Longtime Hercule Poirot Actor Refuses to Watch Other Stars’ Portrayals—Including Kenneth Branagh’s

One Emmy-winning actor can’t bear to watch other people play the role that made him famous.

Sir David Suchet, the British actor known for playing Hercule Poirot in ITV’s series Agatha Christie’s Poirot, said he “cannot watch anyone else play the part” in a new interview with Express. His time portraying the famous Belgian detective on TV ran for nearly 25 years.

“They have remade Poirot with other actors, and so they must – just as they must keep staging Shakespeare’s plays with different actors. I’ve taken over hundreds of roles that have been played by other people,” he said.

He continued by saying that people always ask him about the new adaptations, hoping he would criticize them, but “that’s not my nature.”

“Every actor I’ve ever known always tries to do their best. So I wish all those who play Poirot now and in the future the very best of luck because the character is such a wonderful gem.”

Plenty of other famous actors have taken on the role of the most famous detective not named Sherlock Holmes.

Albert Finney, for instance, played Poirot in 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express, for which he was Oscar-nominated.

Peter Ustinov appeared as Poirot six times—one of which was in 1985’s Thirteen at Dinner, which starred Suchet as Inspector Japp just before he would take on the role of Poirot himself. Hugh Laurie, of House, MD fame, even portrayed the detective in 1997.

Most recently, Sir Kenneth Branagh has become Poirot for a new generation, with three films released in 2017, 2022, and 2023. Branagh directed all three, in addition to his starring role, and co-produced them all alongside Alien filmmaker Ridley Scott.

Interviewers at Express asked Suchet if he’d ever consider playing the character again.

“I wouldn’t do him on television now. I’d love to have played him on the big screen, but that never came my way. He’s gone now, and I’ve got to let him go, but I won’t be allowed to let him go while the public is still enjoying him,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better role. Those dramas will never date because they were dated when they were made.”