Guy Ritchie has praised Robert Downey Jr. for his “flawless” British accent.

The Sherlock Holmes filmmaker cast the 44-year-old American actor as the well-spoken fictional detective title character because he seemed “perfect” for the part and could mimic the posh voice.

“Robert’s English accent is almost flawless. He just seems like the perfect guy. And like Holmes, his mind works at a speed I can’t keep up with.”

Robert initially feared he wasn’t “up to the task” of the movie, but decided to give it a go after growing in confidence:

“You kind of act as if you’re up to the task until you find out whether you truly are or not. I was fortunate that right about this time last year I was really peaking in my own confidence and faith in my abilities. And seeing as I’d been cast and contracted and it was moving forward, it wasn’t like there was any benefit to me not thinking I was the perfect guy for it.”

The actor has also admitted he pleased with Guy’s take on the stories, which were written in 1887 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. “Oftentimes the innovative thing to do is to be truer to the source material.”

Robert was also drawn to Guy’s portrayal of the detective as “the first modern martial artist.” He added to CTV News, “I thought, that’s just a fresh way to go.”