Describe your Who experience so far in one word.
Mad. [Laughs] It’s been a very exciting period of my life obviously. I’ve gotten to be one of the stars of British TV and loved every minute of that. And also of course there are big transitions in your own personal life. I get to come to New York and L.A. and stuff to promote the show and things like that, that’s all through Doctor Who. The landscape of your world changes a bit in a public sense. There’ve been very interesting and significant things that have happened.
You seem to be the first Doctor who’s had an immediate impact on American shores, at least recently. We didn’t get the Christopher Eccleston Who from 2005 until it was on DVD, then we started getting your predecessor David Tennant a little bit sooner. But episodes of your first season aired on BBC America only a week after they premiered in England.
Well, that’s great. It’s a privilege because we really want it to succeed out in the States. We think there’s a market for it out there. You guys are good at liking sci-fi. We’re going to try and come to Comic-Con and stuff next year.
Did you get to do anything special for the new DVD?
We shot some extra scenes for it, which were only shot for the DVD. They’re really funny, these great little skits about The Doctor. We’ve also got all the Doctor Who Confidentials, and there are these things called the Monster Files where you can get under the skin and inside the mind of the new Doctor with the Daleks and stuff, all the bad enemies, and you can see how they’re made. You’ve got mine and Karen’s video diaries, and you’ve got all the outtakes, which is my favorite bit actually. It’s pretty full.
Has it been nice to have a companion like Karen on and off screen where you can go through the whole thing together?
That’s been really wonderful actually. And we’re great friends, me and Karen. Probably the fact that we were both new to it helped develop a stronger bond between us because we had to stick together. It was quite a rocky roller coaster as it were. But I’m very proud of Karen and there aren’t many people who make me laugh like she does, to be honest.
Do you have a favorite Doctor Who monster?
The Weeping Angels. I think they’re the scariest. They’re really creepy. And it’s all based on a children’s game called Grandma’s Footsteps. Imagine a wall in a playground and the person who’s “it” is facing the wall and the rest of the class starts at the bottom of the playground and they have to get up and tag him on the back. But every time the kid turns around who’s facing the wall, they have to stop like statues.
How many sonic screwdrivers do you work with on a regular basis?
I have four. If one breaks, we get another one in. And they come out in this little box, like they’re carrying a nuclear bomb or something.
Is there a special handler for them?
Yeah, Phil. He’s brilliant at his job. He’s the props guy, but he used to be a toolmaker. He polishes them up, and it’s always quite a moment when a sonic comes out.
What do you know about the next season?
I know nothing. [Executive producer Stephen Moffat] tells me nothing. I have just received, I have them in my hands now, episodes 3 and 4 from next series. I’m literally flapping the pages, I don’t know if you can hear. [Note: He actually did flap the pages, and cracked himself up doing so.] I know only what I’m about to read when I open this first page. I’ll read you the first line. It says “Exterior.” There is a spoiler for you.
Neil Gaiman’s writing an episode, too. That’s exciting.
That’s the one I’ve got now! And that was the first word of his. OK, I’ll read you the second line. “Ripped canvas.” There you go.
You probably get to meet a lot of different and creative people doing the show. What have you learned about sci-fi that you didn’t know before, or even about improving your own performance?
I’ve learned so much about structure actually. Stephen is the master of time and of structure when he’s writing. He plays time so brilliantly. I’ve learned about writing – and about dialogue. I think he’s a real genius. He’s one of the great, great writers for television. In terms of my own journey performing-wise, I’ve just learned to take risks and trust my instinct and be as brave and inventive as I can. I try to make each day a new risk and a new invention. I’ve learned that you have to be prepared – thoroughly, thoroughly prepared. And you’ve got to work a little harder than everyone else, and that’s the only way to get through being a Doctor because you’ve got 10 pages more lines a day. If you don’t know them, it would slow the whole thing up.
In the parts you’ve played before on screen and in the theater, did you have one that informed a little of what you bring to The Doctor?
The Doctor is completely unique. He’s the best character I’ve ever played. There’s no one like him — no one comes near him, to be honest. It’s unlike anything I have done and will probably ever do again.
Let’s say you’re walking around in New York in the middle of the afternoon. Do people recognize you?
It was funny, I had a couple of people. But there was one guy who was like, “Yo! Hey, man, good luck with the series.” I was like, “Whoa! This guy knows who I am, that’s really strange.”
Did you grow up loving sci-fi?
I’ve always kept my eye on sci-fi stuff, but I never really watched Star Trek or Stargate or any of the series like that. That’s been quite nice for me coming to it because it’s really galvanized my interest in sci-fi. Now I have a real passion for it, I think.
I’d think that freshness would also serve you well going into a character who has a new form through regeneration.
I really hope so because I’m a different person to everyone else who’s played The Doctor. I’m mad and a bit barmy and clumsy and brilliant and attentive and not attentive. That’s the great thing about The Doctor: There are no boundaries.
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TIME Lord actor Matt Smith thought co-star Karen Gillan was “odd” the first time they met.
Describe your Who experience so far in one word.
