Travelling through space … and fame
Doctor Who’s new companion Pearl Mackie adjusts to sudden notoriety
Pearl Mackie is in a cramped elevator at Bell Media’s headquarters.
Earlier, accompanied by fellow actor Peter Capaldi, she had unexpectedly, although not out of character, descended from the building to greet a throng of delighted Canadian fans.
“It’s really great to be able to meet the fans like that and they are genuinely excited to see you,” says the 29-year-old British actress.
Fans on Queen had spotted actor Capaldi (also known as Doctor Who) and Mackie on the balcony. They implored the two to come down. In a moment of spontaneity, they did.
It was a kind but not unusual gesture that likely had their handlers scrambling to rearrange scheduling for that afternoon’s media appearances.
Space is running a “Doctor Who” marathon on Saturday, including an Innerspace special featuring Mackie and Capaldi. It coincides with the new “Doctor Who” spinoff series “Class” airing on the same day.
The fans “were really lovely, it’s really not something you ever get used to,” said Capaldi, who is the 12th iteration of the doctor on the popular BBC series.
In what was likely the most important job vacancy appointment in Britain this year, Mackie was announced as the new companion to Doctor Who, replacing actress Jenna Coleman.
If you are not part of the Whoniverse of “Doctor Who” fans, this will likely befuddle you.
“Doctor Who” would almost certainly not be greenlit by any major broadcaster today. The premise is daft: It’s about a grumpy time lord who travels in a vintage London police call box called a Tardis and uses a screwdriver to get out of trouble. His arch-enemies are a robot civilization called the Daleks, who look like oversized salt shakers and like to scream “exterminate!” in a mechanical wind-up-toy voice when they are about to zap you, which conveniently gives the doctor ample time to duck.
Yet somehow it works. The show has been around for a remarkable 53 years with legions of fans around the world. While the new season of the iconic series will not air until next year, already Mackie, a virtually unknown actress outside British theatre and daytime TV, is being besieged everywhere, including the colonies.
Mackie is getting a small taste of the devotion that fans hold for the quirky show that airs on Space in Canada and in scores of countries around the world.
“I don’t know. I guess I should be ready for this,” says Mackie in a glass-walled office in the Bell Media building.
Wearing a white T-shirt with the ironic slogan “Nothing Happened,” Mackie is preparing for the onslaught of fans, some of whom will inevitably tattoo her visage on body parts or name their children after her. And while Doctor Who has had a companion of colour before (Freema Agyeman, from 2006 to 2010), the increased emphasis on diversity in television and film means Mackie carries an additional burden to represent.
“For me, personally, I didn’t see many people like me on TV growing up,” says Mackie, whose father is of West Indian descent. “It’s also a family show, so kids can watch it and identify and say, ‘Hey, maybe I can travel through time and space too.’ But in a way, it’s a shame that we still have to have that conversation.”
Brian Minchin, “Doctor Who’s” executive producer, says diversity should be part of the DNA of the public broadcaster.
“Our job is to represent the world around us, so we don’t deserve special plaudits. It’s the job, and that’s what we should be doing.”
Mackie’s first major television role was in BBC’s soap opera “Doctors.” But this doctor will put her on the international stage, when her character Bill becomes the new companion.
“We are doing a bit of a reset since this is a new companion,” says Minchin. “The companion really sets the tone for the show. She is really the proxy for the audience and we will be seeing the doctor through Bill’s eyes. There will be lots of questions never asked before, lots of ideas that we haven’t been able to touch on. It will be fun. It will be scary.”
Mackie, a graduate of Bristol’s Old Vic Theatre School, says the audition process, where hundreds of actors were considered, was particularly nerve-wracking. After whittling it down to the five top candidates, she was the first to read the first scenes of the new season with Capaldi.
“I had to go to the Soho Hotel (in London), and I’m in this grand foyer in my baggy T-shirt and trainers and a massive afro, and I’m thinking, uh oh,” says Mackie.
“During the audition Peter asked if I wanted to stand up. And the next thing you know he was running back and forth around the room and reading his lines like he was in the Tardis and I didn’t know what was going on. It was crazy.”
Weeks later she would be informed that she had gotten the part of Bill by her agent. Mackie was having breakfast at the time.
“I probably said some things that I shouldn’t have,” she laughs. “I called my mom and said, ‘Mom, remember when I was all weird and jumpy? Well I got that part I auditioned for.’ I was talking so fast she didn’t understand a word I said.”
Growing up, Mackie says she didn’t watch “Doctor Who,” although she is scrambling to catch up now.
Mackie had to keep the role secret for two months until it was announced in a television commercial by the BBC in April.
“My friends were watching football and they were like ‘Whaaaat?’” says Mackie, mouth agape. “It was a big surprise. And it’s still a surprise.”