Matt Smith is the extremely talented young actor who plays the over-a-thousand-years-old Doctor on Doctor Who, and for the last year, his character has had Clara Oswin Oswald, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman at his side. It has been announced that Smith will soon be departing the role, and a new Doctor will be coming soon, as per the tradition of the show. It has happened many times before, going back to the 1960’s when William Hartnell’s Doctor “regenerated” into the younger Patrick Troughton.
At a BBC America event that was part of the Television Critics Association press tour, we asked Mr. Smith if he’s purposely watched any of those classic episodes.
“Not yet,” he told us, before telling us why he hasn’t purposely gone there yet. “I’ve watched some, obviously. I saw, obviously, mine and I’ve seen Chris’s into David, and I’ve seen Troughton to Pertwee, but it’s not something that I’ll be looking at now so much, just because I think now I’ve got to make my own version of it, you know what I mean?”
Regardless, once Smith is gone, the show is something he will definitely keep up with. “I will continue to be a fan, because it’s a wonderful show, and I feel very proud and privileged to have been part of it,” he says.
While Smith is leaving, Jenna-Louise Coleman confirms she is a part of Season 8, and she is looking forward to meeting her new Doctor “when we know who it is.” We also asked Coleman about the spectacular sequence in “The Name Of The Doctor” when Clara found herself interacting with several different Doctors.
“We didn’t do green screen,” she reveals. “We did a little bit, but for the Hartnell scene, we created the whole set and used a double. So I performed with a double, re-creating the entire Hartnell scene, which was really cool. Steven [Moffat] came down on set the whole day, and we were totally geeked out.”
The 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith and Jenna Louise-Coleman with special guest stars including David Tennant and John Hurt, airs November 23 on The BBC and BBC America.