Matt Smith and Age
- Thread starter Pindar
- Start date
I'd never really closely followed Doctor Who until Tennant came on the scene, but it wasn't really until his second season, finally free of the burden that was Rose, that he really got me thinking "Yep, this is it." But I was sold on Matt Smith during his opening scenes with little Amelia Pond.
I would never have even thought about Smiths age until I read about the fuss it seemed to be causing.
The more I watch him the more I he reminds me of Troughton, although he does seem to slip a bit of Tennant in now and again.
Id like to see him in his own Tomb of the Cybermen story.
The more I watch him the more I he reminds me of Troughton, although he does seem to slip a bit of Tennant in now and again.
Id like to see him in his own Tomb of the Cybermen story.
I would never have even thought about Smiths age until I read about the fuss it seemed to be causing.
The more I watch him the more I he reminds me of Troughton, although he does seem to slip a bit of Tennant in now and again.
Id like to see him in his own Tomb of the Cybermen story.
The more I watch him the more I he reminds me of Troughton, although he does seem to slip a bit of Tennant in now and again.
Id like to see him in his own Tomb of the Cybermen story.
I love Matt in the Role, i think hes brilliant.
On the age front, who cares if hes too young or looks too young. Im 26 and i look about 15, i get asked for ID everywhere i go, i dont see the problem of having someone so young playing someone olderv aslong as they can, well, play it well.
In the same intance, i have a friend who does local theatre, hes 27 and recently played an 80 year old man, i know this is the reverse, kinda, but he was so convincing that even if he didnt have makeup, he played damn well.
He has the talent and the screen presence and pulls it off. Especially the dark Doctor that he portrays. Yeah, hes good at the comedic timing and stuff, but he excells at the quaint drama pieces (ala when he meets Amelia) and the dark stuff when hes confronted with killing a sencient being for the sake of greedy humans.
I think hes a brilliant actor, and to be honest, we didnt really have a say in the matter, unless they do a reality show every couple of years in the vain of 'Over the Rainbow' but called something like ''
Thats what sold me on Smith. The way he interacted with little Amelia and then time jumped 12 years and interacted with the older/wiser Amy, trying to figure it out and also get used to the new body hes been given. Sheer brilliance, and the guy is so comfortable acting its almost as if a camera is following him in everday life.
On the age front, who cares if hes too young or looks too young. Im 26 and i look about 15, i get asked for ID everywhere i go, i dont see the problem of having someone so young playing someone olderv aslong as they can, well, play it well.
In the same intance, i have a friend who does local theatre, hes 27 and recently played an 80 year old man, i know this is the reverse, kinda, but he was so convincing that even if he didnt have makeup, he played damn well.
He has the talent and the screen presence and pulls it off. Especially the dark Doctor that he portrays. Yeah, hes good at the comedic timing and stuff, but he excells at the quaint drama pieces (ala when he meets Amelia) and the dark stuff when hes confronted with killing a sencient being for the sake of greedy humans.
I think hes a brilliant actor, and to be honest, we didnt really have a say in the matter, unless they do a reality show every couple of years in the vain of 'Over the Rainbow' but called something like ''
Thats what sold me on Smith. The way he interacted with little Amelia and then time jumped 12 years and interacted with the older/wiser Amy, trying to figure it out and also get used to the new body hes been given. Sheer brilliance, and the guy is so comfortable acting its almost as if a camera is following him in everday life.
You know a 27 year old trying to play a 900 year old isn't that much different than a 34 year old trying to play a 900 year old. And frankly Smith has done it sooner and more naturally than Tennant did when he started. I agree with The, for me Tennant didn't own the role until series 3. He just looked so young, which is odd because Smith (the odd moment aside) doesn't look too young.
I hope Smith's around for a few years because as good as he is now I can't wait to see how good he might yet become when he grows into the role further.
I hope Smith's around for a few years because as good as he is now I can't wait to see how good he might yet become when he grows into the role further.
This is an excellent point.
Smith was great from the "Can I have an apple?" line, but he really and truly nailed it as the Doctor for me with the phone conversation with the Atraxi..."You lot. Back here. Now." 
I think that depends on the 27-year-old. Some 27-year-olds have had the life experience to convey great age; most, in my experience, do not. More 34-year-old actors have that experience and ability than 27-year-olds, though even then, I'd tend to prefer someone in his late 30s or early 40s. It all depends on the actor's life experience.
I don't think it depends on that nebulous and problematic concept of "life experience" at all; I think it depends on something called "acting ability."
damn skippy
And as someone who's worked in and studied theatre for five years, I can tell you that I tend to find that the actors who have the best acting ability are the ones with the most life experience.
But on the other hand, you have people like Daniel Day-Lewis or Robert DeNiro who have focussed on their acting to the extent of putting their personal lives second. Admittedly, DD-L is now the happily married father of two boys, but he was just as great an actor as an intense 20-something. DeNiro once said in interview something along the lines that he had the choice at one stage of being a great actor or a person with a full, three dimensional life - he chose the former.
I don't think you can generalise - some people become great actors thanks to life experience, some are inherently brilliant and others develop it at the expense of life experience.
What's that then? Does it involve: Bollocks and load of?
I do think you can generalize. The ones who are just talented without having important emotional experiences from their own lives to draw upon, in my view, are pretty rare. It's like writing -- certainly, there are immensely talented outliers who don't have to do a lot of reading and writing, but most of the world's best writers have to do a lot of reading and a lot of writing to get there. And in my experience, most actors have to have reached a certain level of both professional and life experience before they're really "there," too.
Dimesdan, you are aware that if I irritate you that much, you can put me on ignore, right?
I can rack up "life experience" up the wazoo (which I guess you do by not dying?), but I am pretty sure I am never going to become the next Derek Jacobi.
Hoffman was asking Olivier about getting into character for a scene or some such method guff and Olivier replied 'Just act darling...' or something similar.
