Eccleston: "Doctor Who Almost Destroyed My Career"

[Allyn Gibson]

Christopher Eccleston, starring in Macbeth for the Royal Shakespeare Company, was profiled by The Guardian over the weekend. And, rather than stick to the Bard, interviewer Gareth McLean asked about Doctor Who:

When he left Doctor Who after the first series of the revived show, his decision was greeted with speculation and ultimately hostility, much of it exacerbated, says Eccleston, by the BBC's mishandling of the situation.

"What happened around Doctor Who almost destroyed my career," he says. "I gave them a hit show and I left with dignity and then they put me on a blacklist. I was carrying my own insecurities as it was something I had never done before and then I was abandoned, vilified in the tabloid press and blacklisted. I was told by my agent at the time: 'The BBC regime is against you. You're going to have to get out of the country and wait for regime change.' So I went away to America and I kept on working because that's what my parents instilled in me. My dad always said to me: 'I don't care what you do -- sweeping the floor or whatever you're doing – just do the best job you can.' I know it's cliched and northern and all that bollocks, but it applies."

On the American side of the Pond, anyway, this has been rumored for the last decade, that the reason Eccleston did Heroes was for no other reason than that he couldn't get work in the UK. It's notable that Eccleston didn't work for the BBC again until 2010's Lennon Naked, once Russell T. Davies' tenure as Doctor Who showrunner was over. Perhaps the disaster that was the BBC announcement of Eccleston's departure really did poison the well that badly. I never expected to see Eccleston say it publicly, though, and it's little wonder that, if the BBC really did blackball him in 2005 and beyond, that he wanted nothing to do with the 50th-anniversary.

 

[marillion]

Boy... He really doesn't pull any punches, does he? Whoring himself out for Thor and G.I. Joe? I get it, but geez... I get wanting to be able to stretch yourself in "the craft" and have serious, meaty roles, but still...

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Honestly, I'm not surprised by any of this, although I hadn't expected Eccleston was straight out blacklisted. However, as Allyn said, I am a little shocked Eccleston has spoken so honestly about it to the public now. Seeing all of this confirmed now, I'm not at all surprised (as I wasn't before) that he didn't want anything to do with the 50th anniversary.

I'm also not surprised about his comments regarding G.I. Joe (which I never bothered with) and especially Thor: The Dark World, considering how poorly misused he was in the latter film. He could've been a worthy villain, but they buried him in make-up and a fake language for most of it. I don't blame him for hating that experience.

At the same time, as we've seen on multiple occasions, Eccleston has clearly appreciated what he brought to Doctor Who for the fans, especially children, so he doesn't seemed to be completely burned by the experience. Still, some bitterness is understandable. Either way, I live in hope that some day he'll agree to work with Big Finish if the scripts are right, even if the pay is nothing.

 

[Mr Awe]

I suspect there are a ton of things we don't know about this story. We already guessed that there was bad blood. But, we don't know for a fact whether he was blacklisted or if that is Eccleston's impression, or just him painting them in a bad light. Also, if he was blacklisted, we don't know what, if anything, prompted it. Did he violate a gentleman's agreement to return for a second season? Or was it completely unfair? Something else completely?

I'm not taking sides, but I just don't know enough to really form much of an opinion other than it's sad it didn't work out.

 

[Nightowl1701]

Boy... He really doesn't pull any punches, does he? Whoring himself out for Thor and G.I. Joe? I get it, but geez... I get wanting to be able to stretch yourself in "the craft" and have serious, meaty roles, but still...

I don't know, man. Dumping on the BBC is understandable, but trash-talking Marvel and Spyglass/Paramount (c'mon, he knew what he was letting himself in for) like that too... well, as a poster on the io9 website put it (and most of the posters seem to agree, only in not-so-nice language): "I’m not saying he shouldn’t talk his mind, but this is really starting to sound like someone protesting too much. BTW talking shit like this is a quick road to not being able to work in America either."

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

To be fair, he was given so little to work with in Thor 2. I was really looking forward to him being in that film, and he barely registered. MCU films always had weak villains, but don't go waste enormously talented actors in them, please!

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Somewhat strange when you see that he has worked with many many TV companies and tv startions across the UK over the years, so i am wondering just how he found it impossible to get work after leaving Who, is he saying the BBC top dogs were able to blacklist him from all the other TV stations and channels throughout the UK, seems somewhat of a long stretch at best even for the BBC, and if true criminal at worst for those doing it to him.

 

[Starkers]

I suppose that the BBC might have intimated that Eccleston was "difficult" this happens to actresses all the time as we saw from the Weinstein stuff. Still it's hard to imagine ITV/Channel 4 etc. would have gone out of their way not to hire him. I think we always have to balance this with the fact that Eccleston is a very intense and serious actor, and certainly I've heard he didn't get on with quite a few people in Who (including Barrowman, who in fairness I can imagine might be a bit wearing if you have to spend a lot of time in close proximity ) so I've always felt there was a six of one/half a dozen of the other kind of situation at play. I have my issues with RTD but it's difficult to imagine him as some kind of spiteful, Machiavellian genius who can ruin careers.

And if there if something in this I think we need to differentiate between "The BBC" as some kind of monolithic entity and "certain people within the BBC", given Eccleston's worked extensively with the Beeb since 2010.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Also, I read that Moffat had said that Eccleston bailed on him for the 50th because he couldn't commit to him any kind of script. And it was said Tennant also wanted a script before commiting, but did anyway because he was far more of a hardcore fan than Eccleston, who as it seems needed some persuading.

 

[Qonundrum]

He said his Doctor fancied Rose (sexually) as well. He must really be trying to shake DW from his résumé if he's championing pedophilia (Rose was a 14 or 15 year old girl, the Doctor is a 900 year old in a 45 year old body, and in UK law it's illegal regardless if she was 14 or 15.)

 

[Starkers]

Er Rose was older than that, I thought she was supposed to be about 19? And the Doctor was a 900 year old man in a 41 year old body at the time.

 

[Chuckles]

He's always come across as someone who thinks more highly of himself than he should. And that kind of attitude burns bridges quickly.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Er Rose was older than that, I thought she was supposed to be about 19? And the Doctor was a 900 year old man in a 41 year old body at the time.

Yup. She was 19 in „Rose“. Then she skipped a year and by the end of the 4th season she was around 22 ( or 23 if you assume that time runs faster in Pete‘s World and she caught up on that missed year.

 

[Starkers]

Yup. She was 19 in „Rose“. Then she skipped a year and by the end of the 4th season she was around 22 ( or 23 if you assume that time runs faster in Pete‘s World and she caught up on that missed year.

I thought so. Billie was 3/4 years too old for the part, whilst Eccleston was 850ish years too young...

 

[The Wormhole]

I don't know, man. Dumping on the BBC is understandable, but trash-talking Marvel and Spyglass/Paramount (c'mon, he knew what he was letting himself in for) like that too... well, as a poster on the io9 website put it (and most of the posters seem to agree, only in not-so-nice language): "I’m not saying he shouldn’t talk his mind, but this is really starting to sound like someone protesting too much. BTW talking shit like this is a quick road to not being able to work in America either."

Meh, everyone who was in GI Joe talks shit about it, and really, Thor 2 was a disservice to him. Of course, the MCU does seem to suck at villains who aren't Loki, and I'm pretty sure Loki endures because of Tom Hiddleston.

He said his Doctor fancied Rose (sexually) as well. He must really be trying to shake DW from his résumé if he's championing pedophilia (Rose was a 14 or 15 year old girl, the Doctor is a 900 year old in a 45 year old body, and in UK law it's illegal regardless if she was 14 or 15.)

1) As already pointed out, Rose was 19 in the first season.
2) Tennant has said the same thing about the relationship between his Doctor and Rose.
3) "Pedophile" refers exclusively to adults who express an attraction to children ten and under. Even if Rose were "14 or 15" as you believed, that would either be Hebephilia (an attraction to children aged 11-14) or Ephebophilia (attraction to ages 15-19).

 

[Captaindemotion]

He's always come across as someone who thinks more highly of himself than he should. And that kind of attitude burns bridges quickly.

He frequently meets kids and acts in character as The Doctor. He helped a fan propose to his girlfriend and let him record it. He was recently shooting a project in Belfast and hung out in a local bar (not a trendy spot, more a spit and sawdust type establishment), chatted with locals and recorded clips for them on their phones. So no, can’t agree with your comment there.

 

[Iamnotspock]

And if there if something in this I think we need to differentiate between "The BBC" as some kind of monolithic entity and "certain people within the BBC", given Eccleston's worked extensively with the Beeb since 2010.

I'm reminded of Peter Davison's comments in DWM regarding the situation between Colin Baker and the BBC, after Colin expressed distrust and animosity toward the corporation as late as 2013 when they were making 'The Five(ish) Doctors: Reboot': "There's no directive being handed down, which Michael Grade left on the statute books: Be nasty to Colin Baker." The BBC is not some monolithic entity, but rather just whoever happens to be working there at the time.

 

[Takeru]

Honestly, I'm not surprised by any of this, although I hadn't expected Eccleston was straight out blacklisted. However, as Allyn said, I am a little shocked Eccleston has spoken so honestly about it to the public now. Seeing all of this confirmed now, I'm not at all surprised (as I wasn't before) that he didn't want anything to do with the 50th anniversary.

Seeing what confirmed? Eccleston making claims isn't a confirmation of him being blacklisted.

If I were a producer I wouldn't necessarily want to work with Eccleston either because at this point you know he will talk shit about the project if he's not happy. The BBC didn't need to blacklist him, many people may have come to the conclusion that he could become a liability after he quit Who before a single episode had aired.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I don't know, man. Dumping on the BBC is understandable, but trash-talking Marvel and Spyglass/Paramount (c'mon, he knew what he was letting himself in for) like that too... well, as a poster on the io9 website put it (and most of the posters seem to agree, only in not-so-nice language): "I’m not saying he shouldn’t talk his mind, but this is really starting to sound like someone protesting too much. BTW talking shit like this is a quick road to not being able to work in America either."

I saw the comments on the Io9 article as well, and I had to role my eyes at the entitled geek squad. Eccleston has worked quite a bit. He was in The Leftovers here in America and he's working on the A Word. He's not someone, I would guess, that loves genre stuff. He took roles for money and he hated it--we've all taking jobs we've regretted--we just aren't hounded to publicly talk about why we hated a job and quit. But, fanboys just won't let certain things go. He didn't like working on a Marvel movie, big fucking deal. And he blames himself for taking the role--no one else.

 

[C.E. Evans]

The BBC didn't blacklist Eccleston. The internet did.