Professor Moriarty in other media. George Wessells was the first actor to portray Moriarty, opposite William Gillette in the Broadway production Sherlock Holmes (1899) Professor James Moriarty is the fictional archenemy of Sherlock Holmes in some of the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He has appeared in several forms outside of the Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Checkmate: Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) reveals how he deceived Moriarty (Jared Harris) and stole his fortune.BUY THE MOVI Over the past hour, he's been beaten to death, choked on poison gas and seen Sherlock Holmes murdered in broad daylight. And it's all my fault. I've been playing The Great Game. It's a choose-your RjQgQ.