When it comes to joiningDoctor Who, there’s no better cast to look to if you need advice. With a show that’s run for sixty years and gone through fourteen lead actors — most of whom are still alive and kicking — incumbent stars have a Rolodex of faces to ask for help, whether they’re playing the immortal Time Lord who flits through time and space in a blue police box, or one of the many people who’s joined him on his adventures.
Incoming Fifteenth DoctorNcuti Gatwacertainly took advantage of that privilege. While he previously revealed that his anniversary special co-starDavid Tennantstarted a group chat full of former Doctors to give him advice, he told Collider’sSamantha ColeythatHouse of the DragonstarMatt Smith, who played the Eleventh Doctor for nearly five years, gave him some of the best advice about taking on such a massively influential role:
“It’s such a prestigious role, and as actors you want to do your best by it. You’ll beat yourself up if you don’t feel like you have. And so I remember doing that throughout Season 1, just being like, “I just feel like I’m ruining it all.” Talking to Matt about it, Matt was like, “I was exactly the same. I just felt like every day I was so hard on myself and felt like I wasn’t doing a good enough job, but trust me, you are. If they say that you are, then you are,” and like, “I know the role means a lot to you and you want to do your best by it, but also remember to enjoy it.”
Millie Gibson Also Got Advice for Playing a Companion
Gatwa’s co-star and current companionMillie Gibsonalso revealed that she reached out to a fellow Moffat-era star for advice. Having previously revealed thatKaren Gillan’s Amy Pond is her favorite companion, she said she “reached out to Karen myself, just because I’m in awe in her,” Gibson continued:
“I basically just said, ‘Look, if there’s anything that I should know, I just wanna reach out with pure respect.’ And yeah, she just gave me the warmest, most genuine words, and really, really great advice. And it was so, so cool to talk to her, because she’s, like, one of my idols, so it was — yeah, she didn’t have to do that, and it was so lovely.”
She also revealed thatJodie WhittakerandMandip Gill— who played the Thirteenth Doctor and her companion Yasmin Khan — reached out after Gibson was cast, which was “crazy” to her: “There’s so many incredible people [that are] a part of this world, but yeah, they were so special and so, so nice. I got great advice, but I shall not reveal what they said.”
Gatwa and Gibson will make their proper debut as Doctor and companion when“The Church on Ruby Road”premieres on Disney+ on Christmas Day.
Doctor Who
The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord, “The Doctor,” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and his companions journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness.
Watch on Disney+
