Jodie Whittaker is the first female doctor

Last year, in July afternoon, clocks at any time in the universe had remained immobile, after the announcement that about thirty years of West Yorkshire would replace a Scottish sexagenarian in the British series of British science fiction. Doctor Who. The actress, of course, is Jodie Whittaker, whose importance in British culture has been established for over 10 years through her roles in Black mirror, Attack block, and Broadchurch. But the character? It's a bit more complicated.

For the first time in five decades of Time Lord's hustle and bustle of the franchise, the Doctor's role – traveler of time and space, loath to hate creatures who scream "exterminate! of the series having frequently established that the doctor can be any sex or race. Why it took so long, you can guess, but Whittaker collapsed Doctor Who The beginnings were filled with just about anything a Whovian could ask for, up to a literal ceiling glass entry and a mighty candidate for the most terrifying monster of Doctor WhoThe modern era. Three new companions have also joined in the TARDIS, for maximum harm.

Unsurprisingly, Whittaker answered question after question about his sex since the announcement of his casting, which usually corresponds to the following iteration: "How do you feel?" (That's great, thank you for asking.) But in front of her Doctor Who For the first time, Whittaker explained to Vulture the nuances of how a female doctor will shape the series, in addition to the role of the media in sensationalizing her ascent. She also talked about the surprising film character who influenced her doctor, who who-the adjacent star with whom she would like to share the screen and the importance of the chic pants. This woman knows her pants!

How much was the hearing process surrounded by secrecy? Did the new showrunner Chris Chibnall tell you from the start that he wanted you for the role?
He was allowed to tell me because we had a friendship that started with my Broadchurch days. He said, Do not say anything, and I did not go. From my own paranoia, I did not say anything! When he spoke about it at our first meeting, the discussion was completely over because we were talking as friends. I say, knowing that he's already signed up as[[[[Doctor Who]showrunner, Can I please play a villain? Write me a role of villain with many prostheses! And he was like In fact, we are currently auditioning women and that is why I wanted to talk to you. It will be a woman. This is a part for which I hoped to be right, but I was not sure of getting it by any means whatsoever. Every person on the list was a woman. And since I was with a friend, I could ask more openly what that would involve.

What did that imply?
I knew the series well, but not so, if it makes sense. I saw a few episodes, but I did not follow a particular Doctor or watched a full season in total. Should I go home and watch each episode? Chris said: Enter with new eyes. I'm going to write some scenes for the audition and I want you to call it as if nothing had happened. I was nervous because I felt you had to be the Doctor, no matter what it meant. Not knowing was a little fearful. When I read it, I realized how incredibly engaging and inclusive it was. You get everything you need from the scenes. It was explicit. I did not need to watch 100 previous episodes to learn this.

Did science fiction jargon come easily?
This is the case, especially with a character who has such strong character traits that you can adapt and evolve. I did not know how funny it was going to be. I thought it would be really hard, but I had a good time. You know what was not easy? How long has the audition been. I could not even ask a friend to self-register because they did not know they were auditioning. Everything was complicated, but rightly so, because the ambition of the revelation was incredible. I found the secret easy to keep in some ways because I knew my life would change when it came out. But I struggled to do such stupid things, for example, a friend was planning a girls' weekend, blah blah blah, and I knew that I had to be [filming] in Wales. I had to pretend to be unemployed! What are you doing at the moment? Nothing. I've also given some really crappy reasons to refuse other auditions. So when the revelation took place, it was as if a huge weight had been raised.

What was there really in your audition pages?
I am not allowed to tell you that. But there were four or five scenes and they all covered a different energy. It was in depth as you can imagine. The grown-ups had to be sure of me. I do not know what other women were on the list, but you can be sure that they were this great group.

When you were advertised as a doctor last summer, many articles have tried to draw attention to the headlines, but I have not seen so much vitriol on social media. Do you think the media were complicit in staging your casting when in fact the overwhelming consensus was positive?
My limited point of view comes from the UK and its media. Not social media, because I'm not on it, so it's all over my head. Of course, there were some strange concerns or interpretations from the fans. I think the negative answers were relatively small. Of course, when a doctor changes – David [Tennant] Matt [Smith], Matt to Peter [Capaldi], Peter for me – there is an inevitable loss of the familiar. The suggestion that I've "ruined the series" or "went against the series" comes from people who are not necessarily Whovians. If they understood the world, they know that Matt and David are not extraterrestrials. Peter is not an alien! Their sex is as unimportant as mine. As a political moment or as a woman in the industry, he East relevant. But in the world of Doctor Who, it really is not the case.

It's difficult because for some people, Peter was their only doctor. They had never experienced regeneration before. It's like giving up something. But the wonderful thing about the series is a celebration of change and evolution. There is no point in making changes if you do not want to do new things. I think the biggest misconception right now is that a woman has "ruined" the series.

It reminds me of one of your lines in the first seasonIt's like saying, "I have not bought women's clothing for a long time." This suggests that the doctor was a woman already, but we just did not see her on the screen.
Yes, and there are many things that refer to what the series has already done – you will have to wait and see. The doctor now has three friends in the TARDIS, although he was traditional in the modern era of being one or two. We ask Chris why he wants to "break the form" this way, and he says to himself: Uh no, go back, it has always been like that in the series.

Chris also explained why he had decided to avoid the bad guys, characters and planets of the past, to the benefit of creating a world from scratch this season. Why was it important to start over?
He is a Whovian since childhood. He probably boiled these ideas throughout his career! It's certainly not denying worlds or monsters, but for him it was really about taking a new direction and finding places in history in which we could go. What's interesting about being a woman is – even if it does not matter as a doctor – that it's interesting to tell stories when it affects your time, your moment. or the interactions you have. It's not the doctor's answer, it's the response of other people. And as a woman, this is often the problem: we are not surprised that we can achieve things as women, it is often the others who are.

I had the same thought after watching first. Great Britain is one thing, but what would happen if the Doctor materialized in the dark ages in Europe?
Exactly. What Chris wanted to do, especially in casting and in history, was to reflect the world we live in today. Very often, we only see stories told through the white man's gaze. That's what Doctor Who always celebrated. Backlash is always the thing we focus on, but really, it's so small. And also, for real fans, they know it's not justified.

It's one thing to have an anonymous Twitter that tells stupid and misogynistic stories about your casting, but when a former doctor Peter Davison says: he has doubts because it's a "loss of style for boys", does that give you a break?
I feel for him because I feel that he has been misinterpreted. I do not think it reflects what he was trying to say. Regardless of what has been said, the mythology that "boys can only look at boys", while "women are supposed to look at men", there was never any question that our role models were men. But men have respected women all their lives. Mothers, aunts, bosses – in our lives, there are many versions of female heroes, regardless of sex.

If someone comes to you and says, "I do not watch the show anymore because the doctor is a woman" how would you answer?
I guess I would say, I think you have internal problems that need to be solved. I wonder if their mothers would be proud of this comment.[[[[Laughs.]Some people are able to change, but it's not worth engaging with, necessarily.

Let's talk about your big entrance! How did the conversations around this scene unfold, especially regarding the revelation of the doctor's new discovery?
It was the second day of filming that I had to say all these lines and do all that jump. I was like, Are you kidding me? Jump? You bastards! This heroic speech is when I remember who I am. When I am like, I thought my legs were longer! it was a joy to play with. It's a nod to fans, but if you have not seen the show before everything is in order, it adds to the mystery of the character. Looking at it, it's the most amazing entry I've ever had to make.

In the first, the warrior Stenza tells the doctor that she has a "little spirit". I did not necessarily think it was a gender-specific fault, but it made me wonder: will the new kind of doctor affect the way it is treated by his opponents?
This certainly comes from things like history. I can not talk about details, but there are times when you venture into the past where relationships would be different. As you said, we may end up in moments where women have not been heard. The "little spirit" was definitely character-to-person, not man to woman. I do not think sex played a role in the warrior's motivation.

Are there motivations in future episodes when the genre becomes more widespread?
They do. There are times when we potentially enter the story where the genre is referenced, sometimes also through other characters. But that does not matter to the doctor. The doctor is the doctor. The character is not lost because he is feminine. Sometimes the reactions of others are sometimes different because it's a woman and not a man, but that's it.

I've noticed that the five doctors of the modern era are completely inactive on social media.–
Once you have joined the show, it is an itinerary that you do not want to borrow.[[[[Laughs.]

Why is that?
You give yourself a lot, because you have become so famous in the most remote corners of the world. I need things to stay private. I would not necessarily have closed my Twitter feed, but I have never joined the group. For some people, social media suits them. That does not suit me. There is no reason to do it. You have robots that are not even humans who are treating people. I will stick to text messages for now.

Did you participate in the creation the new doctor's suit? It's so chic!
The costume designer of this season was the same as the one with whom I worked Broadchurch, and we sat down and talked a lot before the announcement. I arrived at the meeting with tons of different images, many of which I sent to Chris during the audition process. I loved this picture, this coat, this earring and other pictures that I loved what they represented. Basically, I forced Chris to give me the job.[[[[Laughs.]But these references have made a good mood for the costume. The use of color was very important to me because I liked the color. Even though in today's society, I started to wear black. There is this social thing not to stand out too much or to not want to attract attention. It's very human. What I love about the doctor is that these rules do not apply. I wanted it to be represented with what I'm wearing, so small or subtle.

The use of color is inspired by this charity club called House of Saint Barnabas. I was there one day with a member and I was like This background color of screen! That's it …! We found a material that matches. I like the use of blue. I wanted the coat to represent the doctor's provenance. The lining is dark blue as the space, and the world in which the Doctor is entering, which is a dawn sky – a faint ball of color. The lining of the wrists, the seams, the seams, each article has a meaning. And of course, my suit has pockets. Can you imagine not having pockets?

For a brief moment in the charity shop, I thought we were going to attend Doctor WhoThe very first makeover scene.
Everything in this costume would be in a charity shop! It fits, in a way that should not work, but it works. This might be suitable for a boy. But above all, I can go and I'm not limited. I can put it in five minutes. I do not understand the latex point.

I was so amused that Peter discovered that you were the next doctor because your the dimensions of the pants were sent to his tailor.
Oh my God, we laughed about that. I had to wear a version of his suit – I'm wearing his same jacket, actually, but I had to change my pants. He is thin, but it was still huge for me. When I started getting my accessories, I had to hide in the back corner so no one would notice me.

Apart from Doctor WhoAre there influences from pop culture that have helped shape your performance?
One of my favorite images is that of Doc Brown in Back to the future. He is wearing a red shirt with white coat and glasses. And the hair! Chaos and clarity A child wonder and energy in an adult. Being a big fan of the movie, I love this character. When I spoke with the director of the premiere, I was like I really like the way Doc Brown bounces on the board. He is never still, I want this freedom! I know it's TV and I know it's very fast, but I begged not to let it be static shooting. I needed to move. This character must be physically expressed by me. It's a movement, not just a brain movement. If it's articulated between my fingers or my toes, I can do it. My memory of Doc Brown and what he said about my childhood memory was a great starting point for me. He is always my favorite doctor! Oh my God, the Whovians will kill me for this answer.[[[[Laughs.]

Which return characters would you like to play alongside Chris? Should Chris include old favorites in a future episode?
I would like to work with Billie Piper. Rose was a brilliant character. I adore what she brought to this role: he was attractive, strong, vulnerable and dynamic. I would like to meet Rose. And River Song! There are also a lot of bright creatures and monsters. Can you imagine me meeting my first Dalek?

How do you think Doctor Who s' enrolled in the larger scheme of the culture of "superheroes"? Do you consider the Doctor a superhero?
Doctor Who is about hope and adventure. Whether you think you're a fan of science fiction or not, you'll fall in love with one of these themes. The Doctor is a hero for everyone in a way that I really love because the cast members feel like they're living next to you. These are not these amazing, god-like characters. This is not a typical superhero who has an inaccessible beauty. It's a hero for everyone because they look like everyone else. If you want to have this beautiful vocabulary or extraordinary explanations, why make it so that only two people understand it? You might as well not do it at all.

This interview has been modified and condensed for clarity.