In praise of … Mark Gatiss

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/13/in-praise-of-mark-gatiss

Version 0 of 1.

Every so often, always in the nicest possible way, a good actor's career enjoys a breakthrough. Suddenly the work flows in and the actor never seems to be off the screen or stage. Last year, it was true of Broadchurch star Olivia Colman. In 2014, although it is early days, the same thing is happening to Mark Gatiss. Not content with writing an episode of each series of Sherlock, the latest of which closed amid acclaim and controversy on Sunday, Mr Gatiss also plays Mycroft Holmes. In between, the League of Gentlemen stalwart adapted an MR James story for Christmas TV and presented a documentary on him, too. All the while, he has been in Shakespeare's Coriolanus at the Donmar Warehouse, the latest in a fine series of well-delivered character studies in London theatres that have included Captain Brazen at the Donmar and Charles I at the Hampstead. As Ms Colman has discovered, national treasure status can surely not be far away.

Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.