A place to update visitors with the latest news and information about Christopher Eccleston and his work and also to inform visitors about any updates/additions to my Chris related website.
Showing posts with label Chris interviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris interviews. Show all posts
After a single successful television series as Doctor Who, Chrisopher Eccleston is returning to battle cybermen and daleks, but this time over audio.
It all came flooding back in minutes. After 15 years Christopher Eccleston returns to Doctor Who in four new audio adventures. Words: Adrian Lobb Image: Tony Whitmore
May 29, 2021
By Adrian Lobb
"I'm currently sleeping in the Tardis, if that's what you mean?"
Christopher Eccleston acknowledges that he likes to work. And when he isn't working with great heart and enthusiasm for The Big Issue as one of our brand ambassadors, he likes to act.
It's a profession that has seen him travel the world and star in some great television – from Our Friends In The North and Cracker to Hillsborough and The Leftovers.
After more than 15 years away, he has now returned to one of his most famous roles. But no, says Eccleston, he did not need to wear his Time Lord's battered leather jacket to get back into character for four new Doctor Who audio adventures.
"Within minutes, it all came flooding back," he says. "How to do it, how I like to play him, how I like to work, the joy of it. It was all there."
"Tom Baker said it's not an acting role. And it's true"
So how is the Ninth Doctor when we meet him again after all this time?
"Charismatic, enigmatic, mercurial, witty, heroic, obstinate, fierce as ever," says the actor. "He's travelling alone. And I enjoy that element. Because sometimes the relationship dynamics can detract from the narrative. Here he's a lone wolf, always trying to locate decency and see if it resides in human or alien form. And he's having great fun.
"The emotional attachments are formed on the hoof, usually with women, and not for romantic reasons, just because women know a lot more about injustice than white males, let's be honest.
"We stayed away from the dark war Doctor, the damaged PTSD Doctor that I essayed a lot in the television series. It's very separate and distinct."
Eccleston has been impressed, he says, by the writing of the audio dramas. And he is enjoying the chance to work again following lockdown.
"These writers are top, top drawer," he says. "As with any other project with me, apart from when I do shite in America – and I mean film in America, not The Leftovers, which is one of the best things I have ever done – it's all about the writing. I'm amazed none of these ideas have been or will be screened. We've met Lady Macbeth, we've met the Brigadier and we met a Cyberman earlier. My Doctor is very enthusiastic, very excitable – all the things I remember.
"Suddenly the physicality, the energy levels I employed – which are very much mine, I think – came back. Tom Baker said it's not an acting role. And it's true. It's partly yourself, partly the writers."
Back in time Christopher Eccleston with Billie Piper as Rose, but this time the Doctor is flying solo Image: PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
It was Eccleston to whom former showrunner Russell T Davies first entrusted the keys to the Tardis and one of the most important, beloved characters in British television history when bringing the show back to the screen in 2005 after a 16-year absence.
It was a big success, re-establishing Doctor Who as a primetime sci-fi series for all the family. David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and now Jodie Whittaker were all able to build on the foundations laid by Eccleston.
"I had a lovely, lovely, warm greeting from Peter Capaldi the other day," he says. "We just bumped into each other, which was very nice."
"I've always retained a deep affection for playing the role and what it means to people"
While Eccleston loved and still loves the character, after one successful season he left amid acrimony. Over the years, he has spoken many times about it and is keen to look forward not back.
"I've always retained a deep affection for playing the role and what it means to people," he says now. "I disconnected from the politics and the lies and the bullshit, but not my relationship with the people who love the show."
In recent years, Eccleston began attending (and enjoying) fan conventions, as well as watching some of his old episodes with his children Albert and Esme. So does he feel he has been on a journey back to the Doctor for some time?
"I never left him," says Eccleston. "From day one I was approached in the street by fans. And that's continued. Not a day of my life has gone by without me having to interact with people who are fans of Doctor Who. I've always embraced them, literally and figuratively, and they me.
"People come to the conventions because they have a relationship to the show, often quite profound. The Doctor is an outsider. Always has been – with a very strong, loyal and fierce following within the gay community, for instance. And you've also got a huge fanbase in neurodiverse communities. Because of the contents of my book, people at conventions have spoken to me about mental health issues and what the show meant to them at times of grief and loss – so there's been a great deal of human connection for me at them.
"It's also meant that I can travel. I went to Muhammad Ali's birthplace, I never thought I'd do that. I'd never been to Portland, a fantastic city. And I shook William Shatner's hand. I am a Star Trek fanboy and I met William Shatner, thank you very much. He had no idea who I was, which is just how I like it. But if my dad was still around and I could tell him I'd met Captain James T Kirk, he'd be a very happy man."
This return, we suspect, will have a similar effect on a lot of people.
"I like to make the fans happy," says Eccleston. "I have my passions as you know – reggae, rocksteady, ska, soul music – there's certain things that excite me. So I completely understand that in people. And I'm happy if they're happy."
Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures are out on CD, download and limited edition gatefold triple LP vinyl at bigfinish.com
Warning: This programme contains strong language and reference to adult themes.
Known for roles in award-winning shows such as Our Friends in the Northand Dr Who, as well as films like 28 Days Later and Gone in 60 Seconds, Christopher Eccleston is one of the UK's best loved stars of stage and screen.
Lemn Sissay MBE is a BAFTA nominated International prize-winning author, poet and playwright. Roles such as the official poet of the London 2012 Olympics have solidified Sissay as one of Britains most recognisable poetic voices.
Both Eccleston and Sissay were born and raised in working class households in the north of England in the 1960's. Eccleston's autobiography I Love the Bones of You and Sissay's My Name Is Why were both published to critical acclaim in 2019.
Here we present a unique insight into the lives and experiences of two of our most loved and respected Northern artists, both of whom have overcome great hardship to join us here and tell their stories.
The actor on struggling with body image, a painful battle with a zip and falling off stage in Macbeth
Sat 5 Oct 2019 09.30 BST
Christopher Eccleston: 'I am not anorexic now – but dysmorphia is still very present.' Photograph: Camera Press
Born in Salford, Eccleston, 55, trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He starred in the 1996 television series Our Friends In The North and was nominated for a Bafta. In 2005, he was cast in Doctor Who as the ninth Time Lord. He has just published a memoir about his father called I Love The Bones Of You. Divorced, he has two children and lives in London.
When were you happiest?
Now. I am father to Albert, seven, and Esme, six. I've never experienced happiness as complete as caring for them.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Elsie Eccleston, my mother, for her emotional intelligence, kindness, intense curiosity, and chicken and leek pies.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Not listening and insisting on being heard.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Trapping my foreskin in the zip of my corduroy jeans when I was 14 and having my brother Keith release it; it took two hours. I was in an agony of existential embarrassment because, shortly before my brother came in, I'd been doing what teenage boys do and was surprised, pulled the zip up and nearly circumcised myself. I bear the scar to this day.
What makes you unhappy?
Greed, hypocrisy and lies.
What is your most unappealing habit?
Greed, hypocrisy and lying. Also, speed-eating leading to flatulence.
What is the worst thing anyone's said to you?
The mother of my children once said that I dance like I'm straight out of the box and recently assembled.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A little more spiritual enlightenment.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
How long have you got? I am not anorexic now – but I would say dysmorphia is still very present.
To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?
To my children, because their mum and dad's relationship failed, and I know that has caused them great sadness.
What does love feel like?
I think I've only really experienced it on a parental level, and it feels like the rhythm of nature.
Have you ever said 'I love you' and not meant it?
No.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Falling off the stage in the third preview of Macbeth at the RSC.
How often do you have sex?
It's not been a vintage year.
What is the closest you've come to death?
During my severe clinical depression in 2016. I was at Piccadilly station in Manchester and a train was coming.
What has been your closest brush with the law?
In about 1986, I spent the night in the cells for being drunk and disorderly.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Hot Legs by Rod Stewart: I'm going to be cremated.
How would you like to be remembered?
As a loving father.
•For help and advice on eating disorders in the UK, contact Beat on 0808 801 0677; in the US, contact the NEDA on (800) 931-2237; and in Australia, contact the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 4673. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
Christopher Eccleston has said that he sacrificed "some professional pride" by leaving Doctor Who when he did, suggesting that an actor needs "to do two seasons" to nail the lead part.
Eccleston took to the stage at New York Comic Con yesterday (3rd October) and spoke frankly about why he quit the BBC sci-fi show after a single series, detailing clashes with members of the production team.
"I left because my relationship with the showrunner [Russell T Davies] and the producers broke down – [it was] the politics of the show," he sad. "I left only because of those three individuals, and the way they were running the show. I loved playing the character and I loved the world.
"That's one of the reasons I've started doing these conventions, to make that clear – I loved playing the Doctor."
He continued: "I felt, 'I'm gonna play the Doctor my way and I'm not gonna get involved in these politics'… and that wasn't workable, so off I went."
BBC
Eccleston went on to detail instances where he felt the crew on Doctor Who were not being treated with respect, revealing that this led to a "difficult" situation on set.
"Because of my background, when I go onto a set it's very important to me that everybody's treated with respect, and that's because I come from a class of people who traditionally are not treated with respect," he said.
"I always look to the director and the producer… and if the director, for instance, treats a member of the crew badly and then comes to speak to me about my performance, I have no respect for them and I don't listen to them and that's difficult.
"There were certain things that went on. As an actor, you're working with a crew and you get very close to that crew, so there were things that I saw that I didn't like. The crew, I felt, could've been treated better. But I often feel that – it's a ruthless business."
Billie Piper, Christopher Eccleston and John Barrowman in Doctor Who (BBC, HF)
At NYCC, he explained, "I lost all my confidence as an actor and as a person as a result of what happened with Doctor Who," saying that "the gutter press" wrote "lies… about me betraying Doctor Who, and all that s**t."
Taking on the role of John Lennon in BBC Four's 2010 biographical film Lennon Naked helped restore his confidence, Eccleston explained. Looking back now on his performance as the Doctor, he says there are aspects of his performance that he would have tweaked if he'd carried on for a second series.
"If you really want to get your performance as the Doctor right, you need to do two seasons," he said. "Because you need to watch the first season and calibrate, and go, 'OK, that works, that works, that doesn't work, tone that down…' and I never got a chance to do that, so some professional pride was sacrificed with not doing a second season."
The Salford-born actor said financial and political forces were driving them out.
Christopher Eccleston has said that working class, black and brown people are not wanted in the arts anymore.
The Bafta-nominated actor said the theatre and television industry was at risk of becoming "metrocentric" at the cost of those living in less affluent parts of the UK.
Someone like me would not come through anymore
Speaking at the National Theatre's Up Next Gala, Eccleston told the Press Association someone like him would not be able to find success in today's climate.
He said: "We need to avoid being metrocentric. I'm very proud to be here tonight to raise some money, so we move out into the really important areas of Britain.
"Access to the arts is a particular issue at this time. I came through when it was easier.
"Someone like me would not come through anymore. Somebody like me would never have had a chance."
Eccleston, 55, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester, and has been a vocal supporter of working class access to the arts.
For financial and political reasons, people like me are not wanted in the arts anymore
He has also been critical of the creative industry's skew towards southern cities and middle-class actors and actresses.
He added: "The idea the National Theatre is putting forward is if we can perform in Salford, if we can perform in places all around Britain – Glasgow, Belfast, Liverpool, Newcastle – then somebody like me could do it.
"For financial and political reasons, people like me are not wanted in the arts anymore. If you come from a working class background, if you're brown, if you are of colour, you are not wanted.
"Obviously, the National Theatre, standing on the South Bank in London, it's the National Theatre's job to change that. I'm here tonight to help make access to the arts more democratic."
Eccleston – who played the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running series Doctor Who – has previously suggested he was not asked to audition for the BBC's Hollow Crown series because of class prejudice.
Christopher Eccleston, says his Northern accent held him back when trying to secure Shakespearean roles on stage.
The actor star says there is a perception in the industry that "people like me can't be classical".
Eccleston was born into a working class family on a council estate in Salford in Lancashire in 1964.
He will appear as Macbeth in a new production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon, but he had to ask for the role.
"I'm never offered Shakespeare," he says. "I went after this. Nobody offered it me. I went after it."
He wrote "an old-fashioned letter" to the artistic director of the RSC, Gregory Doran.
"I said, since I was 17 I've always wanted to play Macbeth at the Royal Shakespeare Company. So can I do it?"
But the 54-year-old resents having to ask for roles.
"I should have been offered more but I didn't go the right university or the public schools. It needs to change," he adds.
He has played one other Shakespeare role on stage - Hamlet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2002.
But nothing since. And he is convinced his background is to blame.
"I think the people who run some of the big established theatres, particularly in London, they associate Shakespeare with white, middle-class men.
"It's discrimination and I loathe it."
And for fans of his work on television, including Cracker and Our Friends in the North, and on film in Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later, Christopher Eccleston has a surprising confession.
"I became a television actor and a film actor by default. But if I'd been offered the big classic roles which I wanted to do, I'd have done them.
"I've had a passionate love of Shakespeare since I was 17, but in a way, it's like the love that dare not mention its name."
Nonetheless, despite the fact it makes him "very angry", Christopher Eccleston says he is "fortunate" because he is white and male.
"It's a lot more difficult for women," he adds.
And for that reason he thinks gender blind casting is "the greatest thing to happen to British theatre since William Shakespeare wrote his plays".
"The fact that there are women who will one day play Macbeth and play Hamlet, with no second thought, is the most wonderful thing," he says.
"But women still struggle. The roles are not there. There is still a long, long way to go."
Christopher Eccleston played the ninth incarnation of the Doctor when the show returned to BBC One after 16 years.
He welcomes the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the first female star of Doctor Who.
"She will be the best Doctor. I mean why did they have to wait so long?"
He says the role has been played by "too many skinny white men like me," before adding: " I absolutely loved playing the character and I'm so glad it's being reinvented."
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON took a pop at the BBC on today's Lorraine as he addressed the casting of Jodie Whittaker in the upcoming Doctor Who.
The 53-year-old played the ninth incarnation of the famous science fiction hero and was the actor who helped bring the show back after its 16 year hiatus.
However, when speaking to Lorraine Kelly, he seemed to have a little swipe at bosses when discussing Doctor Who.
When asked what his thoughts were about incoming Jodie, 35, Christopher said: "Hurrah! The BBC have gone as far as they can with skinny white men.
"God knows how much money they make from it. They needed to reinvent it and they could not have chosen someone better."
What's more, he didn't seem keen on the idea of conventions about the show, which are certainly favourites with fans.
"I've never done conventions. But there's a lot of money there - not that I'm saying anything about those who do attend," he said.
Christopher explained: "I've always wanted to earn my money from acting, but who knows what will happen."
The actor is currently starring in BBC's The A Word and plays kind-hearted father Maurice Scott.
However, he has hit out at critics, saying that he feels the programme should be getting more attention for its portrayal of a young autistic boy.
A star of the hit TV drama The A Word has thrown his support behind plans to create a specialist school in Cumbria for children with autism.
Actor Christopher Eccleston has warmly welcomed news that plans for the Cumbria Academy for Autism are being developed.
Mr Eccleston was among the cast and crew of the BBC 1 show who were on location in the Lake District in June as the filming for season two came to an end.
The acclaimed drama's new series returns to our screens tonight.
Set in the Lake District, The A Word tells the story of Joe and his family.
Now two years on, this second series explores the continuing challenges Joe and his family face.
Mr Eccleston, who plays Joe's grandfather Maurice Scott in the show, said of the new school plans: "Hopefully it will raise awareness that there are special challenges in raising children with special needs. We're very supportive of news like this."
The former Dr Who actor was speaking as he joined cast and crew on location near Keswick in June as they filmed the finishing touches to the drama's second series.
Bridge End Farm at Thirlmere was transformed into a scene of a summer fete and fictional fell race.
Members of local running clubs were invited to be extras during the production.
Last week Cumbria hosted a special preview screening of the first episode at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal.
The series also stars Lee Ingleby, Morven Christie, Greg McHugh, Vinette Robinson and Molly Wright.
The new six-parter has been penned once again by BAFTA-winning Peter Bowker.
The first series regularly attracted more than four million viewers.
Christopher Eccleston brought us a dancing Doctor in series 1 of the rebooted Doctor Who, but he still wouldn't be our first thought when it comes to potential Strictly Come Dancing contestants.
However, if that day were ever to come, the actor has told Digital Spy he would have one condition for taking to the dance floor.
He was speaking to us about series 2 of The A Word, a BBC drama about a young boy with autism who has a particular fondness for the music of The Undertones and The Buzzcocks.
Self-confessed music 'obsessive' Eccleston revealed his surprise that Strictly bosses used The Buzzcocks' track 'Ever Fallen in Love' for Gemma Atkinson and Aljaz Skorjanec's jive in the Halloween edition of the show.
"Wow!" he said, before joking: "So, Strictly didn't use the Buzzcocks track 'Orgasm Addict' then?!"
That song was banned by the BBC when it was released in 1977.
Eccleston – whose favourite line from the track is: "I'm an orgasm addict, and I'm always at it!" – added: "I'd like to see 'Orgasm Addict' on Strictly Come Dancing. It would bring a whole new meaning to the title Strictly Come Dancing wouldn't it?
"I'll do it if they let me use 'Orgasm Addict'!"
We can't see that happening anytime soon Chris, so maybe don't go out buying those dancing shoes quite yet.
Eccleston's co-star on The A Word, Lee Ingleby, has already told Digital Spythe second series will pick up two years later, with his autistic son Joe aged 7, and it will see the Hughes family facing new challenges.
The A Word series 2 starts on BBC One, Tuesday, November 7 at 9pm.
Christopher Eccleston, star of HBO's The Leftovers, Doctor Who, and endless films, now leads a new BBC drama 'The A Word'. He joins Raf Epstein on 774 ABC Melbourne's Drive program.
