What separates Benedict from Colin Firth and Hugh Grant is that he has never played in romantic comedies, so the audience did not make him in their imagination a symbol of the Prince Charming that films of this genre paint. His sex appeal is intelligence. He built his image completely without erotic overtones.
A Sherlock-worthy mystery: How did this androgynous Briton top the list of the most desirable men not from politics, business or science, but from Hollywood, where rivals are Michael Fassbender and Chris Hemsworth?