Today was a good day. A very good day indeed. Especially if you were two ardent fans of the franchise that is Dr Who. We got to meet two actors…
Today was a good day. A very good day indeed. Especially if you were two ardent fans of the franchise that is Dr Who. We got to meet two actors from the long running Sci-Fi series – Sylvester McCoy who played the 7th Doctor, and Mark Sheppard, who plays FBI agent, the wonderfully named Canton Everett Delaware 3rd in the current series (6th in the re-boot).
We got to meet the Mark Sheppard first – and with the two interviewers just 12 and 14 – they were more than a little nervous of meeting one of the supposed ‘villains’ in the current series, which has just finished here.
They needn’t have worried as the adult accompanying them (me) was suitably ignored, and the children where told they were far more interesting to talk to. Which, lets be frank – must be the case – interview after interview must get boring…It was a very good way to start an interview.
It was also made a lot easier by the fact that Mark Sheppard is extremely well versed in the universe of the Doctor. As we think often happens with actors linked to this series – it isn’t just an acting job. Mark is very good friends with Neil Gaiman who wrote the very fabulous episode “The Doctor’s Wife” where the Tardis inhabits a female humanoid body and the two characters – The Tardis and The Doctor – get to talk to each other. It is a witty yet sad episode that was one of the highlights of the 6th series.
Writer Stephen Moffat who has been instrumental in the resurrection of the franchise is held in very high esteem by Mark (and it seems everyone else who gets to work with him) for his incredible writing. The interviewers had a list of questions to ask Mark – but in the end he managed to answer every single one of them without even being asked.
They were very keen to know how he had started as an actor – as his father; W Morgan Sheppard is also an actor. Mark actually started his professional life as a musician (Miss 14 was completely excited by this piece of news – as she herself is learning to play the drums). He loves to tell a story – be it with music, in song, spoken, acted or written. His father got to play an older version of himself in the current series – the first time a father and son have appeared on Dr Who.
His Doctor (and we all have a Doctor that is ‘our’ Doctor) was Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor. But he thinks that Matt Smith (the current Doctor) is truly amazing and the scenes between Canton and The Doctor (we do not call him Dr Who) were a lot of fun to play. Canton seems to recognise The Doctor’s brilliance from the very first moment he meets him – when the Tardis appears right in the middle of the Oval Office in 1969. Canton shows his own incredible intellect when he recognises that The Doctor is the smartest person in the room – and he is immediately drawn to him. There is a great scene where the Doctor tells him NOT to follow him into the Blue Box under any circumstances – which of course Canton recognises as an actual encouragement to do so (for the right person at least). The fact that Canton is present at the pivotal ‘death’ of The Doctor in the episode The Impossible Astronaut leaves us (and Mark Sheppard) wondering if Canton has a greater role in The Doctor’s life. We are very hopeful of seeing more of the two of them together on-screen.
We got to see the marvellous Sylvester McCoy last year at Armageddon during his spirited Q & A session with fellow 8th Doctor Paul McGann. He is a wonderfully fun and cheerful man, and once you meet him, you realise he brings a lot of himself to his portrayal of the 7th Doctor. That said, McCoy’s Doctor was definitely ‘darker’ than his predecessors, taking the Doctor on a more manipulative, dramatic journey. Famous for his question mark knitted woollen vest (which he incidentally didn’t like – too hot and too ‘obvious’). The hat he wore was his own – he wore it to his audition, and when they asked if they could keep the hat – he said they would have to take him with it. He loved the umbrella that his character always carried as it was a more subtle homage to the question mark – especially because he came up with the idea. He got to keep two of the prop umbrellas, and there is only one other in existence.
We were intrigued to know that he auditioned several times for the role of the Doctor, and that he never felt like he truly he was The Doctor until he had worked with the Daleks. He was at a signing once and a small girl was standing in front of him and a look of terror pasted over her face – as a Dalek moved behind him – he jumped up and held the child telling he was “The Doctor” and that he would keep her safe – The Daleks have always been incredibly frightening to several generations of children.
Our interviewers were keen to know who his favourite ‘monster’ was and it was The Destroyer from the Battlefield episode. McCoy was intrigued to see in the current series a large Minotaur type character very reminiscent of The Destroyer… an “echo” of his monster.
He has met pretty much met all of the Doctors, and even acted with David Tennent. His Doctor was Patrick Troughton, the 2nd Doctor after William Hartnell, the first.
He is very excited about his upcoming role in The Hobbit. In fact when he was here last year – he made an open call to Peter Jackson telling him he would love to be in the Hobbit. Jackson must has heard – as he is now playing Radagast the Brown – and due to start work filming in Hobbiton right after Armageddon. He left us with a hint about his costume – as he is not allowed to tell us anything else – the colour of the costume – but then the name of his character kind of says it all.
If you get the chance, get to Q & A sessions with either of these interesting men – as of course their scope of interesting character goes well outside just Dr Who (just Dr Who?) – with Sheppard playing a vast array of villainous Sci-Fi characters in X-Files, Supernatural and new series Warehouse 13. McCoy has continued his stage work with performances in King Lear (The Fool) with Ian McKellen, which we were lucky enough to see.
There will be a whole slew of character actors, Nicolas Brendon (Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and his twin brother Kelly Donavan, voice artist Kevin Conroy from Batman Animated, Dragonball Z’s Kyle Herbert just to name a few.
It is alternative culture heaven – funny that it is now pretty much mainstream. It is a great family event although be prepared to wait in queues to see your favourite stars, and get to the Q & As early. Most of all, just have a bit of fun.
The costumes worn by the spectators are just about as good in terms of entertainment as anything else you will see… if you see a Totaro and an 11th Doctor together with a press pass and a camera – come over and say hi. We will be there all day on Sunday taking photos of all the best costumes – see you there!
By Anya Brighouse
28 October 2011
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