New interview with Eccleston
Sept 9, 2016 8:49:36 GMT
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Post by aztec on Sept 9, 2016 8:49:36 GMT
soundcloud.com/774-abc-melbourne/christopher-eccleston-on-drive-with-raf-epstein
The relevant to Who part:
The relevant to Who part:
Interviewer: "Are you the man we can thank for the rebirth of Doctor Who? You were well received, you're maybe not the fan favourite the way someone like David Tennant is, but if you'd stuffed that up, there would be no David Tennant, there would be no Matt Smith".
Eccleston: "I think the man you have to thank is Russell T Davies. He wrote it. And I always feel that the showrunners and the writers are the people who deserve and own the kudos. But what I will say is the first series of any show is always very difficult to sell to the audience, and I'm very proud that through what was a really badly organised and certainly badly produced first series-"
Interviewer: "-which everyone's acknowledged, haven't they?"
Eccleston: "I don't know."
Interviewer: "I think they have."
Eccleston: "I hope they have. They certainly didn't acknowledge it at the time and I wished they would've done, because then things would've worked out very differently... but I'm very proud that I managed to find a way through the chaos that they imposed, and get us picked up, so-"
Interviewer: "And do you regret that you didn't have another season?"
Eccleston: "There's always regret when you play a role like that, because what you do is you - I watched it back and I thought, OK, next time don't do this, do that, you know, calibrate the performance. It was kind of tragic for me that I didn't play him for longer, because you know, he's a beautiful character and I have a great deal of professional pride [in it] and had I done a second season, there would've been a marked improvement in my performance. I was learning new skills in terms of playing light comedy, etc, etc. I was not known for light comedy, and again production did not allow for that. It's very important on the first series that you make a very informed and intelligent choice - even if it means breaking the budget - about getting the first director who is going to set the tone for the season, for the way the actors relate, and that did not happen. Disaster. But the show has survived. Thank God. And Capaldi, and Matt, and David - are just brilliant. And I know how brilliant they are, because I've been inside it."
Interviewer: "It's hard."
Eccleston: "It is difficult, because you're doing the same thing in each episode, and you've got to keep that fresh, and you've got to suggest alien and you've got to suggest human."
Eccleston: "I think the man you have to thank is Russell T Davies. He wrote it. And I always feel that the showrunners and the writers are the people who deserve and own the kudos. But what I will say is the first series of any show is always very difficult to sell to the audience, and I'm very proud that through what was a really badly organised and certainly badly produced first series-"
Interviewer: "-which everyone's acknowledged, haven't they?"
Eccleston: "I don't know."
Interviewer: "I think they have."
Eccleston: "I hope they have. They certainly didn't acknowledge it at the time and I wished they would've done, because then things would've worked out very differently... but I'm very proud that I managed to find a way through the chaos that they imposed, and get us picked up, so-"
Interviewer: "And do you regret that you didn't have another season?"
Eccleston: "There's always regret when you play a role like that, because what you do is you - I watched it back and I thought, OK, next time don't do this, do that, you know, calibrate the performance. It was kind of tragic for me that I didn't play him for longer, because you know, he's a beautiful character and I have a great deal of professional pride [in it] and had I done a second season, there would've been a marked improvement in my performance. I was learning new skills in terms of playing light comedy, etc, etc. I was not known for light comedy, and again production did not allow for that. It's very important on the first series that you make a very informed and intelligent choice - even if it means breaking the budget - about getting the first director who is going to set the tone for the season, for the way the actors relate, and that did not happen. Disaster. But the show has survived. Thank God. And Capaldi, and Matt, and David - are just brilliant. And I know how brilliant they are, because I've been inside it."
Interviewer: "It's hard."
Eccleston: "It is difficult, because you're doing the same thing in each episode, and you've got to keep that fresh, and you've got to suggest alien and you've got to suggest human."
It almost sounds as though he would have tried to do a lighter performance had he been given a second year on the show. It's impressive how well that first season still holds up despite all the kerfuffle backstage, you really don't notice it.
