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Matt Smith: "Doctor Who is the Greatest Thing I've Ever Done"

Matt Smith, better known as the Eleventh Doctor, says he doubts anything will be more culturally-significant in his career than Doctor Who.
Praising the show, he says:

“Oh I love [my time on Doctor Who]; I’m proud of it. It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It was a wonderful experience for me and my family. I still do all the conventions and stuff. I don’t think I’ll be as famous for anything [else] because it’s got so much cultural relevance.”

Matt’s appearing in a new play, Unreachable, written partly by Anthony Neilson, but further devised in the rehearsal rooms. Early reviews of the story – about a director on an obsessive quest to find the perfect light – are very positive, so while Neilson was warned this would be “career suicide,” it fortunately seems to have gone in the other direction. Matt says he’s enjoying it too:

“I am because it’s so bizarre. I think Anthony’s the first to admit it can be quite an unnerving process, which I think he probably quite likes.”

He also hints that he’s been offered the part of Hamlet. When asked if he’d like to follow in the footsteps of David Tennant by giving us his take on the tragic Prince of Denmark, he replies:

“Well, you know, it may have come my way a couple of times, but it’s never felt quite right.”

It’s lovely to hear that he had such a great time on Doctor Who – certainly his considerable number of fans (myself very much included) miss his Doctor and loved his era of the show. It’s no secret that he’d like to come back as soon as possible, so someone make that happen please. Come on. I’m waiting. Miss ya, Matt.
It is touching to think that Matt wasn’t a Doctor Who aficionado when he joined the series, but his respect for it has grown exponentially, so much so that he considers it the greatest thing in his life. What a compliment to our wonderful show and our (mostly) wonderful fandom!

Philip Bates

Editor and co-founder of the Doctor Who Companion. When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything. Writer of The Black Archive: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang, The Silver Archive: The Stone Tape, and 100 Objects of Doctor Who.

Matt Smith: "Doctor Who is the Greatest Thing I've Ever Done"

by Philip Bates time to read: 1 min
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