Outgoing Dr. Who still fascinated by series
The Doctor, the shapeshifting, dimension-hopping hero of “Doctor Who,” might have traveled the cosmos for centuries, but for the earthbound humans who have portrayed him, the job of late has lasted about three years.
So it has gone for Peter Capaldi, who accepted the role on the long-running science-fiction series in 2014 and is now nearing the end of his journey.
Capaldi, the Scottish actor (and star of the political satires “The Thick of It” and “In the Loop”), said in January that the 10th season, which begins tonight on BBC America, will be his last.
There are plenty of interplanetary adventures still to come for Capaldi’s incarnation of the character — as is the introduction of a new companion for the Doctor (played by Pearl Mackie) — before he takes his final spin in the TARDIS (time machine).
Speaking by phone from London, where the 59-yearold Capaldi was taking a break from filming “Doctor Who” in Cardiff, Wales, he talked about his decision to leave the role and what he has learned from the series.
The role of the Doctor seems to come with a builtin expiration date. Did you decide it was time to move on, or did you just reach the end of your commitment?
They asked me to stay on, and I love this show. But I began to get worried about my capacity to deliver my best work.
The schedule is very intense, and I began to wonder: How many different ways can I find to say, my surprise, they went with it, in quite a big way.
What has it been like to work with Pearl Mackie?
My previous companion Clara, played by Jenna Coleman, was someone who was really part of the “Doctor Who” world. Pearl’s character, Bill, is someone from the real world, if you like, who has no understanding and no knowledge about TARDISes and Daleks and monsters and all that stuff. She’s just someone who has great potential, and the Doctor thinks that potential is not being realized and decides it would be fun to help her.
It’s good because Pearl is not particularly an expert on “Doctor Who,” so everything is new to her, as it was to her character. It meant that she wasn’t bringing any baggage.
Is there a moment about your experience as the Doctor that you’ll remember most?
At the end of my first season, we did a sequence where the Cybermen emerge from St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. We shot it on this most wonderful summer’s day, a Saturday afternoon, and everywhere were these huge crowds gathered around us, waiting for the Cybermen. I love stuff like that. I would go into work on days that I wasn’t scheduled to work, if there was something I thought was interesting.