What is Jeremy Breed's message to therapists [Famous for Sherlock Holmes]

[Bipolar disorder] What is Jeremy Breed's message to therapists [Famous for Sherlock Holmes]

1)
Have you heard about Jeremy Flett?
I love Sherlock Holmes, and for me, he is the origin of Holmes.

This guy is Jeremy Bread, who has announced his bipolar disorder. He has suffered from it since he was a young man, but as is typical of the actor, others say that his mood swings don't seem particularly strange. Consider Jeremy's life as he bravely went public despite his suffering.

2)
Jeremy was born in England on 3 November 1933. His father was a Lieutenant Colonel. He was the youngest of four children and had a privileged upbringing as his mother came from a family who worked for Cadbury, the British confectionery company famous for its chocolates. From childhood, he loved singing and watching films and plays and has wanted to be an actor since age eight.

3)
He attended the prestigious Eton School, a public school, but during his time there, he struggled with dyslexia, making it difficult to read and write. He was a choir member, and his hobbies were archery and horse riding.
After leaving school, he studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama and made his stage debut in 1954 at 21.

4)
At the request of his father, who thought that being an actor was questionable and would tarnish the family name, he was not allowed to use his real name as a stage name and named himself Jeremy after the name of the shop where he worked, "Bread and Co", which was written on the label of his first suit. He began using the stage name "Jeremy Brett".

5)
While making his screen debut that same year, he continued to gain experience. At the age of 28, he played the leading role of Hamlet in the production of Hamlet.

In his private life, he married the actress Anna Massey at 25, and they had a son the following year. They divorced four years later, and their son David Huggins became an illustrator and writer.

6)
Jerry has also appeared in many television dramas since the 1960s.
His "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1961) was particularly well-received and became a precursor to his subsequent brilliant career.

He is also famous for his BBC dramas such as "The Three Musketeers" and "The Merchant of Venice".

7)
He appeared in "War and Peace" in the cinema, co-starring with Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda.

His famous film appearance was in 1964's "My Fair Lady".

Jenny played Freddie, a young aristocrat with feelings for Audrey Hepburn's character.

8)
At the age of 43, he remarried the American producer Joan Wilson. After the marriage, he moved to the United States and appeared in popular drama series such as "The Love Boat (1977)", "Hart to Hart (1979)" and "Galactica (1980)". In 1978, he succeeded wildly when he was chosen to play the lead role in "Dracula".

9)
The following year, 1979, she starred in the BBC drama series "Rebecca", which also received positive reviews.

In 1980, aged 47, he starred as Watson in the Los Angeles production of Sherlock Holmes.

10)
He is best known for her role as Sherlock Holmes in the 1984 Granada TV version of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

He perfectly embodied the appearance, mannerisms and personality of Holmes as imagined in the original work. He was highly praised, with it being said that no one better suited to the role than him.

11)
Famed theatre critic Mel Gassow said: Brett's breathtaking analytical skills, bizarre disguises, calm demeanour and enthusiasm for solving the most complex cases make him the ideal Holmes. It received rave reviews.

12)
Also surprising to viewers and critics was Jenny's extraordinary athletic ability.

As well as riding horses, Jeremy's Holmes climbs sofas and walls and walks unguarded along the railings of high bridges.

13)
When the producer asked him to play the role, Jeremy was reluctant due to the pressure of the classic role he had played many times before and the vast production costs involved in this project. Still, he immediately didn't agree to the position. He was unable to respond.

14)
By chance, however, the project was postponed. While working on another project, Jeremy had the opportunity to read Arthur Conan Doyle's original work in depth and was drawn to the charm of playing Holmes as portrayed in the original work.

A few months later, when asked to perform again, Jeremy was determined to play Holmes.

15)
Jeremy himself had a warm, outgoing and sensitive personality and felt his true self was closer to Watson than to Holmes.

However, Jenny resembled Holmes because of his perfectionism, which was recognised by those around him.

16)
Coupled with David Berg's incomparable performance as Watson, the drama was a hit from its first broadcast in April 1984.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes has become so popular that it is broadcast in the US and 77 countries worldwide in the UK.

17)
In the third series (1986), Burke, who had a young child, stepped down from the role because he wanted to spend time with his family.

He was replaced in the role of Watson by Edward Hardbig. However, Jeremy says such changes are necessary to maintain the quality of his work.

18)
Hardwick supported Jeremy's Holmes with a performance as excellent as Burke's.

During his ten years on television, Jeremy continued to explore the role of Holmes and studied hard to make the part appealing.

19)
Jeremy had bipolar disorder.
His condition worsened in 1985 when his wife Wilson died of cancer.

Unfortunately, Wilson's later years coincided with the filming of an episode about the death of Holmes, which made Wilson even more mentally fragile.

20)
However, to overcome his sadness, he decided to finish the play he was currently performing in and immerse himself in his work.

He also returned to filming the third series of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. But his excitement continues, and he ends up in a state where, as Jeremy puts it, he "can't control his brain".

21)
Jeremy has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
He had suffered from it for a long time, but it was dismissed as an actor's personality in the past.

He recalls that he was "in tatters but at full speed" trying to get over his wife, Wilson's death, so perhaps he exploded.

In an interview with him three years later, Jenny expressed her deep sadness by saying, "She was my confidence. Without her, her life would have no meaning."

22)
After filming the third series (1986), Jeremy's mental breakdown reached a breaking point, and he was hospitalised.

Jeremy's psyche was further damaged by the various speculations fanned by mindless gossip magazines about his hospitalisation and by the harsh words of reporters.

In reality, Jeremy's heart valves were affected by the rheumatic fever he contracted at 16, and his heart was about twice the size of an average adult male.

23)
The strain on his heart from his prescription medication and the effects of his bipolar disorder is evident in Jeremy's appearance and affect his performance as Holmes in the drama.

Throughout the long series, Holmes' sidekick Edward Erdvik, who played his Watson, continued to support Jeremy in public and private life.

He later said he often invited his Jenny to the Hardwick home to spend time with them.

24)
As filming for the sixth series began, Jeremy's health deteriorated again.
During the filming of "The Adventure of the Three Gables" (1993), he finally collapsed, and during the next filming, he had to be under the care of his nurse while wearing an oxygen mask.

25)
His only reply was: "But darlings, the show must go on."

At the end of 1993, "The Cardboard Box" was filmed, his last work as Holmes.
Due to a demanding filming schedule, Jeremy eventually returned to the hospital.

26)
However, it turned out very well as a drama, and Jerry said that he liked the last line of the theatre.

In the last years of his life, Jeremy spoke in interviews about his bipolar disorder, which was manic-depressive at the time, and how he had stopped drinking alcohol and relied on prescription medication to manage his mental health.

27)
He has continued to speak openly about his illness, encouraging others to recognise the signs and seek the help they need.

He also said that he cherished letters from people with the same disease who said seeing them on television had encouraged them.

28)
Jeremy's last work was on a radio charity programme to raise awareness of bipolar disorder, broadcast in 1995, shortly before his death.

29)
In it, Jeremy says:
I have been diagnosed with manic depression. I want to talk about that now. Remember, I was an established actor before I admitted I was manic-depressive. Manic depression causes severe mood swings.

From his severe depression, he becomes highly agitated and active. The intensity of these tremors is entirely different from the kind of tremors many experience when they go from feeling blue on a Monday morning to feeling great.

30)
When you are manic, you reach enormous levels of activity and energy. I can't sleep because I have one idea after another. You waste money and have no sense of reality. I did something that bothered them when I was high.

And when I feel depressed, I panic, have no energy and have self-destructive thoughts.

31)
Because of my success, I found the courage to say publicly that I had this illness, got a job and could live a satisfying life.
This illness can also be treated.

He talks about how people like him have succeeded as actors despite having bipolar disorder and how he can control the illness and show people his warm and affectionate side. He sent us a lovely message.

32)
Jeremy died of heart failure at his home in London on 12 September 1995, aged 61.
Jeremy's funeral was conducted by his eldest brother, John, who was his minister and a Holmes fan.

Actor Edward Hardwicke, who co-starred as Watson, said:
Jeremy was always eccentric, in a good way. I love that. I wanted him to be like that.

A lot of Jeremy's attitudes were more eccentric than over the top.
Jeremy dared to be open about his illness and to encourage others like him.

33)
In a world where prejudice was still substantial at the time, how many hearts did he open?

We are also encouraged by his great success despite suffering from a chronic illness. I greatly respect his life as an actor and his courageous words and deeds.