Performance In a Leading Role (19/20)
Title: Performance in a Leading Role
Author: MadLori
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 6000 (this chapter)
Genre: AU, romance
Warnings: None
Rating: NC-17
Beta: tzikeh
Summary: Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?
Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter 8 -- Chapter 9 -- Chapter 10 -- Chapter 11 -- Chapter 12 -- Chapter 13 -- Chapter 14 -- Interlude -- Chapter 15 -- Chapter 16 -- Chapter 17 -- Chapter 18
[transcript of 60 Minutes, aired May 27, 2012]
[Lesley Stahl is in the 60 Minutes studio, speaking in front of a large placard bearing the famous photograph of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes embracing]
Lesley Stahl: They are two of the most well-known actors of their generation. One is a classically trained Oscar winner known for artistic dramas and independent cinema, the other a well-liked star of romantic comedies. But before last year, both of their red-hot careers had gone cold. Big-budget films failed to perform at the box office; can’t-miss projects missed. They were both in need of something new, something different, and they found it in Ang Lee’s To a Stranger. Although the film would go on to win five Oscars, it was the unexpected love affair between its lead actors, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, that would dominate the headlines.
Tonight, 60 Minutes guest correspondent Diane Sawyer sits down with John and Sherlock for their first-ever interview as a couple.
[Diane Sawyer walks with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson on the grounds of their home in Sussex, England. Holmes and Watson are holding hands.]
Diane: Congratulations on your marriage!
Sherlock: Thank you.
John: We had the ceremony just there [points to the garden]. It was lovely. Very private.
Sherlock: Which was the cause of much Sturm und Drang with our publicist.
Diane: She wanted press coverage?
John: She wanted something. Anything. But we stood our ground. Just a few friends and family.
Diane: Why here?
John: This is a special place for us. We’ve spent a lot of time here.
Diane: [voiceover; footage of Diane, John and Sherlock walking on the grounds] John Watson came from a poor family; Sherlock Holmes grew up wealthy. Watson learned acting in night school classes and by his own study; Holmes received the best education money could buy. And yet these two men, so different in background and in their approach to their craft, would join forces to create what’s been called a modern masterpiece of cinema. They made the film hoping for career rejuvenation. Neither expected that the experience would also change their lives.
[Interior of the house. Diane is sitting in a wing chair facing Sherlock and John sitting on a sofa. They are sitting close together but not touching; they are relaxed and comfortable, here in their own home.]
Diane: John, you grew up in poverty.
John: Yes.
Diane: How did that experience shape you?
John: It made me value security. That’s been the driving force behind my whole career: the search for steady work and a reliable income.
Diane: What was your first job?
John: My first real job was the Army. I could have gone to University, I had the marks for it, but the Army offered me the security that I needed.
Diane: How long did you serve?
John: Four years. I hoped to go career, but that was all derailed when I was shot in the leg during the Drumcree riots. I had to figure out something else to do with my life, so I went to night school, thinking I’d take courses to be an electrician or something. Instead, I discovered theater.
Diane: Tell us about your first experience.
John: I’d become a bit friendly with a girl in one of my classes.
Sherlock: Friendly? How friendly?
John: Shush. I’m telling a story. She was in the drama club, and said they always needed more men to audition, and asked if I’d ever been in a play. I hadn’t, but it sounded like fun. So I went out for a lark. After my audition, the director took me aside and said, “You’re sure you’ve never done this before?” He said I was a natural, and he gave me a large role. [pause] I’d never been a natural at anything. Never been told I had any talent for anything. It was a rush. From the first day of rehearsal, that first script, the first time I was given blocking on a stage, I was hooked.
Diane: And what was your first paid acting job?
John: Oh, Lord. Let me think. I believe it was an advert for a local appliance salesman. They paid me twenty pounds to act thrilled about the selection of washing machines.
Sherlock: Don’t bother looking for it online. I’ve searched high and low and I can’t find it.
John: I don’t know why you want it so badly.
Sherlock: It’s the only missing piece in my personal collection of everything you’ve ever filmed. It’s taunting me, John. Taunting.
Diane: It’s a long way from local commercials to the Academy Awards. How did you get here from there?
John: All credit to my agent, Mike Stamford. I did a lot of theater, then started getting small jobs with the BBC. I played a lot of best friends and ex-boyfriends and co-workers those first couple of years. I thought I was in for a nice steady career as a working character actor, one of those vaguely familiar faces, and that was just fine with me. But then Mike saw me in a play and decided that I was the next big thing--that’s what he said, anyway. It was Mike who got me the audition for Rewind.
Diane: The film that changed your career.
John: Yes.
Diane: Rewind was a surprise commercial and critical success, and it made you a star overnight. What was that like?
John: I never thought Rewind would be that popular. Call it the Four Weddings and a Funeral effect, where a quirky little British rom-com gets plucked up and embraced by a global audience, and there I was, the next Hugh Grant. And suddenly I had money. All I could think about then was, all right, what’s the next one?
Diane: How did having financial security change you?
John: But I never really thought that I had security. It could all disappear at any time. So I had to take the next film that was offered to me, and the next, and the next. I never wanted to stop, not for a moment. If I stopped, they might all forget about me. They might come to their senses and realize that they’d been giving all these great jobs to ordinary, average me.
Sherlock: That’s ridiculous.
John: What?
Sherlock: You are neither ordinary nor average.
John: Not that you’re biased.
Sherlock: The Academy agrees with me, as do your legions of admirers. And I must object to the idea that my personal affection for you would render me incapable of an impartial assessment.
John: [to Diane] Yes, he really talks like that all the time.
Sherlock: Deflecting, John.
John: Well, you’re interrupting.
Diane: [laughing] Should I come back later?
John: I’m sorry. Let’s get back to your question.
Diane: I don’t know, I’m enjoying watching you two bicker.
John: Good, because it probably won’t be the last time!
Diane: Within four years after Rewind, you were one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars.
John: It’s still strange to hear myself described that way, because that was never how I thought of myself. Every time a film of mine performed well, it was a surprise.
Diane: What happened? After all your success, by the time To a Stranger came along, your career had cooled off quite a bit.
John: I wish I had a good, sensible answer to that question. I think I was afraid of backlash. Success is a blessing, but also a curse. If you succeed and then fail, it’s so much worse than if you’d never succeeded. So I had to keep working. I’d got to a place where I was able to support my parents, and help my siblings, and the need to maintain that was very strong. It wasn’t the best perspective from which to make career decisions. Ironically, I walked right into what I’d hoped to avoid. [he hesitates] If To a Stranger hadn’t been handed to me on a silver platter, I don’t know where I’d be now.
Diane: Sherlock, you had a different start in life.
Sherlock: Yes, very different.
Diane: Your family was quite well off.
Sherlock: I never thought of us as being well off, mostly because we were constantly surrounded by people who were even more so. My father was a diplomat, and so my parents knew a lot of people who were of a much higher station, shall we say. I was always the least posh kid in school.
[John laughs]
Sherlock: What?
John: It’s hard to imagine you being the least posh of anything.
Sherlock: It’s surprisingly easy at Eton, with all the offspring of the landed gentry.
John: Well, I wouldn’t know.
Sherlock: My family was well off, yes, but wealthier in connections than in currency.
Diane: When did you decide to dedicate yourself to acting?
Sherlock: I never studied anything except wholeheartedly, with the intention of mastering it. My other interests were too esoteric to be viable as fields of study...I’d have had to invent my own profession in order to pursue any of them. But acting presented a constant stream of challenges and new stimulation. I felt as if the craft had been conceived with me in mind.
Diane: Your family has been the subject of considerable speculation, as they’re something of a mystery.
Sherlock: I don’t discuss my family out of respect for their privacy.
Diane: All that is known is that you have one older brother.
Sherlock: Correct. He’s in...public service. But you have omitted one crucial family member.
Diane: Who’s that?
Sherlock: I also have a husband.
[John blushes and elbows him, Sherlock elbows back and they both grin]
Diane: My apologies.
John: We’re still getting used to that term. I’m afraid we’re rather overusing it.
Sherlock: Pass the salt, husband.
John: Did you set the alarm, husband?
Sherlock: That jumper is hideous, husband.
John: Hang on, which jumper is hideous?
Sherlock: The one with all the business here. [he gestures to his chest]
John: The Fair Isle jumper that my sister sent me? It’s a time-honored traditional knitting technique from the land of my ancestors. It is not hideous. Husband.
Sherlock: Perhaps we should discuss this at a later time when we’re not being filmed for national television.
John: Don’t worry, they can edit it out.
Diane: Over my dead body. [they all laugh] Sherlock, the turning point of your career was Out of Noise. Can you talk about what making that film was like?
Sherlock: It was a wake-up call. I assumed that after RADA, I could handle whatever Hollywood could throw at me. I thought I would walk in with my posh education and a few good notices and own the place. [he shrugs] I was young.
Diane: You found it more difficult than you’d imagined?
Sherlock: I found it different. I had to adapt my methods on the fly, adjust to a new country and new working conditions, and I had to do it all while playing the violin.
Diane: You must have adapted well; your performance earned you an Academy Award nomination.
Sherlock: Yes.
Diane: Were you surprised?
Sherlock: No, I wasn’t. I’d read the reviews, and every critic and pundit in town had predicted that I’d be nominated. I was glad, but not surprised. Nor was I surprised when I didn’t win; I never expected to. I recognized the nomination for what it was, a sort of “welcome to the club.” I appreciated that it gave me more options.
Diane: Options you took full advantage of during the years following your nomination, which led up to your Academy Award-winning performance in Kanizsa. How did you come to that film?
Sherlock: The director was interested in me for the role, so he sent my agent the script. I was not the only candidate, but I thought I was an excellent fit for the material. In the end, he thought so too. It was a challenging shoot.
Diane: There are those who thought that the film was a blatant bid for an Oscar on your part. It’s very nearly a one-man story, and it was a demanding role.
Sherlock: I’ve heard that said, yes. If others feel that I took the role with an eye on the Oscars, that’s their prerogative. I can honestly say that I’ve never thought about awards when choosing a project. My focus is on the challenges the script provides me as a performer, and how well I think I can communicate the character. I only care about the work.
Diane: If that’s the case, how can you account for the downturn that your career has taken over the past few years?
Sherlock: I’m not sure I can. That is the nature of this business. No one takes a project thinking that it will fail. Some of the films I made after Kanizsa...did not reach an audience. Some of them ended up being quite different films than the one I signed up for. That is also the nature of this business and cannot be helped.
Diane: Do you take any responsibility for this series of under-performing films?
Sherlock: At the time, I did not. Looking back, I may have been overly stubborn in choosing my projects.
Diane: In what way?
Sherlock: I can be somewhat...contrary. [John chuckles] It’s possible that I chose projects that were less accessible just to prove that I was above pandering to a mainstream audience.
John: In other words, that you were above doing what I was doing.
Sherlock: Any actor who wants to make films that are both well-reviewed and profitable has to find a balance between audience appeal and artistic challenge. John and I were both failing to find that balance. He reacted by fleeing towards audience appeal, I by seeking refuge in artistic challenge. Neither approach was successful.
Diane: But all that changed with To a Stranger.
John: A lot of things changed with To a Stranger.
Diane: How did you both come to the project?
Sherlock: My agent gave me the script. Molly Hooper had written the film with me in mind.
John: I have never gotten a straight answer from Ang about what he saw in me, or how he could tell by the films I’d been doing that this part would be a good fit, but my agent told me that he wanted me to read. I couldn’t believe it. He asked me if it was a problem for me to play a gay man, and I said that I’d play any role Ang Lee asked me to.
Sherlock: After I read the script, I knew that I had to be in the film.
John: He was less enthusiastic once he found out that Ang had me in mind as his co-star.
Diane: Oh, really?
Sherlock: I’m afraid so. I was concerned, because I knew what this part would demand of my co-star, and I knew how closely we’d be working together.
Diane: You have a reputation for being difficult to work with.
Sherlock: [deadpan] I can’t imagine why. I think I’m delightful. [John laughs] I’m aware of my reputation. I can’t say that it’s undeserved. I don’t have a tolerant nature, and I’m very focused when I’m working. This makes me...not much fun. I prejudged John, unfairly as it turned out, and I thought that he would try my patience, not only personally, but as an acting partner. I wanted...actually, I needed this film to succeed, and I had no confidence in his ability to carry out his half of the heavy lifting, dramatically.
Diane: John, is it hard to hear him talk about what he thought of you?
John: Not really. It isn’t news to me. And I was accustomed to being looked down on for having starred in date movies and comedies. I was confident in my own capabilities as an actor, but I really didn’t expect anyone else to be. [he grins] Besides, he knows better now.
Diane: A lot changed between you during the making of the film.
Sherlock: That is an understatement.
Diane: Neither of you had ever been in a relationship with another man. Had either of you thought that you might be gay?
John: That’s not a simple question. I had never had romantic feelings for another man, but, to be fair, I’d barely had them for women, either. I had dated women in the past, women I was fond of and whose company I enjoyed. But I had never been in love until I met Sherlock.
Sherlock: I had never felt a strong connection to anyone, of either gender, before John. He seems to be the exception to all the rules I’ve ever set down, and every assumption I’ve made about myself. I never thought I’d want to share my life with someone, let alone find someone who wanted to share theirs with me.
John: To most of the world, the fact that I am married to Sherlock means that I am gay, full stop. I accept the label, but I’m not convinced it’s entirely accurate.
Sherlock: Labels are irrelevant to me. John is the first person I ever loved, and the only one I ever will. So the entire question is moot.
John: We’re not exactly anyone’s first choice for gay-rights poster boys.
Diane: The gay community has certainly embraced you.
John: Yes, they have. [he grins] We received sixty-two invitations to be Pride Parade Grand Marshals next month. We’re grateful to be accepted as a part of that community, and to have their support. If our existence as a high-profile same-sex couple helps further the cause of gay rights, we’re glad for it, but sometimes I wonder if I have the right to be held up as an example. I never struggled with my sexuality, or wondered if I fancied men. One day I looked at Sherlock and realized that I was in love with him. Does that change who I am? No. That potential must have been within me all along. I’ll leave the debate to the philosophers. I’m content to be married to him, and grateful to be a citizen of a country that allows me to be.
Diane: [voiceover; footage of Diane, John and Sherlock outdoors again] When we return, John and Sherlock talk about being in and out of the closet, winning Oscars, and life as a couple in Hollywood.
[COMMERCIAL]
[Diane, Sherlock, John walking the grounds of Holmes and Watson’s home in Sussex, England]
Diane: [voiceover] John and Sherlock kept their relationship secret so that the release of To a Stranger would not be overshadowed by what they knew would be a barrage of publicity. Unfortunately, this secrecy didn’t hold; two weeks before the film’s premiere, Sherlock outed them during a now-famous outburst at a press screening. This sudden reveal thrust them into the center of a media firestorm just as they began promoting the film that had brought them together.
[interior of the house; Diane in the wing chair, John and Sherlock on the sofa]
Diane: John, were you angry when Sherlock outed you?
John: I was, yes, but only until I realized why he’d done it. Then I was only angry with myself. I was upset that I hadn’t known how much it was hurting him to keep the secret.
Diane: Was the public reaction more or less severe than you thought it would be?
John: Less. Definitely.
Sherlock: Agreed.
John: I think we both were envisioning worst-case scenarios in which we were burned in effigy and denounced from every pulpit, boycotted, tarred and feathered. There were those who spoke out against us, but the public backlash ended up being the least of our concerns.
Diane: Do you still experience backlash?
Sherlock: Oh, definitely. Hate mail, protest signs at events we attend, sometimes shouted insults and condemnations. But this is no less than we expected. And it is outweighed by the expressions of support we regularly receive
Diane: To a Stranger exceeded expectations both critically and financially. Were you surprised at its success?
John: I wasn’t exactly surprised, but I was definitely relieved. I knew that it was a very good film, but I feared that people would be put off by all the media hype.
Diane: Which brings us to the Oscars.
John: Yes.
Diane: Your surprise win was the biggest story of the evening. Was it as surprising to you?
Sherlock: I wasn’t surprised at all. It was the only rational outcome.
Diane: Even more so than if you’d won yourself?
Sherlock: Of the two of us, I consider John the better actor.
John: Oh, God, here we go. That’s a load of rubbish. Sherlock has gifts I can only envy.
Sherlock: Things that I must struggle to achieve, John can do effortlessly.
John: This could go on for awhile. But to answer your question, yes, I was surprised. Amazed, thrilled, and surprised. It’s all a bit of a blur.
Diane: Your speech was frequently quoted over the next few days: you said that of everything the film had done for you, the most important was that it brought Sherlock into your life.
John: Easily. To a Stranger reawakened my love of acting, won me an Academy Award, and gave me the chance to reinvent my career. Those things are all important, and significant. But this....[he takes Sherlock’s hand] This is what’s going to make the rest of my life meaningful, this is what makes me truly happy. And this is forever.
Diane: You sound very confident about that.
John: I am.
Diane: Sherlock, your own reaction to John’s win got a strong response as well.
Sherlock: I’m sure I don’t know why. People seemed surprised to see me visibly affected. If seeing the man I love accepting an Oscar is not an occasion to show my feelings, then I don’t know what is.
Diane: How did it feel to see him up there?
Sherlock: As soon as I realized how gifted John was, all I wanted was for the rest of the world to see it, too. I wanted them all to know that they were wrong about him, as I had been wrong. As my feelings for him changed, that desire shifted and became a desire to see him happy, and acknowledged for the great actor that he is. So to see him holding an Oscar was the fulfillment of that wish. Then to hear him say what he said....[he hesitates] The truth is that I am the lucky one here. I am blessed with the company and affection of a good, decent, talented man who is patient and generous. He, on the other hand, must tolerate my numerous character failings, and I used to worry that he’d wake up one day and realize that there wasn’t much in this for him, and that would be that.
[John is looking away, blinking hard]
Diane: John, what are you thinking right now?
John: That for as brilliant as he is, he is profoundly stupid.
Sherlock: Note that I said I used to worry about that. I’m a rational man, and John married me of his own free will. Therefore, even though I still think I’ve got the better part of this relationship, I accept that he is committed to it.
John: I am. And you know why, because I’ve told you why.
Sherlock: Knowing the reason why and believing it are two different things.
Diane: Take us through those first few weeks after the Oscars.
John: The first day was pretty chaotic. I had two insanely early live feeds, and I was on Leno that evening. I barely had time to breathe. Sherlock was my hero. He made me take a nap and forced food on me, shuttled me around and took me to The Ivy for dinner after the Leno taping.
Sherlock: When the maître‘d led us to our table, John got a round of applause from the entire dining room.
John: It was sweet. Embarrassing, but sweet.
[Diane holds up the post-Oscar issue of Entertainment Weekly; the cover features several photos from the evening, the largest of which is the photograph of John and Sherlock embracing]
Diane: This photo of you became iconic. Where was it taken?
John: That was at the Vanity Fair party, our last stop before heading home. That photo was everywhere for those first few weeks.
Diane: The Best Actor winner is usually inundated with script offers the very next day, but that wasn’t your experience, is that right?
John: Oh, I received a lot of offers, just not of the right sort. I couldn’t be seen to be pandering, or to be accepting smaller roles than I’d previously taken, or I’d look desperate. The sorts of roles I wanted were not being offered to me. My agent was unable to get me meetings for scripts I was interested in. I had to face the fact that my relationship might well be the end of my career as I knew it.
Diane: Did you ever consider ending the relationship?
John: No. Absolutely not. But I did consider that I might need to make a change. If Hollywood was no longer an option, I thought I would return to London. Work for the BBC, work on the stage. There is a lot of excellent, high-quality work to be had there, and one’s choice of life partner isn’t as much of a concern. But give up Sherlock in order to help my marketability? It never entered my mind. I did worry about what my lack of work would do to us, though.
Diane: In what way?
John: Sherlock was working; in fact, he had signed on for the sort of project he’d long dreamed of. I had no prospects. I was glad for him, and thrilled about his project, but I could sense that if I did not find work of my own, the resentment was waiting for me. I’m only human, and I’ve lost count of how many Hollywood couples I’ve seen disintegrate that way. One career takes off while the other stagnates, and it kills the relationship. I was not about to let that happen to us. I’d quit the business first.
Diane: How long did it take for things to turn around for you?
John: Four weeks after the Oscars, I received exactly the offer I’d been hoping for.
Diane: And what was that?
John: I was offered the lead role in Joel and Ethan Coen’s next film. I could not have asked for a better, more exciting film to begin this new phase of my acting life. My character is like no man I’ve ever played, or have ever seen anyone else play, for that matter, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it.
Diane: It sounds like a great deal will depend on how this film is received.
John: Yes, it will, but I trust Joel and Ethan. Their script is funny, it’s macabre, it’s unexpected, and the rest of the cast is fantastic. I think it’s a winner. Their faith in me and my ability to carry this film seems to have opened the floodgates, and more directors are calling. I’ve got another project lined up for after this one.
Diane: Sherlock, coming out didn’t have as detrimental an effect on your career as it did on John’s. Why is that?
Sherlock: That wasn’t entirely unexpected. John and I occupy--or used to occupy, I ought to say--very different niches as actors. His marketability was based on his appeal to women and mainstream audiences. Being gay would, frankly, have less of an impact on my career. John is correct about the effect it could have had on us if he had been unable to capitalize on the success of To a Stranger. I don’t know how well I would have handled it if his career had ended because he chose me.
John: Let’s hope we never have to find out. But it would be our problem to handle, not just yours.
Sherlock: He is always saying things like that. I’m not used to doing anything as part of a team. In fact, I’m known for my lack of team spirit.
John: You’re doing fine.
Sherlock: He says that now. Check back with us in a year.
Diane: So what is life like for you, now that you’re married and your careers are moving forward?
John: Well, we’ve only been married for a week. Life isn’t that different so far.
Sherlock: There was an ungodly amount of paperwork.
Diane: Do you feel different?
John: [looks at Sherlock; they both smile slowly] Yeah, we do. I didn’t think we would, but yeah. There’s something about exchanging those rings and saying the words. Those words have power.
Sherlock: The human race has placed irrational importance on litanies and incantations since language was invented. A marriage ceremony is just one of our most commonplace examples.
John: Well, it hasn’t made him more sentimental, as you can plainly tell.
Sherlock: It hasn’t made you more rational.
John: Was it supposed to? May I remind you that you were the one who proposed to me? So the irrational incantation was your idea.
Sherlock: I didn’t say I was immune to the effect, I just said it was irrational. I am capable of being irrational.
John: Diane, I hope you appreciate the revelation you just heard pass his lips.
Diane: [laughing] It’s all caught on tape. He can’t take it back.
Sherlock: For me, proposing marriage was simply the best way to convey to John my seriousness, and my commitment to creating a life with him.
John: And get half ownership of my house by default.
Sherlock: You already had half ownership of this one, it only seemed fair.
Diane: How about a few practical questions, then?
John: All right.
Diane: Who cooks?
John: I do. He's rubbish at cooking.
Sherlock: John's an excellent cook, when he has the time.
Diane: Does that mean you do the dishes?
Sherlock: Naturally. Is that not the only fair arrangement?
Diane: Who takes up more closet space?
Sherlock: I'm afraid I must own that one.
John: You should see his collection of suits. And the shoes, my God.
Diane: Who's more romantic?
John and Sherlock: [at the same time] He is.
[they look at each other]
John: When he proposed to me, he gave me a pair of silver cuff links engraved with the date we met, in Roman numerals. I rest my case.
Sherlock: You flew across an ocean to declare yourself to me and announced your presence by secreting a flower in my closing-night bouquet.
John: You already had your own tickets to fly across that same ocean and declare yourself to me!
Sherlock: Yes, but I hadn’t prepared special floral arrangements as a signal.
John: Now you’re just grasping at straws.
Diane: All right, we'll call it a draw.
John: [laughs] Fair enough.
Diane: What’s ahead for you now?
Sherlock: We’re both filming over the summer. I’ll be in Prague for several months.
John: I’ll be filming in Los Angeles, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to visit him. It’ll be our first significant separation since Sherlock moved to the States last fall. I’m not looking forward to it.
Sherlock: We’re hoping to fit in some traveling first, perhaps a proper honeymoon.
John: New Zealand.
Sherlock: No, Sweden.
John: Hawaii.
Sherlock: I am not going to Hawaii.
John: He’s phobic about sunlight. Has to maintain that Edwardian heavy-cream complexion.
Sherlock: Honeymoon destination to be determined, apparently.
John: We’ll probably argue about it, never agree, give up and stay here.
Diane: Has there been any talk of starting a family?
John: Actually, no. We’ve not had that discussion. [he looks at Sherlock] That seems like a bit of an oversight, doesn’t it?
Sherlock: Are you desperately broody and just forgot to mention it? Because that seems like a bit of an oversight.
John: I am not particularly broody, no. But it’s an interesting thought.
Sherlock: As long as by “interesting” you mean “terrifying.”
John: [laughs] I think that discussion might have to wait for a later time.
Diane: You’re both in very different places than you were just a year ago. What is it that you hope for most in the future?
[they both look thoughtful]
John: I hope that we’re always able to balance our careers and our personal lives. I hope I can continue to support my family, and stay close to them. I hope I’m always able to do the work I love, and be a part of good films, even great films, and that I’ll always have Sherlock with me through all of it.
Sherlock: I hope for those things too, but more than anything else, I hope that I can be a good husband to John, and that we’ll always be as happy as we are now.
[John takes his hand again, smiling]
John: See that? I told you he was romantic.
Chapter 20: Epilogue
Author: MadLori
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 6000 (this chapter)
Genre: AU, romance
Warnings: None
Rating: NC-17
Beta: tzikeh
Summary: Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?
Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter 8 -- Chapter 9 -- Chapter 10 -- Chapter 11 -- Chapter 12 -- Chapter 13 -- Chapter 14 -- Interlude -- Chapter 15 -- Chapter 16 -- Chapter 17 -- Chapter 18
[transcript of 60 Minutes, aired May 27, 2012]
[Lesley Stahl is in the 60 Minutes studio, speaking in front of a large placard bearing the famous photograph of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes embracing]
Lesley Stahl: They are two of the most well-known actors of their generation. One is a classically trained Oscar winner known for artistic dramas and independent cinema, the other a well-liked star of romantic comedies. But before last year, both of their red-hot careers had gone cold. Big-budget films failed to perform at the box office; can’t-miss projects missed. They were both in need of something new, something different, and they found it in Ang Lee’s To a Stranger. Although the film would go on to win five Oscars, it was the unexpected love affair between its lead actors, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, that would dominate the headlines.
Tonight, 60 Minutes guest correspondent Diane Sawyer sits down with John and Sherlock for their first-ever interview as a couple.
[Diane Sawyer walks with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson on the grounds of their home in Sussex, England. Holmes and Watson are holding hands.]
Diane: Congratulations on your marriage!
Sherlock: Thank you.
John: We had the ceremony just there [points to the garden]. It was lovely. Very private.
Sherlock: Which was the cause of much Sturm und Drang with our publicist.
Diane: She wanted press coverage?
John: She wanted something. Anything. But we stood our ground. Just a few friends and family.
Diane: Why here?
John: This is a special place for us. We’ve spent a lot of time here.
Diane: [voiceover; footage of Diane, John and Sherlock walking on the grounds] John Watson came from a poor family; Sherlock Holmes grew up wealthy. Watson learned acting in night school classes and by his own study; Holmes received the best education money could buy. And yet these two men, so different in background and in their approach to their craft, would join forces to create what’s been called a modern masterpiece of cinema. They made the film hoping for career rejuvenation. Neither expected that the experience would also change their lives.
[Interior of the house. Diane is sitting in a wing chair facing Sherlock and John sitting on a sofa. They are sitting close together but not touching; they are relaxed and comfortable, here in their own home.]
Diane: John, you grew up in poverty.
John: Yes.
Diane: How did that experience shape you?
John: It made me value security. That’s been the driving force behind my whole career: the search for steady work and a reliable income.
Diane: What was your first job?
John: My first real job was the Army. I could have gone to University, I had the marks for it, but the Army offered me the security that I needed.
Diane: How long did you serve?
John: Four years. I hoped to go career, but that was all derailed when I was shot in the leg during the Drumcree riots. I had to figure out something else to do with my life, so I went to night school, thinking I’d take courses to be an electrician or something. Instead, I discovered theater.
Diane: Tell us about your first experience.
John: I’d become a bit friendly with a girl in one of my classes.
Sherlock: Friendly? How friendly?
John: Shush. I’m telling a story. She was in the drama club, and said they always needed more men to audition, and asked if I’d ever been in a play. I hadn’t, but it sounded like fun. So I went out for a lark. After my audition, the director took me aside and said, “You’re sure you’ve never done this before?” He said I was a natural, and he gave me a large role. [pause] I’d never been a natural at anything. Never been told I had any talent for anything. It was a rush. From the first day of rehearsal, that first script, the first time I was given blocking on a stage, I was hooked.
Diane: And what was your first paid acting job?
John: Oh, Lord. Let me think. I believe it was an advert for a local appliance salesman. They paid me twenty pounds to act thrilled about the selection of washing machines.
Sherlock: Don’t bother looking for it online. I’ve searched high and low and I can’t find it.
John: I don’t know why you want it so badly.
Sherlock: It’s the only missing piece in my personal collection of everything you’ve ever filmed. It’s taunting me, John. Taunting.
Diane: It’s a long way from local commercials to the Academy Awards. How did you get here from there?
John: All credit to my agent, Mike Stamford. I did a lot of theater, then started getting small jobs with the BBC. I played a lot of best friends and ex-boyfriends and co-workers those first couple of years. I thought I was in for a nice steady career as a working character actor, one of those vaguely familiar faces, and that was just fine with me. But then Mike saw me in a play and decided that I was the next big thing--that’s what he said, anyway. It was Mike who got me the audition for Rewind.
Diane: The film that changed your career.
John: Yes.
Diane: Rewind was a surprise commercial and critical success, and it made you a star overnight. What was that like?
John: I never thought Rewind would be that popular. Call it the Four Weddings and a Funeral effect, where a quirky little British rom-com gets plucked up and embraced by a global audience, and there I was, the next Hugh Grant. And suddenly I had money. All I could think about then was, all right, what’s the next one?
Diane: How did having financial security change you?
John: But I never really thought that I had security. It could all disappear at any time. So I had to take the next film that was offered to me, and the next, and the next. I never wanted to stop, not for a moment. If I stopped, they might all forget about me. They might come to their senses and realize that they’d been giving all these great jobs to ordinary, average me.
Sherlock: That’s ridiculous.
John: What?
Sherlock: You are neither ordinary nor average.
John: Not that you’re biased.
Sherlock: The Academy agrees with me, as do your legions of admirers. And I must object to the idea that my personal affection for you would render me incapable of an impartial assessment.
John: [to Diane] Yes, he really talks like that all the time.
Sherlock: Deflecting, John.
John: Well, you’re interrupting.
Diane: [laughing] Should I come back later?
John: I’m sorry. Let’s get back to your question.
Diane: I don’t know, I’m enjoying watching you two bicker.
John: Good, because it probably won’t be the last time!
Diane: Within four years after Rewind, you were one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars.
John: It’s still strange to hear myself described that way, because that was never how I thought of myself. Every time a film of mine performed well, it was a surprise.
Diane: What happened? After all your success, by the time To a Stranger came along, your career had cooled off quite a bit.
John: I wish I had a good, sensible answer to that question. I think I was afraid of backlash. Success is a blessing, but also a curse. If you succeed and then fail, it’s so much worse than if you’d never succeeded. So I had to keep working. I’d got to a place where I was able to support my parents, and help my siblings, and the need to maintain that was very strong. It wasn’t the best perspective from which to make career decisions. Ironically, I walked right into what I’d hoped to avoid. [he hesitates] If To a Stranger hadn’t been handed to me on a silver platter, I don’t know where I’d be now.
Diane: Sherlock, you had a different start in life.
Sherlock: Yes, very different.
Diane: Your family was quite well off.
Sherlock: I never thought of us as being well off, mostly because we were constantly surrounded by people who were even more so. My father was a diplomat, and so my parents knew a lot of people who were of a much higher station, shall we say. I was always the least posh kid in school.
[John laughs]
Sherlock: What?
John: It’s hard to imagine you being the least posh of anything.
Sherlock: It’s surprisingly easy at Eton, with all the offspring of the landed gentry.
John: Well, I wouldn’t know.
Sherlock: My family was well off, yes, but wealthier in connections than in currency.
Diane: When did you decide to dedicate yourself to acting?
Sherlock: I never studied anything except wholeheartedly, with the intention of mastering it. My other interests were too esoteric to be viable as fields of study...I’d have had to invent my own profession in order to pursue any of them. But acting presented a constant stream of challenges and new stimulation. I felt as if the craft had been conceived with me in mind.
Diane: Your family has been the subject of considerable speculation, as they’re something of a mystery.
Sherlock: I don’t discuss my family out of respect for their privacy.
Diane: All that is known is that you have one older brother.
Sherlock: Correct. He’s in...public service. But you have omitted one crucial family member.
Diane: Who’s that?
Sherlock: I also have a husband.
[John blushes and elbows him, Sherlock elbows back and they both grin]
Diane: My apologies.
John: We’re still getting used to that term. I’m afraid we’re rather overusing it.
Sherlock: Pass the salt, husband.
John: Did you set the alarm, husband?
Sherlock: That jumper is hideous, husband.
John: Hang on, which jumper is hideous?
Sherlock: The one with all the business here. [he gestures to his chest]
John: The Fair Isle jumper that my sister sent me? It’s a time-honored traditional knitting technique from the land of my ancestors. It is not hideous. Husband.
Sherlock: Perhaps we should discuss this at a later time when we’re not being filmed for national television.
John: Don’t worry, they can edit it out.
Diane: Over my dead body. [they all laugh] Sherlock, the turning point of your career was Out of Noise. Can you talk about what making that film was like?
Sherlock: It was a wake-up call. I assumed that after RADA, I could handle whatever Hollywood could throw at me. I thought I would walk in with my posh education and a few good notices and own the place. [he shrugs] I was young.
Diane: You found it more difficult than you’d imagined?
Sherlock: I found it different. I had to adapt my methods on the fly, adjust to a new country and new working conditions, and I had to do it all while playing the violin.
Diane: You must have adapted well; your performance earned you an Academy Award nomination.
Sherlock: Yes.
Diane: Were you surprised?
Sherlock: No, I wasn’t. I’d read the reviews, and every critic and pundit in town had predicted that I’d be nominated. I was glad, but not surprised. Nor was I surprised when I didn’t win; I never expected to. I recognized the nomination for what it was, a sort of “welcome to the club.” I appreciated that it gave me more options.
Diane: Options you took full advantage of during the years following your nomination, which led up to your Academy Award-winning performance in Kanizsa. How did you come to that film?
Sherlock: The director was interested in me for the role, so he sent my agent the script. I was not the only candidate, but I thought I was an excellent fit for the material. In the end, he thought so too. It was a challenging shoot.
Diane: There are those who thought that the film was a blatant bid for an Oscar on your part. It’s very nearly a one-man story, and it was a demanding role.
Sherlock: I’ve heard that said, yes. If others feel that I took the role with an eye on the Oscars, that’s their prerogative. I can honestly say that I’ve never thought about awards when choosing a project. My focus is on the challenges the script provides me as a performer, and how well I think I can communicate the character. I only care about the work.
Diane: If that’s the case, how can you account for the downturn that your career has taken over the past few years?
Sherlock: I’m not sure I can. That is the nature of this business. No one takes a project thinking that it will fail. Some of the films I made after Kanizsa...did not reach an audience. Some of them ended up being quite different films than the one I signed up for. That is also the nature of this business and cannot be helped.
Diane: Do you take any responsibility for this series of under-performing films?
Sherlock: At the time, I did not. Looking back, I may have been overly stubborn in choosing my projects.
Diane: In what way?
Sherlock: I can be somewhat...contrary. [John chuckles] It’s possible that I chose projects that were less accessible just to prove that I was above pandering to a mainstream audience.
John: In other words, that you were above doing what I was doing.
Sherlock: Any actor who wants to make films that are both well-reviewed and profitable has to find a balance between audience appeal and artistic challenge. John and I were both failing to find that balance. He reacted by fleeing towards audience appeal, I by seeking refuge in artistic challenge. Neither approach was successful.
Diane: But all that changed with To a Stranger.
John: A lot of things changed with To a Stranger.
Diane: How did you both come to the project?
Sherlock: My agent gave me the script. Molly Hooper had written the film with me in mind.
John: I have never gotten a straight answer from Ang about what he saw in me, or how he could tell by the films I’d been doing that this part would be a good fit, but my agent told me that he wanted me to read. I couldn’t believe it. He asked me if it was a problem for me to play a gay man, and I said that I’d play any role Ang Lee asked me to.
Sherlock: After I read the script, I knew that I had to be in the film.
John: He was less enthusiastic once he found out that Ang had me in mind as his co-star.
Diane: Oh, really?
Sherlock: I’m afraid so. I was concerned, because I knew what this part would demand of my co-star, and I knew how closely we’d be working together.
Diane: You have a reputation for being difficult to work with.
Sherlock: [deadpan] I can’t imagine why. I think I’m delightful. [John laughs] I’m aware of my reputation. I can’t say that it’s undeserved. I don’t have a tolerant nature, and I’m very focused when I’m working. This makes me...not much fun. I prejudged John, unfairly as it turned out, and I thought that he would try my patience, not only personally, but as an acting partner. I wanted...actually, I needed this film to succeed, and I had no confidence in his ability to carry out his half of the heavy lifting, dramatically.
Diane: John, is it hard to hear him talk about what he thought of you?
John: Not really. It isn’t news to me. And I was accustomed to being looked down on for having starred in date movies and comedies. I was confident in my own capabilities as an actor, but I really didn’t expect anyone else to be. [he grins] Besides, he knows better now.
Diane: A lot changed between you during the making of the film.
Sherlock: That is an understatement.
Diane: Neither of you had ever been in a relationship with another man. Had either of you thought that you might be gay?
John: That’s not a simple question. I had never had romantic feelings for another man, but, to be fair, I’d barely had them for women, either. I had dated women in the past, women I was fond of and whose company I enjoyed. But I had never been in love until I met Sherlock.
Sherlock: I had never felt a strong connection to anyone, of either gender, before John. He seems to be the exception to all the rules I’ve ever set down, and every assumption I’ve made about myself. I never thought I’d want to share my life with someone, let alone find someone who wanted to share theirs with me.
John: To most of the world, the fact that I am married to Sherlock means that I am gay, full stop. I accept the label, but I’m not convinced it’s entirely accurate.
Sherlock: Labels are irrelevant to me. John is the first person I ever loved, and the only one I ever will. So the entire question is moot.
John: We’re not exactly anyone’s first choice for gay-rights poster boys.
Diane: The gay community has certainly embraced you.
John: Yes, they have. [he grins] We received sixty-two invitations to be Pride Parade Grand Marshals next month. We’re grateful to be accepted as a part of that community, and to have their support. If our existence as a high-profile same-sex couple helps further the cause of gay rights, we’re glad for it, but sometimes I wonder if I have the right to be held up as an example. I never struggled with my sexuality, or wondered if I fancied men. One day I looked at Sherlock and realized that I was in love with him. Does that change who I am? No. That potential must have been within me all along. I’ll leave the debate to the philosophers. I’m content to be married to him, and grateful to be a citizen of a country that allows me to be.
Diane: [voiceover; footage of Diane, John and Sherlock outdoors again] When we return, John and Sherlock talk about being in and out of the closet, winning Oscars, and life as a couple in Hollywood.
[COMMERCIAL]
[Diane, Sherlock, John walking the grounds of Holmes and Watson’s home in Sussex, England]
Diane: [voiceover] John and Sherlock kept their relationship secret so that the release of To a Stranger would not be overshadowed by what they knew would be a barrage of publicity. Unfortunately, this secrecy didn’t hold; two weeks before the film’s premiere, Sherlock outed them during a now-famous outburst at a press screening. This sudden reveal thrust them into the center of a media firestorm just as they began promoting the film that had brought them together.
[interior of the house; Diane in the wing chair, John and Sherlock on the sofa]
Diane: John, were you angry when Sherlock outed you?
John: I was, yes, but only until I realized why he’d done it. Then I was only angry with myself. I was upset that I hadn’t known how much it was hurting him to keep the secret.
Diane: Was the public reaction more or less severe than you thought it would be?
John: Less. Definitely.
Sherlock: Agreed.
John: I think we both were envisioning worst-case scenarios in which we were burned in effigy and denounced from every pulpit, boycotted, tarred and feathered. There were those who spoke out against us, but the public backlash ended up being the least of our concerns.
Diane: Do you still experience backlash?
Sherlock: Oh, definitely. Hate mail, protest signs at events we attend, sometimes shouted insults and condemnations. But this is no less than we expected. And it is outweighed by the expressions of support we regularly receive
Diane: To a Stranger exceeded expectations both critically and financially. Were you surprised at its success?
John: I wasn’t exactly surprised, but I was definitely relieved. I knew that it was a very good film, but I feared that people would be put off by all the media hype.
Diane: Which brings us to the Oscars.
John: Yes.
Diane: Your surprise win was the biggest story of the evening. Was it as surprising to you?
Sherlock: I wasn’t surprised at all. It was the only rational outcome.
Diane: Even more so than if you’d won yourself?
Sherlock: Of the two of us, I consider John the better actor.
John: Oh, God, here we go. That’s a load of rubbish. Sherlock has gifts I can only envy.
Sherlock: Things that I must struggle to achieve, John can do effortlessly.
John: This could go on for awhile. But to answer your question, yes, I was surprised. Amazed, thrilled, and surprised. It’s all a bit of a blur.
Diane: Your speech was frequently quoted over the next few days: you said that of everything the film had done for you, the most important was that it brought Sherlock into your life.
John: Easily. To a Stranger reawakened my love of acting, won me an Academy Award, and gave me the chance to reinvent my career. Those things are all important, and significant. But this....[he takes Sherlock’s hand] This is what’s going to make the rest of my life meaningful, this is what makes me truly happy. And this is forever.
Diane: You sound very confident about that.
John: I am.
Diane: Sherlock, your own reaction to John’s win got a strong response as well.
Sherlock: I’m sure I don’t know why. People seemed surprised to see me visibly affected. If seeing the man I love accepting an Oscar is not an occasion to show my feelings, then I don’t know what is.
Diane: How did it feel to see him up there?
Sherlock: As soon as I realized how gifted John was, all I wanted was for the rest of the world to see it, too. I wanted them all to know that they were wrong about him, as I had been wrong. As my feelings for him changed, that desire shifted and became a desire to see him happy, and acknowledged for the great actor that he is. So to see him holding an Oscar was the fulfillment of that wish. Then to hear him say what he said....[he hesitates] The truth is that I am the lucky one here. I am blessed with the company and affection of a good, decent, talented man who is patient and generous. He, on the other hand, must tolerate my numerous character failings, and I used to worry that he’d wake up one day and realize that there wasn’t much in this for him, and that would be that.
[John is looking away, blinking hard]
Diane: John, what are you thinking right now?
John: That for as brilliant as he is, he is profoundly stupid.
Sherlock: Note that I said I used to worry about that. I’m a rational man, and John married me of his own free will. Therefore, even though I still think I’ve got the better part of this relationship, I accept that he is committed to it.
John: I am. And you know why, because I’ve told you why.
Sherlock: Knowing the reason why and believing it are two different things.
Diane: Take us through those first few weeks after the Oscars.
John: The first day was pretty chaotic. I had two insanely early live feeds, and I was on Leno that evening. I barely had time to breathe. Sherlock was my hero. He made me take a nap and forced food on me, shuttled me around and took me to The Ivy for dinner after the Leno taping.
Sherlock: When the maître‘d led us to our table, John got a round of applause from the entire dining room.
John: It was sweet. Embarrassing, but sweet.
[Diane holds up the post-Oscar issue of Entertainment Weekly; the cover features several photos from the evening, the largest of which is the photograph of John and Sherlock embracing]
Diane: This photo of you became iconic. Where was it taken?
John: That was at the Vanity Fair party, our last stop before heading home. That photo was everywhere for those first few weeks.
Diane: The Best Actor winner is usually inundated with script offers the very next day, but that wasn’t your experience, is that right?
John: Oh, I received a lot of offers, just not of the right sort. I couldn’t be seen to be pandering, or to be accepting smaller roles than I’d previously taken, or I’d look desperate. The sorts of roles I wanted were not being offered to me. My agent was unable to get me meetings for scripts I was interested in. I had to face the fact that my relationship might well be the end of my career as I knew it.
Diane: Did you ever consider ending the relationship?
John: No. Absolutely not. But I did consider that I might need to make a change. If Hollywood was no longer an option, I thought I would return to London. Work for the BBC, work on the stage. There is a lot of excellent, high-quality work to be had there, and one’s choice of life partner isn’t as much of a concern. But give up Sherlock in order to help my marketability? It never entered my mind. I did worry about what my lack of work would do to us, though.
Diane: In what way?
John: Sherlock was working; in fact, he had signed on for the sort of project he’d long dreamed of. I had no prospects. I was glad for him, and thrilled about his project, but I could sense that if I did not find work of my own, the resentment was waiting for me. I’m only human, and I’ve lost count of how many Hollywood couples I’ve seen disintegrate that way. One career takes off while the other stagnates, and it kills the relationship. I was not about to let that happen to us. I’d quit the business first.
Diane: How long did it take for things to turn around for you?
John: Four weeks after the Oscars, I received exactly the offer I’d been hoping for.
Diane: And what was that?
John: I was offered the lead role in Joel and Ethan Coen’s next film. I could not have asked for a better, more exciting film to begin this new phase of my acting life. My character is like no man I’ve ever played, or have ever seen anyone else play, for that matter, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it.
Diane: It sounds like a great deal will depend on how this film is received.
John: Yes, it will, but I trust Joel and Ethan. Their script is funny, it’s macabre, it’s unexpected, and the rest of the cast is fantastic. I think it’s a winner. Their faith in me and my ability to carry this film seems to have opened the floodgates, and more directors are calling. I’ve got another project lined up for after this one.
Diane: Sherlock, coming out didn’t have as detrimental an effect on your career as it did on John’s. Why is that?
Sherlock: That wasn’t entirely unexpected. John and I occupy--or used to occupy, I ought to say--very different niches as actors. His marketability was based on his appeal to women and mainstream audiences. Being gay would, frankly, have less of an impact on my career. John is correct about the effect it could have had on us if he had been unable to capitalize on the success of To a Stranger. I don’t know how well I would have handled it if his career had ended because he chose me.
John: Let’s hope we never have to find out. But it would be our problem to handle, not just yours.
Sherlock: He is always saying things like that. I’m not used to doing anything as part of a team. In fact, I’m known for my lack of team spirit.
John: You’re doing fine.
Sherlock: He says that now. Check back with us in a year.
Diane: So what is life like for you, now that you’re married and your careers are moving forward?
John: Well, we’ve only been married for a week. Life isn’t that different so far.
Sherlock: There was an ungodly amount of paperwork.
Diane: Do you feel different?
John: [looks at Sherlock; they both smile slowly] Yeah, we do. I didn’t think we would, but yeah. There’s something about exchanging those rings and saying the words. Those words have power.
Sherlock: The human race has placed irrational importance on litanies and incantations since language was invented. A marriage ceremony is just one of our most commonplace examples.
John: Well, it hasn’t made him more sentimental, as you can plainly tell.
Sherlock: It hasn’t made you more rational.
John: Was it supposed to? May I remind you that you were the one who proposed to me? So the irrational incantation was your idea.
Sherlock: I didn’t say I was immune to the effect, I just said it was irrational. I am capable of being irrational.
John: Diane, I hope you appreciate the revelation you just heard pass his lips.
Diane: [laughing] It’s all caught on tape. He can’t take it back.
Sherlock: For me, proposing marriage was simply the best way to convey to John my seriousness, and my commitment to creating a life with him.
John: And get half ownership of my house by default.
Sherlock: You already had half ownership of this one, it only seemed fair.
Diane: How about a few practical questions, then?
John: All right.
Diane: Who cooks?
John: I do. He's rubbish at cooking.
Sherlock: John's an excellent cook, when he has the time.
Diane: Does that mean you do the dishes?
Sherlock: Naturally. Is that not the only fair arrangement?
Diane: Who takes up more closet space?
Sherlock: I'm afraid I must own that one.
John: You should see his collection of suits. And the shoes, my God.
Diane: Who's more romantic?
John and Sherlock: [at the same time] He is.
[they look at each other]
John: When he proposed to me, he gave me a pair of silver cuff links engraved with the date we met, in Roman numerals. I rest my case.
Sherlock: You flew across an ocean to declare yourself to me and announced your presence by secreting a flower in my closing-night bouquet.
John: You already had your own tickets to fly across that same ocean and declare yourself to me!
Sherlock: Yes, but I hadn’t prepared special floral arrangements as a signal.
John: Now you’re just grasping at straws.
Diane: All right, we'll call it a draw.
John: [laughs] Fair enough.
Diane: What’s ahead for you now?
Sherlock: We’re both filming over the summer. I’ll be in Prague for several months.
John: I’ll be filming in Los Angeles, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to visit him. It’ll be our first significant separation since Sherlock moved to the States last fall. I’m not looking forward to it.
Sherlock: We’re hoping to fit in some traveling first, perhaps a proper honeymoon.
John: New Zealand.
Sherlock: No, Sweden.
John: Hawaii.
Sherlock: I am not going to Hawaii.
John: He’s phobic about sunlight. Has to maintain that Edwardian heavy-cream complexion.
Sherlock: Honeymoon destination to be determined, apparently.
John: We’ll probably argue about it, never agree, give up and stay here.
Diane: Has there been any talk of starting a family?
John: Actually, no. We’ve not had that discussion. [he looks at Sherlock] That seems like a bit of an oversight, doesn’t it?
Sherlock: Are you desperately broody and just forgot to mention it? Because that seems like a bit of an oversight.
John: I am not particularly broody, no. But it’s an interesting thought.
Sherlock: As long as by “interesting” you mean “terrifying.”
John: [laughs] I think that discussion might have to wait for a later time.
Diane: You’re both in very different places than you were just a year ago. What is it that you hope for most in the future?
[they both look thoughtful]
John: I hope that we’re always able to balance our careers and our personal lives. I hope I can continue to support my family, and stay close to them. I hope I’m always able to do the work I love, and be a part of good films, even great films, and that I’ll always have Sherlock with me through all of it.
Sherlock: I hope for those things too, but more than anything else, I hope that I can be a good husband to John, and that we’ll always be as happy as we are now.
[John takes his hand again, smiling]
John: See that? I told you he was romantic.
Chapter 20: Epilogue