Matt Smith--The Biography

by Emily Herbert

  ‘He is suitably a bit weird looking, energetic and physical so hopefully he will ditch the rather maudlin air the last two Doctors had and redefine the Doctor rather than just being a continuation of the “Hooray trouble, solved it but now I’m a bit lonely and depressed” character that the Doctor has become of late.’ – Dr Hula Hoop.

  And from The Guild fan site, the following:

  ‘Well, I hope his personality lives up to the hype. Supposedly he “wow’d” Moffat.’ – Chris F.

  ‘This kid looks very, very, very young. And in my head, anyone called The Doctor should look at least old enough to be a doctor. That is my biggest problem. So, what? The next doctor will be the kid from The Sarah Jane Adventures?’ – Jeff Carlisle.

  ‘I know nothing about this guy. I honestly wish they had picked someone a bit different looking. He doesn’t look like a Time Lord to me. Seems too young looking/preppy.’ – Danubus38.

  ‘I’d seen David Tennant in Casanova and liked him in that, but Matt Smith didn’t make a huge impression on me in Ruby in the Smoke. I didn’t catch Party People, maybe that was better.’ – Grr Aargh.

  ‘I’ve only seen him in one thing, too, so I don’t know what to expect. I’m surprised. I didn’t want to like David when he took over but he won me over. Hopefully Matt will, too.’ – Raven Kai.

  Then there were the sites dedicated to Doctor Who alone – a fair number due to the huge popularity the series had managed to maintain. These were the sites the fans flocked to and it was important they were onside – as indeed, most were. ‘We think it is a great choice to have someone so young. David Tennant was the most energetic Doctor ever, and you need somebody with youth and energy to take that forward,’ said Sebastian Brook, editor of the Doctor Who Online fan website.

  He was not alone. A programme called Doctor Who Confidential had been running on BBC3 for some years. Usually it was an accompaniment to the actual series, and featured interviews with cast and crew members to get their take on the episode that had just been shown. Now, however, there was a one-off special to discuss the appointment of the new Doctor Who.

  It gave the fans their first chance to get a really good look at the new Doctor. Matt Smith had appeared in a few previous productions, which were now being dug up and reviewed, but he was such an unknown quantity that this was the first time many people got a chance to see what he was really about. He certainly had a certain otherworldly quality about him: slim to the point of gauntness, his hair teased into an extravagant quiff, while a dark jacket over a dark sweater betokened the style that was to come.

  Matt certainly struck the right note. There was no preening, swaggering, ‘Look at me’ behaviour on display – if anything, he seemed staggered by the honour that had come his way. ‘It’s like an iconic part of our culture,’ he said. ‘My granddad knows about it, my dad knows about it – it’s been going since 1963. It’s my responsibility. It’s exciting. Nerve-wracking. Exciting. It stops you sleeping.’

  Matt also described what his initial reaction was when he’d heard he got the role. ‘I paced around the room for about three days,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know what to do so I’d get up and come back and I’d sit down and I’d watch a bit of TV. And then I’d smile and go, “I’m the Doctor.” It does weird things to you.’

  Of course, it was made all the more difficult by the fact that Matt could not rush outside and yell his brilliant news to the rooftops. The announcement had been shrouded in total secrecy until the BBC had been ready to reveal who their next man was to be; Matt was not able, therefore, to share with very many people or indeed to calm the media speculation that was reaching fever pitch. ‘It was a complete nightmare not being able to tell anyone about it, because like any secret, it bubbles up inside you and the longer you keep it, the more mad you go, I think,’ he revealed. ‘And the more you’re trying to suppress it. And then, I’ll be in my flat, watching the TV and Doctor Who will be on and my flat mate’s there, and I’d be watching it thinking, “I’d love to share that I’m the new Doctor. But I can’t.” It was also quite exciting, as it gave me a sense of mischief – I know something that the rest of Britain doesn’t know. Privy to cool information, as it were.’

  Anyone watching the interview should have been be pretty sure by that stage that Doctor Who fans were in safe hands. Matt was in turn charming, self-deprecating and, without overdoing it, humble about the legacy that had been entrusted to him. He was clearly taking it every bit as seriously as the fans would expect, while at the same time relishing the opportunity that had come his way. And who wouldn’t? For all the burden of expectation that was resting on his shoulders, one way or another, Matt’s life was never going to be the same again.

  So did he really manage to resist the temptation to tell anyone? ‘I had to tell someone, I was going mad. So I told my dad,’ said Matt. ‘Because I just had to tell someone. But it’s like a giant secret that is hugely significant. He was rather flabbergasted. He sort of laughed, really. And he was very proud, because he loves the show. And then he started talking about Tom Baker, and his references, and that’s the thing. My whole family have references for it. And when my granddad found out, I didn’t know what he was going to do with it. He was just immensely proud and excited. And what do you do with information like that? It’s such a – “I’m going to be playing the Doctor!” Even now when I say it, it freaks me out – in a good way. He was excited, proud, elated.’

  Matt’s father Dave was pretty overwhelmed by it all, too. ‘When he called, he said, “Dad, just call me the Doctor.” And I said, “What, are you not well?”’ Dave later recalled. ‘Then I realised and just started jumping around, it was surreal really. There were a couple of nights when my wife Lynne and I just sat up and talked about it, because we couldn’t talk about it to anybody else.’

  Of course, the competition had been intense. Matt had been up against half the theatrical establishment of Britain, or so it had seemed at times – so just what, when it boiled down to it, had the actual audition been like? ‘I don’t know, I just tried to do my best,’ said Matt. ‘I tried to give my version. And be brave with it and make brave choices. It was very surreal, though, because again, I couldn’t tell anyone about it. It was a bizarre process. I’ve never had an audition like it, really.’

  So what did he actually have to do? ‘I had quite a lot of scenes to learn, and I got the scenes the night before,’ said Matt. ‘So I had sort of four or five scenes to learn and there were too many lines to learn the lines the night before, so I just had to learn my way around the scenes as much as I could. And we practised the scenes, as it were. And I get some notes and we’d have a talk about it – I wish I could tell you what’s in the scenes. It’s fun; there was a lot of stuff going on.’

  All of this was happening, of course, before filming had actually begun. But Matt did have some idea of what was on the cards. ‘I’ve read episode one and episode four – I’m not supposed to say that,’ he said, clasping his mouth in alarm, looking for all the world like a naughty schoolboy. ‘And they rocket along. He’s a brilliant writer, Steven Moffat. Even a funny writer. I can’t say a lot about them, but you’re in for a treat.’

  And what of his actual interpretation of the role? Just what kind of a Doctor was Steven’s Doctor going to be? ‘I’ve got this wonderful journey in front of me, where I’ve got six months to build this, this, Time Lord,’ he said, beaming. ‘That’s such an exciting prospect, because I love that part of being an actor. I love the discovery of it and the being a detective bit. That excites me hugely. But I don’t know – I’ve got to build him up.’

  There was another aspect to it all, as well – the attention he was going to get. All the other actors in the role had experienced enough success to put them in the public eye before they actually stepped into the Tardis. But Matt hadn’t. How on earth was he going to deal with that? ‘I have been warned about what to expect, and I think David’s going to be quite a good source of information as well,’ h
e said. ‘Because he’s dealt with it with great grace and dignity and enthusiasm, and that’s what it’s about. And I think you work so hard as the Doctor on Doctor Who anyway, you don’t really get time to be in the public eye. I don’t know. I’ve talked to a couple of people about it but I’m just going to concentrate on the words on the page. Let the rest unfold.’

  The programme was an extremely charming introduction to the new man, but if Matt really thought he wasn’t going to be in the public eye, he could dream on. Given the speculation there had been before his appointment and the degree of controversy it aroused afterwards, there was absolutely no way Matt wasn’t going to find himself at the centre of attention for some time to come. The debate continued to rage on the Syfy.com website – although judging from that, the producers had pretty much got it right. ‘I was a bit worried when they said he was the youngest ever, but I’m really pleasantly surprised,’ posted a Mr Bryn. ‘As [Steven] Moffat says, he’s young but he also looks old at the same time.’

  Calibanz agreed. ‘I get the feeling that this casting is going to prove the right choice,’ he said. ‘I was hoping for a relative unknown without a fixed public image and the Moff has gone for that.’

  But not everyone was pleased. Another forum joining in the debate was Kasterborous online magazine, as quoted above: one contributor, Funcho, wasn’t a happy bunny at all. ‘Too young! High School Musical in space!’

  Oldskool138 felt the same: ‘The Doc’s supposed to have a commanding presence (even McCoy’s Doc had presence). This guy looks like he slouches into a room rather than one who’s trying to solve a problem and help people out. I’m not a huge fan of the question-mark vest or Technicolor nightmare coat, but can we have the Doctor dress a little more eccentric rather than like he just walked out of a boutique. His clothes should be more Salvation Army than Rodeo Drive. And the dude’s too young. There, I said it and I’d say it again if I had to. Peter Davison was young but not as young as this guy. To me, it looks a bit like stunt casting. They have the old fans watching the show and their young kids but they don’t really have that 18–28 demographic.’

  Another demographic taking an active interest in all that was going on was the population of Wales. Both David Tennant (a Scot) and Matt Smith played the character as English, but the rejuvenator of the show, Russell T Davies, was Welsh, and so Wales felt it had a special say. And the action was filmed in Cardiff, which stood in for London: hardly surprising, then, that the people of Wales felt they had a special relationship with the show.

  Martin Hackett, a historian from Trewern, near Welshpool, was a very long-standing fan, having followed the series since the 1960s. He, too, was a little cautious about Matt Smith’s age in taking on the role, but was adamant that he should be given a chance. ‘Tennant has such charisma and had established himself in Casanova before striking a rapport as the Doctor, so it will be difficult for anyone to follow him,’ he said. ‘A lot of names were mooted for the role, including Vic Reeves and Graham Norton, because it would take a big personality to carry off the role. I was expecting someone established like Don Warrington who played Philip in Rising Damp. It will be hard to judge Smith until we see him.’

  A much younger fan, the type the producers seemed to be reaching out to, was also a little perturbed. ‘It was quite a shock when I saw him and I was dubious,’ said Owen Jones, 18, from Cardiff. ‘But after hearing his eagerness and enthusiasm for the role he seemed to fit it,’ he said. ‘They have gone for a unique doctor who will bring flair to the role.’ Despite being in the target age range, incidentally, it was noticeable that one of Owen’s reservations was that he was only eight years younger than the new hero of the show. Even youngsters, it seemed, appeared to think that a 900-year-old Doctor needed to carry some gravitas.

  As it happens, Matt was going to succeed quite brilliantly in making the role his own. But it was all very different from the very first Doctor – decades and decades before.

  CHAPTER 2

  THE DAWN OF A LEGEND

  The year was 1963. The top brass at the BBC had a problem: there was a vacant slot between Grandstand and Juke Box Jury on Saturday night, and something was needed to fill it. But what? Perhaps, someone ventured, a science-fiction series? Something that might amuse the viewers for a show or two before they came up with something a little more permanent?

  As it happened, the idea of a science fiction show had been on the minds of the bosses at Auntie for some time. As far back as March 1962, Eric Maschwitz, the assistant and adviser to the controller of programmes at BBC Television, had asked Donald Wilson, the head of the script department, to have a look at the possibility of producing a science-fiction show; an initial report by Alice Frick and Donald Bull of the BBC Survey Group met with a very positive reaction from Wilson, Maschwitz and Donald Baverstock, the BBC’s assistant controller of programmes, the following month. A further report was commissioned by Alice Frick and John Braybon: this time round, they suggested a series based on the idea of time travel. This received a very positive response, although the form of the Doctor himself had yet to appear.

  In December that year, nearly 12 months before the first ever Doctor Who went out, matters took a another step forwards. Sydney Newman was appointed head of drama at BBC Television. Newman, originally from Canada, and a seminal figure in British broadcasting in the 1950s and 60s, was a big fan of science fiction, commissioning several series in his native country before moving to the UK. There could scarcely have been a better person to take the idea to. And so, work on the programme began.

  Initially, a series of meetings were held to discuss the idea with all the BBC staff writers who had prepared the two reports, along with another writer, CE ‘Bunny’ Webber. Donald Wilson and Bunny Webber were deeply involved in the planning and started to draw up a list of potential characters; it was Newman, however, who came up with the two critical elements that would make the show. The first was the idea of a space/time machine that was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, and the second was the character of the Doctor himself. It was also Newman who came up with the title: Doctor Who.

  A team began to assemble. A producer was appointed, Verity Lambert, who was to become another BBC legend. David Whitaker signed as the story editor, while Mervyn Pinfield was brought on board as associate producer. He was also there to provide back-up support to Lambert, who was seen to be lacking in experience at the time. Webber prepared a draft of the first episode, which was written up by the Australian Anthony Coburn, who was also the man who suggested the time machine resemble a police box. And so the Tardis was born.

  At the time of writing, Doctor Who is the longest running television science fiction series anywhere in the world, and it is almost certainly the calibre of the people who were initially involved that made it so. You could not call it a coincidence that so many people who were to become major figures at the BBC were in at the beginning, but it was certainly a happy combination of circumstances. Back then, however, no one had a clue that what they were working on was going to end up as one of the most famous television shows in the world. Indeed, its initial format was actually totally different from how it ended up, because Doctor Who was actually initially conceived as an educational series rather than a piece of straightforward entertainment, with the Tardis assuming a different appearance each week. One week it would be a column in ancient Rome, the next an Egyptian sarcophagus and so on, until someone realised just how much all of this would cost. The idea was hastily dropped; instead, the Tardis’s ‘chameleon circuit’ was said to be malfunctioning – hence its long-term appearance as a police box.

  There remained two crucial elements to put in place: the show’s theme tune, and the actor who would play the character of the Doctor himself. The first of these was the result of a collaboration between Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire; again, resulting in a tune that is almost as iconic as the series it went on to create. Grainer wrote the score in collaboration with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
, while Derbyshire used a series of tape recorders to record sounds made with both concrete sources and square- and sine-wave oscillators, electronic circuits that can be used to produce sound. She then joined the sounds together to such extraordinary effect that Grainer asked, ‘Did I write that?’ when he first heard it. He had. The title sequence, with the police box hurtling through space, was also put together now, designed by the graphics designer Bernard Lodge and created by Norman Taylor, an electronic effects specialist.

  And so all they needed now was a Doctor, something that was easier said than done. Although no one involved had particular long-term hopes for the show, it was still important to get it right, and so a series of actors were approached with a view to taking on the part. Hugh David (who later worked as a director on the programme) and Geoffrey Bayldon had both been approached and both had turned down the role when another name came up – William Hartnell. Nearly 30 years older than Matt Smith was when he stepped into the iconic shoes, Hartnell was a fairly well-known and respected 55-year-old character actor. Hartnell had, in fact, become worried that he was being typecast as a stern army type as he had been playing a number of such roles, although it was his performance in something very different, This Sporting Life, that brought him to Verity Lambert’s attention. Hartnell wasn’t too sure at first – a television series about an alien with no name who travels the galaxy in a police box? – but after a while he said yes. It was probably the best decision of his entire career.

  Hartnell, the only child of a single mother (he never discovered the identity of his father), was born in St Pancras, London on 8 January 1908, and died on 23 April 1975. He was to play the role for three years. Although he did go on to take other parts after his stint as Doctor Who came to an end, that is the role for which he will always be remembered and which, for a brief period, he made his own.