"One Of The Best Actors In Britain" - David Tennant On Jodie Whittaker



David Tennant has shared his thoughts on the casting of Jodie Whittaker in the role of the Doctor during his Q&A panel at Wizard World Columbus.. David was answering fan questions at the event curated by Lindi Smith of PureFandom.com and Entertainment Weekly at the Union Station Ballroom in the Greater Columbus Convention Center earlier today. 

David first remarked that he'd just seen his first Jodie Whittaker cosplayer. "I just texted her! I said, 'This is how it begins, Jodie!'" he joked.

He continued, "I know her very well, it's very exciting. Jodie is known as a great actress, which indeed she is, but she's known for, like the part she played in Broadchurch, which which was terribly brilliant, so wonderful, so emotionally true, so raw, that's what she does so brilliantly. But in life Jodie has a real directness and she's very funny and I don't think we often get to see that in the parts she gets asked to play. So...I don't know what she'll choose to bring to it, but...she's got a real spunkiness to her in life and I she'll enjoy using some of that in Doctor Who."

David was also asked how he dealt with negative comments he may have encountered, in both articles online or in conversations with others who still feel that the Doctor should no be female. 

"I think the question's not really about gender, I think it's about the right actor taking on the role," he said. "It's about finding the right actor to take it somewhere new and exciting and fresh. Jodie's one of the best actors in Britain, so what a great choice."

He also considered why some viewers might find the change difficult, saying "I think that's beyond gender. If you grow to love a version of a character it gets to mean a great deal to you, so you can have all sorts of emotions at the idea that it's been taken away from you, but then two weeks in you've fallen in love with the new one. It's a shame that because Jodie happens to be of a different gender to all the other people who have played the part then that can become as if people are making an issue about that. I think it's about getting used to the new and that's part of what Doctor Who has always done."

You can watch the whole of David's panel via the Wizard World Facebook page.


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