Sherlock: 10 Best Minor Characters

There's nothing scarier than someone who wants to kill you and can get away with it whilst still being beloved by the public. That terrifying notion was the basis for this character and the plot for the episode "The Lying Detective", which saw Sherlock come face to face with one of his scariest antagonists to date. He left a massive impression, despite only appearing in one episode.

Culverton Smith was a wealthy philanthropist and charity worker who managed to fool Britain into treating him like a celebrity whilst being an active serial killer. It was the perfect way for Sherlock to explore the idea of corruption in power and even look at similar figures from the BBC's real-life history.

Another aspect of this characters greatness has to be the casting of Toby Jones. Not only did he bring a certain amount of star power to the role, but his incredibly creepy performance was bone-chilling, and it was easy to see how he was able to charm the world into letting him get away with his crimes.

The fact that this villain was such a memorable part of the series, despite his lack of screen time, is impressive.