millie and Henry separately so they could share private feelings about the characters, perhaps even feelings they wouldn’t want the other actor to know.

He asks them psychological questions and then they work to a conclusion together. “There’s nothing better you can do than to send the actor onto the floor thinking ‘I am the person. I am the only person in the world to play this part.’ They should be in possession of that character.”

For young writers, Bradbeer said the best thing you can do is pitch well. “Practice telling the story to your friends. Go to someone you don’t know well, tell them your story and watch their face. Hitchcock used to pitch stories to his barber and watch to see if he looks bored. I once pitched a story to a friend and I could see I was boring him. He said, what’s the spirit of your story?”

“So, the elevator pitch is true. It’s not everything, but if you can’t tell something simply, you don’t understand it. I think Einstein said that. If you put it simply, it’s got the kernel of something that might travel. Then, practice. Be persistent. Hang on to your own voice. You can get fired, work with the wrong people, but if you follow a truthful way to tell your story with integrity, you will never lose your anchor.”

This interview has been condensed. Listen to the full audio version here.