On Doctor Who, everyone plays the Doctor differently. Some lean into the humor, some the drama; some like to mix it up on set, some are a little more subdued.
Speaking to Metro, Doctor Who stunt coordinator Crispin Layfield talked about who in the cast was most up for doing their own stunts, and who wasn’t. “I would say, David Tennant Matt Smith, both very, very keen. Peter was less keen on doing stunts than the other two! Certainly Matt was like, ‘I want to do everything’. And David again.”
Peter Capaldi, of course, played the Twelfth Doctor. And I don’t blame the guy for not wanting to do his own stunts; some of that stuff looks a bit too rough and tough for anyone, and of course, unlike the other actors who have played the Doctor since the 2005 reboot, Capaldi was in his ’50s when he began his time on the show. Throwing your body against walls and down chasms and such is a young person’s game. In my opinion, he was always better-suited for moments in which he would don some cool shades and start jamming out on his guitar.
Following Capaldi’s exit, Jodie Whittaker took on the mantle as the titular Doctor, and at first, Layfield made the assumption he’d have to accommodate her with a body double for any and all stunts. But boy, was he wrong. “And then Jodie turns up, and of course, now I was thinking, ‘Right, I’m gonna have to get a double for Jodie and probably more chance of doubling her’. But actually, it was the opposite. She wanted to do absolutely everything.”
Of course, doing everything wasn’t always an option, but it didn’t stop Whittaker from asking anyway. Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me at all.
In other Doctor Who tidbits, Whovians were delighted to see that David Tennant has a Doctor Who Easter Egg hidden in his yard. They spotted it when BBC One aired a new episode of Staged where Tennant reunited with his Good Omens costar Michael Sheen, both from the comfort of their own homes, of course. See if you can spot it:
Yep, that’s a TARDIS is David Tennant’s garden. We would expect nothing less.
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h/t Digital Spy