BBC America
The first year at any new job is tough. The first year playing one of science fiction’s most beloved TV characters is downright surreal. When you’re Peter Capaldi—a long-time fan of Doctor Who who just finished his first run as the long-lived time-traveler, the transition from enjoying the show to taking on the titular role was also a learning experience.
Now that the series’ eighth season (since its revival in 2005) is hitting Blu-ray and DVD, WIRED asked Capaldi what he gleaned playing the Twelfth Doctor. Here are five of his takeaways from his first year as the madman inside a blue box.
Dreams Can Come True, But That Doesn’t Make It Less Strange
Capaldi says it was “extraordinary” to go from growing up with the show (he once claimed watching Doctor Who as a nine-year-old was what taught him how to act) to taking on the lead role, but also somewhat uncanny. “Certainly, I found it very difficult to watch myself in the role,” he admits. “I found myself thinking, What competition did I win that I’m playing the Doctor? After a while, I just began to realize what a great gig it was and what a privilege it was. It’s very, very weird. It’s still very weird, but good weird.”
The Role Goes Far Beyond the Screen
Part of the privilege of the role, Capaldi says, is the relationship fans have with the character. “I am keenly aware that the fanbase makes this not like any other parts,” he says, going on to call the Doctor “the best role in television” as a result. “You know, a lot of the exchanges you have [with fans] are private … you just try and conduct yourself in a reasonably fair way through the whole thing. The character has an affection attached to it, and some responsibility. That’s a good thing.”
Doctor Who Can Be Dangerous
“I took [Capaldi’s predecessor] Matt Smith to lunch before I started, and Matt turned up in crutches!” the actor remembers. “I asked, ‘What happened to you?’ and he said, ‘Doctor Who.’ I thought, goodness me, you are many years younger than me and walking about on crutches! I’d better watch myself.” Not that Capaldi’s complaining about the physical demands of the Doctor, mind you. “It keeps you fit,” he jokes.
The High Point of the Process
Despite his concern about the potential for broken bones, it turns out that some of the stunt work ended up being the highpoint of Capaldi’s time on the show so far. “People attach wires and they throw you up into the air, then they bring you down with such white faces and say ‘Are you alright, are you alright?’ Of course, you’re having a wonderful time, it’s like being an eight-year-old! You get to be the Doctor and Superman!” he says. “You think, My God, it’s so great at my age to get the opportunity to do this! Yes, the next day, your body is absolutely ragged and covered in bruises, and you can hardly walk, but that doesn’t matter.”
The Serious Business of Having Fun
Despite the responsibility, despite the potential for physical injury, Capaldi says the biggest lesson from his first year of Doctor Who is simply how much fun it is. “Don’t get me wrong, it is a serious challenge,” he continues. “There’s a lot of work to be done, and I do not take the task lightly, it is something that I am hugely committed to and serious about, but when you walk in in the morning, and you are presented with an alien space station, or a set of Victorian droid zombies who want to kill you, you’d have to be very, very curmudgeonly not to smile inside and think, This is fun. When it’s not fun, it’s time to stop. When you don’t find that stuff fun, it’s over, really.”
Doctor Who’s eighth series is out on Blu-ray and DVD today. Capaldi returns to the Tardis on Dec. 25 with this year’s Doctor Who Christmas episode, “Last Christmas,” which airs 9 p.m./8 p.m. Central.
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