Written by: Michael Hickerson (SoSF Staff Journalist)
One look at the resume of British actor, Christopher Eccleston shows the thespian has spent a lot of time in the realm of science-fiction and fantasy, both on the big and small screen. On the small screen, Eccleston brought the iconic role of the Doctor back to life in the first season of the new “Doctor Who” as well as playing a pivotal role in the first-season of “Heroes.” His movie credits are also impressive with roles in “28 Days Later” and “eXistence.”
Eccleston will return to the big-screen later this year in another genre-related role, co-starring as the Rider in the much-anticipated “The Dark is Rising.”
In a recent interview with SciFi Weekly, Eccleston said he isn’t necessarily a hard-core genre fan. He said his initial interest in “The Dark is Rising” was “It was paid work. It was back in Europe.”
“I’d been in America for nine months. And it was a dual role, which appealed to me,” he added.
Eccleston said he was unaware of the source novels for the movie before he took on the role, but after getting the part, he picked up a book and found it enjoyable. Eccleston went on to elaborate on how the movie will be different than the original source material.
“The novel has been hugely Americanized in the film. The Rider is reasonably close, and he is the nemesis,” said Eccelston. “He is the dyed-in-the-wool bad guy. There is nothing redeeming about him whatsoever.”
When asked about his “gut instinct” for the film, he replied, “I have no gut instinct. All I know is that everybody worked very, very hard. I haven’t seen the film myself. I have learned over the years that gut instincts about product are rarely right. You can never predict with films or television what’s going to work and what’s not.”
The interview soon turned to other aspects of Eccleston’s career, including his one-year stint as the Doctor. As usual when asked about the inconic role, Eccleston was tight-lipped, saying, “I was very proud to play the Doctor, yes”
When asked about his role last year on “Heroes” Eccleston was a bit more expansive in his reply.
“That was a great experience. I was very proud to be a part of that show, also. I think what interested me was, having made British television for, what, nearly 20 years now, I wanted to experience American television. The process is slightly different. Scripts are less tied down than they are in the U.K. There’s a lot of secrecy around the Heroes scripts,” he said. “And I just thought Claude was an interesting addition to that cast of characters, dropping a Brit in there with a Japanese and the Haitian, etc. It was a good time. They’re a great company of actors and crew there. They’re enjoying their success and they’re very, very welcoming and positive about the show. They’re fostering a good feeling of togetherness.”
Unfortunately, the article didn’t offer any evidence if Eccleston will or will not reprise his role in the second-season of the show. Right now, Eccleston is between roles and said, “Nope. I’ll be returning to America in October and doing the dance again.”
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