When it comes to fictional means of transport, there's perhaps nothing as cool and efficient as the TARDIS from Doctor Who. The blue police box is a miracle of Gallifreyan engineering, allowing for transport across time and space. It opens up a treasure trove of stories.
Matt Smith spent three wonderful seasons travelling around in the TARDIS. Now, all these years later, his fans love to tease him when he's in airports.
Smith has kept busy since he finished up his time on Doctor Who. Most recently, he appeared in Darren Aronofsky's movie Caught Stealing, and he stars in HBO's House of the Dragon. And because he has to travel for roles and press tours, he spends a good amount of time at airports. Naturally, he finds himself surrounded by droves of fans on a regular basis, and while this isn't a bad thing, the same remarks have become tedious.
Matt Smith is tired of TARDIS jokes
"At airports, I always get, 'Didn't you bring your TARDIS?" he said during a recent appearance on Heart radio. "No, mate. I didn't. Because if I did, I wouldn't be queuing up, you know, having to get my laptop out while you look at it for no apparent reason and, like, check my shoes for God knows what, you know?"
"'And if I did bring my TARDIS, then yeah, I certainly wouldn't be queuing up to get through your metal detecting machine. So please stop asking me!" he added.
Nowadays, Smith is flying around on Caraxes in House of the Dragon, which is currently filming its third season. Taking flight as a dragonrider must be level with the TARDIS on the “cool” scale, surely?
In addition, Smith weighed in on his Doctor Who journey. He's highly regarded as one of the best Doctors —although for many, including myself, he does fall short of David Tennant. Even so, Smith's tenure had some of the most iconic stories, told alongside such memorable companions.
"I was very lucky that I got the opportunity to work with brilliant friends like Karen [Gillan], Arthur [Darvill], and Jenna [Coleman]. We had such great chemistry and we had such a great time making that show," he said.
"I'm so proud, to this day, to be part of that world. There is a huge amount of pressure that comes with it, just as there is with House of the Dragon, but it's very rewarding," Smith continued.
Perhaps one day we'll see Smith return to Doctor Who. In the meantime, we're perfectly satisfied with seeing him continue his journey as Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon. The third season is expected out sometime in 2026.