What is Professor Moriarty's name: James or John? Jim Moriarty is the perfect antagonist

Professor James Moriarty(English) Professor James Moriarty) - a character in the series of works by Arthur Conan Doyle about Sherlock Holmes, the antagonist of the main character, the head of a powerful criminal organization, a genius of the criminal world.

Here's how Sherlock Holmes describes him:

He comes from a good family, received an excellent education and is naturally endowed with phenomenal mathematical abilities. When he was 21, he wrote a treatise on Newton's binomial, which won him European fame. After this, he received a chair in mathematics at one of our provincial universities, and it is likely that a bright future awaited him. But the blood of a criminal flows in his veins. He has a hereditary tendency towards cruelty. And his extraordinary mind not only does not restrain, but even strengthens this tendency and makes it even more dangerous. Dark rumors spread about him on the university campus where he taught, and in the end he was forced to leave the department and move to London, where he began preparing young people for the officer exam...

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Excerpt characterizing Professor James Moriarty

I decided to try to “melt the ice” and asked as gently as possible:
- Tell me, can I help you with something?
The woman looked at me sadly and finally said:
– Can anyone help me? I killed my daughter!..
This confession gave me goosebumps. But this apparently did not bother the girl at all and she calmly said:
- That's not true, mom.
– What was it really like? – I asked carefully.
“A terribly large car ran into us, and my mother was driving.” She thinks it's her fault that she couldn't save me. “The girl patiently explained in the tone of a little professor. “And now my mother doesn’t even want to live here, and I can’t prove to her how much I need her.”
– And what would you like me to do? – I asked her.
“Please, could you ask my dad to stop blaming mom for everything?” – the girl suddenly asked very sadly. “I’m very happy here with her, and when we go to see dad, she then becomes like she is now for a long time...
And then I realized that the father apparently loved this little girl very much and, having no other opportunity to pour out his pain somewhere, blamed her mother for everything that happened.
– Do you want this too? – I asked the woman softly.
She just nodded sadly and again closed herself tightly in her sorrowful world, not letting anyone in, including her little daughter, who was already worried about her.
– Dad is good, he just doesn’t know that we are still alive. – The girl said quietly. - Please tell him...
There is probably nothing worse in the world than feeling the guilt that she felt... Her name was Christina. During her life, she was a cheerful and very happy woman, who, at the time of her death, was only twenty-six years old. Her husband adored her...
Her little daughter’s name was Vesta, and she was the first child in this happy family, whom everyone adored, and her father simply doted on her...
The head of the family himself was named Arthur, and he was the same cheerful, cheerful person as his wife was before her death. And now no one and nothing could help him find at least some peace in his pain-torn soul. And he grew in himself hatred for his loved one, his wife, trying to protect his heart from complete collapse.
- Please, if you go to dad, don’t be scared of him... He can be strange sometimes, but that’s when he’s “not real.” – The girl whispered. And it was felt that she was unpleasant to talk about it.
I didn’t want to ask and upset her even more, so I decided that I would figure it out myself.
I asked Vesta which of them wants to show me where they lived before their death, and whether her father still lives there? The place they named upset me a little, since it was quite far from my home, and it took a lot of time to get there. That’s why I couldn’t think of anything right away and asked my new acquaintances if they could appear again at least in a few days? And having received an affirmative answer, I “iron” promised them that I would definitely meet with their husband and father during this time.
Vesta looked at me slyly and said:
– If dad doesn’t want to listen to you right away, you tell him that his “little fox” misses him very much. That's what dad called me only when we were alone, and no one else knows this except him...
Her sly little face suddenly became very sad, apparently remembering something very dear to her, and she really became somewhat like a little fox...
- Well, if he doesn’t believe me, I’ll tell him so. - I promised.
The figures, flickering softly, disappeared. And I kept sitting in my chair, tensely trying to figure out how I could win at least two or three free hours from my family so that I could keep my word and visit my father, who was disappointed with his life...
At that time, “two or three hours” outside the house was a rather long period of time for me, for which I would absolutely have to report to my grandmother or mother. And, since I have never been able to lie, I urgently had to come up with some real reason for leaving home for such a long time.
There was no way I could let my new guests down...
The next day was Friday, and my grandmother, as usual, was going to the market, which she did almost every week, although, to be honest, there was no great need for this, since many fruits and vegetables grew in our garden, and the rest of the products Usually all the nearby grocery stores were packed. Therefore, such a weekly “trip” to the market was probably simply symbolic - grandmother sometimes liked to just “get some air” by meeting with her friends and acquaintances, and also bring us all something “especially tasty” from the market for the weekend.
I circled around her for a long time, unable to come up with anything, when my grandmother suddenly calmly asked:
- Well, why aren’t you sitting, or are you impatient for something?..
- I need to leave! – I blurted out, delighted at the unexpected help. - For a long time.
– For others or for yourself? – the grandmother asked, narrowing her eyes.
– For others, and I really need it, I gave my word!
Grandma, as always, looked at me searchingly (few people liked that look of hers - it seemed like she was looking straight into your soul) and finally said:
- To be home by lunchtime, no later. It's enough?
I just nodded, almost jumping for joy. I didn't think that everything would be so easy. Grandma often truly surprised me - she always seemed to know when things were serious and when it was just a whim, and usually, whenever possible, she always helped me. I was very grateful to her for her faith in me and my strange actions. Sometimes I was even almost sure that she knew exactly what I was doing and where I was going... Although, maybe she really knew, but I never asked her about it?..

Moriarty - the villain of the late Victorian era, the head of one of the most influential criminal networks in all of Europe - is more like a Presbyterian minister, ready to give a blessing to any sinner, than one who lightly sends people he dislikes to their forefathers.

Professor James Moriarty is the sworn enemy of Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant criminal element whom the London detective calls the “Napoleon of the criminal world.” Arthur Conan Doyle himself uses this expression, referring to the real-life evil genius Adam Worth, who served as one of the prototypes for Moriarty.

In the original Holmesian story "The Adventure of the Final Problem", Professor Moriarty, a villain of the late Victorian era, the head of one of the most powerful networks of criminals in all of Europe, falls along with the detective from a cliff . Sherlock believed that the crown of his work should have been the elimination of Moriarty, whose atrocities were poisoning society. However, readers, including Queen Victoria herself, were simply outraged that Moriarty dragged Sherlock to his grave. Doyle had no choice but to “resurrect” his beloved detective.

Moriarty is a vengeful, independent, charismatic and confident man who reveals the ruthless side of his personality whenever something sets him off. He respects Holmes's intelligence and says that for him it is a real intellectual pleasure to engage in battle with people of this level.

Characterizing your worst enemy, Sherlock calls James Moriarty a man of noble birth, with an excellent education and phenomenal mathematical abilities. It turns out that at the age of 21, Moriarty wrote a treatise on Newton’s binomial, which made him famous throughout Europe. He then received a chair in mathematics at a provincial university and, as the detective believes, could have reached even greater heights. However, the genius, in whose veins the blood of a criminal flows, due to his sick mind and hereditary tendency to cruelty, soon became the subject of dark rumors - and was forced to resign and move to London.

In the story “The Valley of Fear,” Moriarty is called the intriguer of all times, the organizer of all devilry and the brains of the criminal world, darkening the destinies of nations. And at the same time, Sherlock himself is amazed at how brilliant the tactics of his fierce enemy, who wrote “The Dynamics of an Asteroid,” an amazing book that not a single scientist dared to criticize, despite the tarnished reputation of the author himself. A defiled doctor and a slandered professor is Moriarty's guise, and Sherlock calls it a stroke of genius.

Wanting to reveal some details of the appearance of the “Napoleon of the criminal world,” Conan Doyle describes a man with a thin face, gray hair and stilted speech. The criminal is more like a Presbyterian priest, ready to give a blessing to any sinner, than one who lightly sends people he dislikes to their forefathers. Moriarty is the owner of untold wealth, carefully concealing his real financial situation. Sherlock believes that the professor's money is scattered across at least twenty bank accounts, and the main capital is hidden somewhere in France or Germany.

In the story "The Empty House", Holmes claims that Moriarty acquired a powerful pneumatic gun from a blind German master, a certain Mr. von Herder. Resembling a simple cane in appearance, this weapon fired revolver rounds over long distances and made almost no noise, making it ideal for taking sniper positions. When carrying out his dirty deeds, the villainous professor preferred to cause "accidents", be it the incident when Sherlock was almost killed by falling masonry or by a horse-drawn carriage rushing at breakneck speed.

Fans of the adventures of the London private investigation genius suggested that not only Adam Worth could serve as the prototype for Moriarty. Someone saw American astronomer Simon Newcomb in the fictional villain. This talented Harvard graduate, with a special knowledge of mathematics, became famous throughout the world even before Conan Doyle began to write his stories. Comparisons were also prompted by the fact that Newcombe had developed a reputation as an angry snob who tried to destroy the careers and reputations of his rivals in the scientific world.

Also under suspicion were the Reverend Thomas Kay, the mathematician and astronomer Carl Friedrich Gauss, and the Fenian John O'Connor Power. Finally, Conan Doyle is known to have used his former Stonyhurst College as inspiration when working out the details of Holmesian. Among the writer's peers in this educational institution there were two boys named Moriarty.

The main antagonist of the famous English detective Sherlock Holmes, Professor James Moriarty, is remembered by readers from the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle and from the films created based on them. He is the head of a dangerous criminal network operating throughout Europe, which is fought by the famous master of the deductive method. Who is he, the criminal genius of Europe, and did he have a prototype? Which actors portrayed his image on screen?

Prototype of a dangerous criminal

Arthur Conan Doyle took many of the character traits and appearances of the characters in his books from real life. Professor Moriarty also has several prototypes. According to researchers of the English writer’s work, the image of Holmes’s main opponent was mainly copied from Adam Worth, who in the 19th century was called the “Napoleon of the underworld.” This is precisely the characterization that the writer gave to Moriarty in his stories.

The real genius of the 19th century underworld - what are the similarities with

Worth's parents lived in Europe, but then emigrated to the United States. In the years Civil War Adam fought for the Union. After the end of hostilities, he began a criminal career and became a pickpocket. Very quickly, Worth became the leader of his own gang and began robberies. He was caught and sent to Sing Sing, one of the most terrible prisons. He safely escaped and returned to the criminal world. He became famous for robbing a bank in Boston, entering through a tunnel dug from a nearby store. Conan Doyle later used this story in his Sherlock Holmes stories. After the daring robbery, Worth fled to England, where he created a criminal network involved in robberies. He arranged things in such a way that none of the participants in his criminal schemes knew the face of their organizer. This is exactly how Conan Doyle described Moriarty - a man in the shadows who leads, through intermediaries, hundreds of his henchmen throughout Europe.

Worth's fate is extremely interesting. In the end, he himself came to William Pinkerton and told his story. Last years He spent a decent life with his children. Worth's son became a detective in the Pinkerton agency.

Which of Doyle's original stories features the evil mastermind of London's underworld?

It seems strange, but Sherlock Holmes's main opponent, Professor Moriarty, appears in only a few stories. "The Norwood Contractor" and "The Empty House" - in them, the famous detective and Dr. Watson solve crimes behind which their sinister enemy is behind. The criminal genius himself is not personally shown in them; Holmes only speaks about him as an organizer and compares him to a spider weaving a web.

And only in the story, which at one time caused a storm of indignation, in which the brilliant detective dies, Professor Moriarty finally appears before the readers. This is the story "Holmes' Last Case". With this work, Doyle wanted to put an end to the order of the detective who had bored him, but it caused a flurry of indignation. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty were too colorful characters to just get rid of them. The detective beloved by readers had to be resurrected, but his main opponent was unlucky. Professor Moriarty died at the bottom of the Reichenbach Falls.

The best adaptations of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes featuring his main adversary

Throughout the history of cinema, there have been many film adaptations of stories about the great detective and his sworn enemy. But only a few were especially liked and remembered by the audience.

The 1980 Soviet television film “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson” is still considered one of the most successful adaptations of Doyle’s stories. The British themselves have repeatedly recognized him as the best Holmes of all time. Of the modern films, Guy Ritchie's films have been very successful. The British television series “Sherlock” and the Russian “Sherlock Holmes” are popular.

Who played Professor Moriarty? Actors and their incarnations

Bringing to life the role of the evil genius of London and Europe on screen is a difficult task. Arthur Conan Doyle gives a very definite villain. Professor Moriarty (photo can be seen below) had a thin face and White hair. Outwardly, he most resembled a priest. He had a fast, stilted speech.

In the Soviet film adaptation, Professor Moriarty is actor Viktor Evgrafov. He managed to convey the literary appearance of the criminal. Tall, thin, dressed in a black suit, he really looked like poisonous spider, always ready to jump.

In Guy Ritchie's second film about the adventures of the famous detective, viewers finally saw Holmes' main enemy. During the filming of A Game of Shadows, there were many rumors that Moriarty was actor Brad Pitt. In the first part, the director never showed the villain's face, which gave him the opportunity to choose any celebrity for this role. But Richie chose the British actor and was right. His performance of Moriarty turned out to be convincingly cruel and calculating. An image appears before the audience genius mathematician, developing a plan of action many moves ahead and calmly eliminating unwanted witnesses. This is how Conan Doyle described the professor. And although Harris bears little resemblance to the description of Moriarty, he played the role entrusted to him brilliantly.

The 2003 adventure film “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” brought together the most famous characters from 19th-century books: Captain Nemo, Allan Quartermain, Tom Sawyer, Dorian Gray. Their opponent was the Phantom, under whose name Moriarty was hiding. He was played by Australian actor Richard Roxberg.

In the popular modern series Sherlock, Professor Moriarty is actor Andrew Scott. The adversary of Sherlock Holmes in his performance is very different from classic look. He does not come from a noble family, possessing good manners, but the real villain is a psycho. This was intended by the creators of the series, who wanted to move away from clichés. They even transferred the action itself to our time. Another difference between Scott's Moriarty and the work of other actors is that he is very young.

In 2013, a Russian series about the adventures of the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, was released. The role of Professor Moriarty was played by Alexey Gorbunov.

Paradoxes of the film "Young Sherlock Holmes"

Actor Anthony Higgins played the sinister Professor Moriarty in this 1985 film. In 1993, he brought the already famous detective to life on the screen in the television series “1994 Baker Street: The Return of Sherlock Holmes.”

This is not the only case when an actor plays the role of ideological opponents in different films. a year before filming The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where he portrayed Professor Moriarty, he played Sherlock Holmes in the film The Hound of the Baskervilles.

James Moriarty in the works of other authors

The famous 19th-century criminal, invented and killed by Arthur Conan Doyle, was reborn in the books of other writers. Most interesting works, popular with readers, are the author Kim Newman. In them, the main character is not the famous detective, but Professor Moriarty. “The Hound of the D'Urbervilles” is one of the books in the series dedicated to the “Napoleon of the Underworld.” In it, he and his assistant, Sebastian Moran, solve complex riddles.

John Edmund Gardner is another author whose trilogy features Professor Moriarty. Finally, Anthony Horowitz, a popular writer, has written several works based on Doyle's stories. His last novel It's simply called "Moriarty".

Conclusion

The figure of the brilliant criminal, the sinister opponent of the famous detective, is no less interesting than Sherlock Holmes himself. And thanks to the actors who wonderfully embodied his image on the screen, viewers can imagine what the “Napoleon of the Underworld” of the 19th century looked like - Professor Moriarty.

Professor James Moriarty is the sworn enemy of Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant criminal element whom the London detective calls the “Napoleon of the criminal world.” Arthur Conan Doyle himself uses this expression, referring to the real-life evil genius Adam Worth, who served as one of the prototypes for Moriarty.

In the original Holmesian story "The Adventure of the Final Problem", Professor Moriarty, a villain of the late Victorian era, the head of one of the most powerful networks of criminals in all of Europe, falls along with the detective from a cliff . Sherlock believed that the crown of his work should have been the elimination of Moriarty, whose atrocities were poisoning society. However, readers, including Queen Victoria herself, were simply outraged that Moriarty dragged Sherlock to his grave. Doyle had no choice but to “resurrect” his beloved detective.

Moriarty is a vengeful, independent, charismatic and confident man who reveals the ruthless side of his personality whenever something sets him off. He respects Holmes's intelligence and says that for him it is a real intellectual pleasure to engage in battle with people of this level.

Characterizing his worst enemy, Sherlock calls James Moriarty a man of noble birth, with an excellent education and phenomenal mathematical abilities. It turns out that at the age of 21, Moriarty wrote a treatise on Newton’s binomial, which made him famous throughout Europe. He then received a chair in mathematics at a provincial university and, as the detective believes, could have reached even greater heights. However, the genius, in whose veins the blood of a criminal flows, due to his sick mind and hereditary tendency to cruelty, soon became the subject of dark rumors - and was forced to resign and move to London.

In the story “The Valley of Fear,” Moriarty is called the intriguer of all times, the organizer of all devilry and the brains of the criminal world, darkening the destinies of nations. And at the same time, Sherlock himself is amazed at how brilliant the tactics of his fierce enemy, who wrote “The Dynamics of an Asteroid,” an amazing book that not a single scientist dared to criticize, despite the tarnished reputation of the author himself. A defiled doctor and a slandered professor is Moriarty's guise, and Sherlock calls it a stroke of genius.

Wanting to reveal some details of the appearance of the “Napoleon of the criminal world,” Conan Doyle describes a man with a thin face, gray hair and stilted speech. The criminal is more like a Presbyterian priest, ready to give a blessing to any sinner, than one who lightly sends people he dislikes to their forefathers. Moriarty is the owner of untold wealth, carefully concealing his real financial situation. Sherlock believes that the professor's money is scattered across at least twenty bank accounts, and the main capital is hidden somewhere in France or Germany.

In the story "The Empty House", Holmes claims that Moriarty acquired a powerful pneumatic gun from a blind German master, a certain Mr. von Herder. Resembling a simple cane in appearance, this weapon fired revolver rounds over long distances and made almost no noise, making it ideal for taking sniper positions. When carrying out his dirty deeds, the villainous professor preferred to cause "accidents", be it the incident when Sherlock was almost killed by falling masonry or by a horse-drawn carriage rushing at breakneck speed.

Fans of the adventures of the London private investigation genius suggested that not only Adam Worth could serve as the prototype for Moriarty. Someone saw American astronomer Simon Newcomb in the fictional villain. This talented Harvard graduate, with a special knowledge of mathematics, became famous throughout the world even before Conan Doyle began to write his stories. Comparisons were also prompted by the fact that Newcombe had developed a reputation as an angry snob who tried to destroy the careers and reputations of his rivals in the scientific world.

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Jim Moriarty - character in modern film variation detective stories about Sherlock Holmes by the world famous and renowned English writer Arthur Conan Doyle, professor, enemy of the protagonist and consummate attacker from the series “Sherlock”.

Characteristics

Jim Moriarty is an Englishman who is characterized by wit, arrogance, arrogance and boundless narcissism. Despite his good origin, prestigious education and extraordinary mind with brilliant mathematical abilities, the hero has a penchant for cruelty and he absolutely loves being a dangerous villain, opposing the detective Sherlock Holmes, whom he respects.

The villain's literary name is James Moriarty, but in the series he is known as Jim Holmes, who calls him a criminal consultant. The villain also has other names - "spider" and "demolitionist".

Hero's activities

Jim Moriarty is a criminal genius, the head of a large criminal association, essentially a rabid, sadistic psychopath. The world's first and only criminal consultant is the exact opposite of Sherlock's consulting detective. The hero uses his subordinates, less successful villains, as his weapon - all the criminals that Sherlock encountered in the first season are predecessors and loyal followers of Moriarty.

Connection with Sherlock Holmes

Despite his fierce rivalry, Jim Moriarty truly admires Sherlock like no one else. He recognizes the detective’s unparalleled abilities, considers him a worthy opponent, which is why he carefully and diligently tries to create obstacles in the way of solving the enemy’s crimes. Jim and Sherlock even have something in common in their characteristics: sarcasm and cynicism.

In 1989, Carl Powers was killed by a ruthless criminal for laughing at Jim Moriarty. The killer kept his victim's shoes. He dropped the sneakers at Sherlock Holmes's apartment at 221B Baker Street in order to once again meet with the detective.

According to the writers, Jim - weakness Sherlock. Holmes himself calls him a spider and believes that the criminal clearly knows where people’s pain points are and when to skillfully use them.

Screen image of an antihero

The show's writers thought Moriarty, fictionalized by Arthur Conan Doyle, was too successful. The hero's traits were inherited by many subsequent literary and film villains: sophistication, exemplary decency, gallantry and delicacy. Therefore, the film playwrights, working on the script for the series, did not want to adhere to the existing stereotypes, and Jim turned into a relevant, more modern image of a dark, frightening, crazy arch-villain psycho.

Sherlock and Jim's antagonism culminates in the third episode, "Reichenbach Falls", of the series' second season (2012), where they fall off the edge of a roof. The 2016 TV special episode "The Ugly Bride" depicts Jim's death in a manner consistent with its book version of Conan Doyle's short story Holmes's Last Case: in a duel sworn enemies Both heroes die, falling off a cliff into the Reichenbach Falls.

Jim Moriarty - actor Andrew Scott

Andrew Scott is an Irish film, television and stage actor born on 21 October 1976 in Dublin. He made his film debut in 1995 as the main character (Eamon Doyle) in the film Korea. The actor has starred in more than 30 films, including the role of Paul McCartney in the film “Lennon Unvarnished” (2010), the main role(Laevsky) in the screen production of Anton Chekhov’s story “Duel” (2010) and others. Many film critics consider his talent outstanding.

For the first time, Andrew Scott appeared as Moriarty in the third episode “The Big Game” of the first season (2010). The actor stands out noticeably from other performers who have previously played Moriarty: first of all, his screen image significantly younger in age than in the original book and other film versions.

To the masses

Undoubtedly, Jim Moriarty, whose quotes instantly spread among a wide audience, has no smaller army of fans than his film opponent Sherlock Holmes. All admirers of the villainous genius know his inimitable pithy phrases and happily use them appropriately in colloquial speech. Among the particularly popular sayings:

• an unconventional greeting that mentions the Army Brown M-1 in his pocket;
• the cynical admission that the antihero has no heart, which means there is nothing to burn;
• to a passionate accusation of insanity - the answer is: “Did you just guess?”;
• a philosophical statement that in a world where all doors are closed, the one who has the key is considered the king, etc.

Quoting such a charismatic antagonist is a good argument in a heated discussion. Moriarty’s particularly brief and concise statements are actively used by ordinary people as statuses on social networks.