Enola Holmes: Secrets of Millie Bobby Brown’s Sherlockian Detective


Millie Bobby Brown is back as the troublesome, opinionated, and sassy Enola Holmes, the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft. Brown, born in 2004, is also credited as a producer on Netflix’s Enola Holmes 2 (2022) another incredible accomplishment for the breakout star of Stranger Things. We may be seeing even more of Millie as Enola in the future - the movies are based on seven novels written by American author Nancy Springer.

SPYSCAPE dug up a few behind-the-scenes secrets to give you the inside track on Enola Holmes and its white-hot star Millie Bobby Brown. The game is afoot! Now, where to begin?

Brown’s sister got her hooked on the Enola Holmes books


Millie’s older sister Paige read Springer’s books and fell in love with the character, envisioning Millie in the lead role: “When Paige is excited about something it gets me immediately excited,” Millie told the Los Angeles Times. “I was very excited about multiple different things - the stunts, the costumes, the time period. [Enola’s] bravery and her vulnerability.” 

Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes, Netflix Instagram Puzzle


Millie Bobby Brown likes to unravel puzzles too

Much like her character, Millie loves to unravel mysteries, often revealing her answers on social media. Netflix had Instagram followers buzzing as well when it posted its Enola Holmes word scramble. Can you find the hidden phrase in this anagram?

Millie enjoyed doing Enola’s stunts - often in petticoats! - but they are a challenge

“For Eleven [in Stranger Things]... I don't have many stunts and she does everything by the tips of her fingers and ‘Raaaaah!’ something flies,” Millie said. “But for Godzilla and things like that, I did a lot of stunt work. This [Enola] is the film where I’ve done the most stunt work.” 

The challenging part? "I'm not athletic. I can't run for the life of me. I don't think I ever go to the gym - and if I do something's very wrong and that's a rare occasion. So what I usually do is train for roles. I love training for roles.”

Henri Cavill and Millie Bobby Brown

The relationship between co-star Henry Cavill and Millie resembles Sherlock and Enola Holmes

“The relationship on camera very much mirrors what's off. We do have a very older brother, younger sister relationship. There's a lot of teasing on set, a lot of having fun. I do not hold back when I make fun of her - at all. And she doesn’t hold back either," Cavill said. So has she ever made him cry in real life? “Not that I’m willing to admit or that anyone has ever seen,” Cavill jokes. Without giving away too many spoilers, Cavill promised audiences they’d see a different side of Sherlock Holmes in Enola Holmes 2 - one that’s borderline alcoholic.

Enola Holmes: Secrets of Millie Bobby Brown’s Sherlockian Detective

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Millie Bobby Brown is back as the troublesome, opinionated, and sassy Enola Holmes, the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft. Brown, born in 2004, is also credited as a producer on Netflix’s Enola Holmes 2 (2022) another incredible accomplishment for the breakout star of Stranger Things. We may be seeing even more of Millie as Enola in the future - the movies are based on seven novels written by American author Nancy Springer.

SPYSCAPE dug up a few behind-the-scenes secrets to give you the inside track on Enola Holmes and its white-hot star Millie Bobby Brown. The game is afoot! Now, where to begin?

Brown’s sister got her hooked on the Enola Holmes books


Millie’s older sister Paige read Springer’s books and fell in love with the character, envisioning Millie in the lead role: “When Paige is excited about something it gets me immediately excited,” Millie told the Los Angeles Times. “I was very excited about multiple different things - the stunts, the costumes, the time period. [Enola’s] bravery and her vulnerability.” 

Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes, Netflix Instagram Puzzle


Millie Bobby Brown likes to unravel puzzles too

Much like her character, Millie loves to unravel mysteries, often revealing her answers on social media. Netflix had Instagram followers buzzing as well when it posted its Enola Holmes word scramble. Can you find the hidden phrase in this anagram?

Millie enjoyed doing Enola’s stunts - often in petticoats! - but they are a challenge

“For Eleven [in Stranger Things]... I don't have many stunts and she does everything by the tips of her fingers and ‘Raaaaah!’ something flies,” Millie said. “But for Godzilla and things like that, I did a lot of stunt work. This [Enola] is the film where I’ve done the most stunt work.” 

The challenging part? "I'm not athletic. I can't run for the life of me. I don't think I ever go to the gym - and if I do something's very wrong and that's a rare occasion. So what I usually do is train for roles. I love training for roles.”

Henri Cavill and Millie Bobby Brown

The relationship between co-star Henry Cavill and Millie resembles Sherlock and Enola Holmes

“The relationship on camera very much mirrors what's off. We do have a very older brother, younger sister relationship. There's a lot of teasing on set, a lot of having fun. I do not hold back when I make fun of her - at all. And she doesn’t hold back either," Cavill said. So has she ever made him cry in real life? “Not that I’m willing to admit or that anyone has ever seen,” Cavill jokes. Without giving away too many spoilers, Cavill promised audiences they’d see a different side of Sherlock Holmes in Enola Holmes 2 - one that’s borderline alcoholic.


Millie Bobby Brown stars in Enola Holmes

The Enola Holmes actors had a lot of room to improvise - but not everyone could keep up!

Director Harry Bradbeer encouraged the cast to make the character their own. "The dialogue was written, but there are little lines…. Like when [Millie goes] into the boarding house and [says] ‘It's lovely,’ in that tone. You just let the camera go,” Bradbeer said. “The only person it really killed was the focus puller who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown the whole time. He said, 'She's like a gazelle, Harry. I can't keep up with her.'"


The Enola Holmes films were at the center of a court battle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate sued the makers of Enola Holmes for showing a more humane side to the consulting detective seen in later Holmes’ stories protected under US copyright law. The defendants, however, argued that feelings, personality traits, and emotions are not covered by the law. The lawsuit was ‘dismissed without prejudice’ by stipulation of the parties, which likely means it was settled but the details weren’t revealed.

http://Millie Bobby Brown and Henri Cavell star as Enola and Sherlock Holmes

Millie Bobby Brown loved diving into her British accent

Millie was born in Spain and lived in Britain for several years before her family moved to Orlando, Florida where Millie learned to speak in an American accent by watching the Disney Channel. She loved adopting a British accent again but wasn't sure how posh it should be as Enola Holmes was not a Londoner but also not from an impoverished background. "I didn't want her to be like, 'Innit? Yeah?' So it had to be in between for me.” Once she learned how to pronounce Priv-acy (not privacy) and “Advert-as-ments” (not advertisements) she was on a roll. “I definitely enjoyed doing it. It was very fun.” 

Dash from the Enola Holmes movie

Mille took a couple of mementos from the set of Enola Holmes

In addition to a corset, Millie got special permission to bring home Dash, “That is something I have at my house and I love,” Millie said. And if you’re not sure who Dash is, it’s time for you to stream Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2


Millie would make a great real-life detective

When Entertainment Tonight asked whether Millie thought she'd make a good detective, Millie didn't hesitate for a second: "One hundred percent. I'm really good at getting into people. I know every detail of everyone. Everyone that comes up to me is like, 'Millie, can you help me out by finding this out?' I'm like, 'Easy'."

Millie Bobby Brown and the Stranger Things team with President Obama

The most dreamlike moment of Millie Bobby Brown’s life has nothing to do with Hollywood

President Barack Obama met the Stranger Things cast at the White House. “That was the most surreal moment of my life,” Millie said afterwards. “I'm walking into the Oval Office, and, like, him standing there. And I'm literally, like, 'I don't even know what to do with my life.'“

“I couldn’t breathe,” she added. “I was tearing up.”

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