Steven Moffat On The Serious, Sexy And Insane Incarnations Of The Doctor



Steven Moffat has been reflecting on Matt Smith's performance as the Doctor and also on the Doctor Who star's two predecessors ahead of the first appearance of Peter Capaldi in the role this Christmas. Talking to TV Drama on Worldscreen he said of the most recent incarnations of the Doctor: 

"It’s interesting to look at the three modern Doctors—and there’s about to be a fourth—and see what each of them bring to the show. Christopher [Eccleston] brought a gravitas and an importance, a statement that this is a serious proposition—a famous actor playing the part [of the Doctor]. He brought a toughness to it, a sensibleness to it. And then David [Tennant] for the very first time got the idea that the Doctor could be cool and sexy—a sort of dashing hero. 

What Matt brought to it, which is the last thing you'd expect from the youngest-ever Doctor, is he absolutely restored the idea that the Doctor is fundamentally an absent-minded professor. Matt’s Doctor is quite, quite mad. I remember David saying, I wish I had done it like that! Matt has such a madcap quality that what he brought was more than eccentricity—he’s absolutely insane. If David’s Doctor turned up [at your house] for morning coffee, he’d be fine. He’d be a lovely young man and he’d chat everybody up. Matt’s Doctor would turn up on a camel. He’s bonkers. The last thing anybody thought when we cast the 26-year-old was that what we’d get is a return to the eccentric old boffin that he is at heart, the hipster boffin."

As usual he had little to reveal about the 50th Anniversary special, saying, "It will be on November 23rd. John Hurt is in it and he’s playing the Doctor, and that’s cool. John Hurt is very cool."

However, explaining why the series has survived for 50 years he said, "...you can recast the Doctor. Not only can you recast the Doctor, you can create a Doctor who is appropriate for the times. He can always be modern. He can always be new. It’s an ancient tradition and yet it’s a brand-new iteration of that tradition. So it feels old and new at the same time, old and young."

Read the full interview here


The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman, Billie Piper and John Hurt will screen worldwide on Saturday 23rd November. Click here for more information 

Matt Smith will hand over the TARDIS keys to Peter Capaldi as he takes over as the Twelfth Doctor on Christmas Day.


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