I have my heart and hands all over this project
In the quiet between takes on the set of Enola Holmes 3, something real has been quietly building — a friendship between two young actors that has become the emotional foundation of a franchise. Millie Bobby Brown, who has shepherded this story from book pitch to Netflix series to a third film set in Malta, carries Enola Holmes not just as a role but as a responsibility, one she guards with the same deductive rigor she demands of the character herself. The arrival of a darker chapter, a new director, and an expanded cast marks a natural maturation — both of the story and of the people telling it.
- The chemistry between Brown and Partridge isn't performed — it's the residue of years of genuine friendship, a sibling-like ease that makes their on-screen dynamic feel lived-in rather than rehearsed.
- Brown's dual role as producer and lead creates productive friction on set, including halting filming to defend the internal logic of Enola's deductions — a disruption her collaborators have come to respect rather than resist.
- Director Philip Barantini, known for visceral, high-pressure filmmaking, is steering the franchise into darker territory, and found in Brown a creative partner already moving in the same direction.
- When fan criticism targeted something as minor as Enola's manicure, Brown pushed back without apology, framing it as part of a broader cultural habit of tearing down rather than lifting up.
- The film is landing in a place of earned ambition — a third chapter with higher emotional stakes, a new setting in Malta, and a franchise that has grown alongside the people making it.
Walk into a room where Millie Bobby Brown and Louis Partridge are together, and the laughter has usually already started. The ease between them — built over years of working together — has become the invisible architecture beneath their on-screen relationship. Partridge describes their dynamic as almost sibling-like, full of relentless teasing and mutual silliness between takes. They don't over-rehearse. They learn the lines, then let something looser take over. "We definitely regress into our younger selves," Brown says, and Partridge nods as if this is simply the weather.
The third film takes Enola to Malta, where her future with Tewkesbury collides with a dangerous mystery surrounding Sherlock's disappearance. Director Philip Barantini, known for the intensity of Adolescence and Boiling Point, wanted to push the franchise into darker, more adult territory. What made the transition easier was discovering that Brown was already thinking the same way. The alignment meant they could move forward without the friction that often derails creative partnerships.
Brown's confidence in steering the project runs deeper than producer authority. She read the books, pitched the idea, sold it to Netflix, and brought it to life. Enola feels like an extension of her own sensibility. "It feels like a part of my heart forever," she says. That ownership makes her protective — sometimes to the point of stopping production. Partridge recalls filming halting for what felt like hours because Brown insisted Enola would have already deduced something, would have recognized a flag and solved the puzzle sooner. Brown laughs at the exaggeration, but the point stands: she cares about the character's internal logic more than the schedule.
Himesh Patel, stepping into a fuller role as Dr Watson after a brief cameo in the second film, sees this instinct as a strength. "She's not afraid of creative friction," he says. Brown thinks about everything obsessively, writing it all down when she gets home. Her husband Jake Bongiovi, who also worked on the film, has noticed that Enola doesn't stay on set — she follows Brown home, sometimes surfacing in the middle of ordinary domestic moments.
When first-look images drew online criticism over Enola's manicure looking too modern, Brown's response was swift and unapologetic: "How bleak and boring of the internet. I love a good manicure and so does Enola." Barantini found the whole episode telling — a reminder that in a hyper-aware culture, anything can become a controversy. Brown hopes the culture will eventually shift toward uplift. For now, she's focused on what she can control: making sure Enola Holmes 3 is a story worth believing in.
Walk into a room where Millie Bobby Brown and Louis Partridge are sitting across from each other, and you don't need to wait for the conversation to start. They're already laughing. The ease between them is the kind that doesn't announce itself—it just exists, a comfortable shorthand built over years of working together. As they prepare to return for Enola Holmes 3, that off-screen friendship has become the invisible architecture holding up their on-screen relationship, the one between the teenage detective and the young nobleman she's drawn to.
Partridge, 23, describes their dynamic as almost sibling-like, which explains the relentless teasing. They don't over-rehearse their scenes together. They learn the lines, they run through it, and then they let something looser take over—a kind of mutual silliness that leaves them both breathless with laughter between takes. Brown jokes that Partridge transforms into someone unrecognizable the moment cameras stop rolling, that the thoughtful, articulate person people meet at parties bears no resemblance to the goofball she spends her days with on set. "We definitely regress into our younger selves," she says, and Partridge nods like this is the most obvious truth in the world.
The third film takes Enola to Malta, where her future with Tewkesbury collides with a dangerous mystery involving Sherlock's disappearance. Director Philip Barantini, known for the intensity of Adolescence and Boiling Point, wanted to push the franchise into darker, more adult territory—something he could eventually watch with his nine-year-old daughter, who loves Enola but can't sit through his other work. What made his job easier was discovering that Brown, who has been a producer on the franchise from its inception, was already thinking in the same direction. "When I pitched my idea, she was already thinking about incorporating some of the darkness," he says. The alignment meant they could move forward without the friction that often derails creative partnerships.
Brown's confidence in steering the project comes from something deeper than typical producer authority. She read the book series. She pitched it. She sold it to Netflix. She brought it to life. Enola lives in her in a way that goes beyond performance—the character feels like an extension of her own sensibility, her own standards. "It feels like a part of my heart forever," she says. "I have my heart and hands all over this project." That ownership makes her protective, sometimes to the point of stopping production. Partridge recalls a moment when filming halted for what felt like hours because Brown insisted Enola would have already deduced something—that she would have recognized a flag's origin and worked out the puzzle sooner. Brown laughs at the exaggeration, but the point stands: she cares about the internal logic of the character more than she cares about schedule.
Himesh Patel, who gets a proper introduction as Dr Watson after a brief cameo in the second film, sees this protective instinct as a strength. "She cares so much about this franchise, the characters and this world," he says. "She's not afraid of creative friction." It's not argument for argument's sake—it's discussion, the kind where Brown puts her opinion forward and expects to be heard. She's careful not to cross into being the annoying producer who gives other actors notes, but she thinks about everything obsessively, writing it all down when she gets home. Her husband, Jake Bongiovi, who also worked on the film, has noticed that Enola doesn't stay on set. The character follows her home, sometimes even into their bedroom, where Brown catches herself speaking with Enola's exacting standards about something as mundane as how the bed is made.
What Brown is most protective of is Enola's intelligence—the rigor of her deductive reasoning, the plausibility of her conclusions. When first-look images from the film were released, some fans online questioned whether Enola's manicure looked too modern for the period setting. Brown's response was swift and unapologetic: "How bleak and boring of the internet. I love a good manicure and so does Enola." She sees it as part of a larger pattern of people dissecting films for the sake of dissection, finding something to zoom in on and turning it into a controversy. Barantini found the whole thing amusing. "Maybe they do for some people," he says, "but we just live in a world where everyone is hyper-aware and they find something to zone in on, and it becomes a huge thing." Brown hopes that in time, the culture will shift—that people will learn to uplift rather than tear down. For now, she's focused on what she can control: making sure Enola Holmes 3 is a story worth believing in.
Notable Quotes
We definitely regress into our younger selves— Millie Bobby Brown, on her dynamic with Louis Partridge
She cares so much about this franchise, the characters and this world, and is not afraid of creative friction— Himesh Patel, on Brown's approach to producing
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
You've been protective of Enola since the beginning. What is it about this character that makes you willing to stop production over a flag?
She's intelligent. That's the core of her. If I let something slip that doesn't make sense, I'm betraying the character and the people who love her. It's not about perfectionism for its own sake—it's about respect.
But doesn't that risk becoming exhausting for everyone around you?
Absolutely. I think about it constantly. I've been on sets where producers are difficult, and I don't want to be that person. So I go home and I write everything down instead. I let it live in my notebook, not in other people's space.
Louis seems to find it funny rather than frustrating.
Because we have something real between us. We can disagree or push back without it becoming personal. We laugh about the same things. That matters more than I think people realize.
The new director wanted to make something darker. Were you worried that would change Enola?
No. I was already thinking that way. We were aligned before he even arrived. That's when you know a collaboration is going to work—when you're already on the same page about what the story needs to become.
What do you say to people who think you're being too controlling?
I'd say they're probably right that I have no problem speaking up. That's probably my red flag. But there's a difference between having an opinion and being tyrannical about it. I care because it's mine. I want it to be good.