Christopher Eccleston
Just as the Doctor has done so many times down
the years, Christopher Eccleston embarked on a
journey into the unknown when he heard a new series
of Doctor Who adventures was being planned.
First, he emailed co-executive producer and lead
writer Russell T Davies to let him know he was
interested in playing the Time Lord's ninth incarnation.
One of the most acclaimed actors of his generation,
Christopher (41) accepts that saying 'yes' to
reviving the Doctor was a bold move.
"If you wanted to be cynical about it, a lot
of the work I've done has been comfort food for
liberals," he says with a smile, referring to
benchmark TV dramas such as Our Friends In The
North and Hillsborough.
"What's dawned on me about Doctor Who is that
I'm trying to entertain a different audience.
It's exciting and funny and scary and it's aimed
at families, so I'm kind of acting for children
and I feel very lucky to be able to do that.
"For all the danger the Doctor encounters, the
basic message of the show is seize life, be optimistic
and see the positives.
"The series is written with passion and humour,
and there's an innocence about it. It's a kind
of celebration of life in all its forms.
"In everything the Doctor does he saying 'it's
great to be alive'. I can hear people sneering
at that, but that's what he believes and it's
a nice thing to say to kids, or anybody for that
matter."
Fittingly for a classic TV series being reinvented
for the 21st century, Christopher had no preconceptions
about Doctor Who, having rarely watched it as
a child.
"I've got some memories of it, but I was always
out playing," he says. "So I didn't have to think
about what had gone before.
"I've just always tried to do the very best television
I possibly could, and I knew that, having worked
with Russell before, this series had a good chance
of being great television."
When Christopher signed up to play the Doctor,
Russell had already written the first two scripts,
giving his leading man a character template to
work on.
"He is Russell's Doctor and I've responded to
the character that he's written," says Christopher.
"But I have a sense that, as we went along, Russell
started to look at what I was doing and began
to write for me. I think I've done certain things
with the character which he's liked, and he's
used that."
Gone is the sartorial flamboyance of the previous
Doctors, as is the slight air of theatricality
which seemed to suit their outfits, and in their
place is a more pared-down, more 'alien' adventurer
- with a northern accent.
"The accent is an interesting thing," says Manchester-born
Christopher, whose movie credits include Shallow
Grave, Elizabeth and 28 Days Later.
"The Doctor is a scientist and an intellectual,
and a lot of people seem to think you can only
be those things if you speak with received pronunciation
which, of course, is rubbish.
"In terms of what he wears (mostly black but
with a succession of coloured tops), I didn't
want the costume to be my performance, I wanted
any flamboyance and colour to come out of my acting.
"I think it's quite a big performance already,
so I think if I was wearing a 'big' costume as
well I'd need a circus tent!
"There's also the challenge for me of the comic
element to the Doctor's character. I hadn't done
a great deal of comedy before and I wanted to
try that."
But the bottom line for Christopher is that the
Doctor is someone who lives for the here and now.
"He doesn't like to think about his past - there's
some pain there - and his only concern about the
future is that he makes sure it's there.
"He kind of eats life. He's not on a mission,
he hasn't got an agenda, he's just there. Things
just happen, he responds to them and does what
he thinks is right."
Teaming up with Rose brings him into contact
with her family, bringing out another element
of the Doctor's personality.
"He doesn't do 'domestic'," Christopher smiles.
"There's a line about it in one episode. He doesn't
really like domestic set-ups or being answerable
to other people. The ninth Doctor seems to have
a problem with commitment!"
But for all his insights into the new Doctor's
personality, the man playing him admits he's still
trying to work a lot of it out himself.
"I find it quite hard to talk about the series
because it's such a massive project and we're
working so hard on it that I've not had a moment
to collect my thoughts," says Christopher.
"To be honest with you, I've actually found myself
behaving like the Doctor - I walk into a scene,
the scene unfolds, I react to it, they film it
and I move on.
"I'm not talking about 'immersing' myself in
it, or any 'method' stuff - it's just such a fast-paced
show and production that you have to get on with
it!
