Steven Moffat is doing a few interviews at the moment, as you might expect, to help promote his final Doctor Who screen story, Twice Upon A Time. The upcoming Christmas special will see him depart the show, along with Peter Capaldi. And chatting to the Radio Times, he’s touched on the perils of being cast as the Doctor.
In particular, he’s challenged the assumption that Matt Smith’s Doctor was a hit choice from day one.
“That may be how it seemed on the outside but on the inside we were more fraught”, he told the Radio Times.
“David [Tennant] had been the face of Doctor Who and when we announced Matt, people thought he was too young, too pretty, his chin is ridiculous”.
“Matt went through a year of being hated, before the show went out. He still talks about it. He used to go to bed and punch his pillow in his frustration. He couldn’t believe in himself or that it was going to work. But then it did – everybody realised what we’d known for year, that he’s not just a young pretty actor, he’s an awesome actor. And, yes, that was instant”.
Smith would play the role of the Doctor from 2010 to the end of 2013. And he’s admitted he’d be open to the idea of returning to the role in the future, too…