Los Angeles, Jan 19 (IANS): Actor Benedict Cumberbatch says he nearly turned down the offer to play popular fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock", but agreed to it after giving it a second thought.
"My reservation was 'Well, this is a very iconic character, there will be a lot of attention on it'," Entertainment Weekly quoted Cumberbatch as saying.
"This was before I had had any significant success, (but) I knew there would still be a lot of focus on it. And while I had done work, it wasn't stepping into the populist limelight like playing a character like Holmes. So, I did have a pause for thought," he added.
Cumberbatch acts alongside his "The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug" co-star Martin Freeman, who plays Dr. John Watson in the series.