Martin Freeman, the actor who portrays John Watson on the hit BBC television show "Sherlock," doesn't want to film longer seasons of the show, according to reports, because apparently it's boring.

Freeman said, during an interview with Mark Lawson at the Edinburgh Television Festival, even if BBC decided to make longer seasons of the drama after people begged for more, "in five years you would hate us."

"I'm not in charge of the show. But I am kind of glad we don't do it all of the time because I have a very low boredom threshold. I really do. I want to do other things. What starts off as a real pleasure and feels like playtime would feel like 'Oh God' for me."

Freeman explained that he didn't go into acting looking for a replacement for a "proper job." He shared that he likes the unknown and likes not knowing what's lined up next. It's like an adventure for him. Whenever he has spare time, Freeman fills it with a new project. However, if he spent nine months dedicated to filming BBC's "Sherlock," "the first month would be great and the next eight would be 'Oh, Christ...really?'"

When Freeman auditioned for his role on "Gotham" he had to audition twice before he received the role opposite Cumberbatch. His agent told him that casting directors hated him and thought he was a "moody prick," nonetheless invited him back to read with Cumberbatch. He confessed that he thought the original pilot of show --which was rejected and reshot-- was a bit silly, but later learned that he was "extremely wrong."

Additionally, Freeman dished a bit about his journey as an actor. "The Office" (U.K.) opened big doors for him because "every f-er watched it," and it convinced people that he was a stand-up comedian. However, he's always wanted to be a decent actor who could be funny, instead of a comedian. An avid dodger of typecasting, he's portrayed Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit" and appeared in hit TV roles like "Sherlock" and "Fargo."

During that interview, he commented that the disciplines of acting in feature films and TV are identical, because "you have to convince the audience that this moment in really happening." He added that American TV is able to produce quality television in just a number of days, and there's a different ceiling for actors in the U.S. Just one downside is that he's now so recognizable that it takes him an hour to purchase a pint of milk.

During Freeman's downtime, he's gone to see his "Sherlock" co-star Benedict Cumberbatch perform Hamlet at London's Barbican Theatre, and said that Cumberbatch was good, clear and made "Shakespeare very accessible with his mouth."

This year, the actor was only on the set of "Sherlock" for a bit this year while filming the Victorian era special episode. It's expected to air close to Christmas, although BBC has not confirmed the precise airdate.

Related