Actor Christopher Eccleston’s departure from Doctor Who after just one season has been a source of curiosity among fans for several years now. Now, at long last, Eccleston is telling us about more about why he decided to leave the role after just one season.
As part of a Theatre Royal Haymarket acting class, Eccleston was asked why he left Doctor Who.
“I left Doctor Who because I could not get along with the senior people. I left because of politics. I did not see eye-to-eye with them. I didn’t agree with the way things were being run. I didn’t like the culture that had grown up, around the series. So I left, I felt, over a principle,” reports Bad Wilf. “I thought to remain, which would have made me a lot of money and given me huge visibility, the price I would have had to pay was to eat a lot of shit. I’m not being funny about that. I didn’t want to do that and it comes to the art of it, in a way. I feel that if you run your career and– we are vulnerable as actors and we are constantly humiliating ourselves auditioning. But if you allow that to go on, on a grand scale you will lose whatever it is about you and it will be present in your work.”
“If you allow your desire to be successful and visible and financially secure – if you allow that to make you throw shades on your parents, on your upbringing, then you’re knackered. You’ve got to keep something back, for yourself, because it’ll be present in your work. A purity or an idealism is essential or you’ll become– you’ve got to have standards, no matter how hard work that is. So it makes it a hard road, really,” he added.
“You know, it’s easy to find a job when you’ve got no morals, you’ve got nothing to be compromised, you can go, ‘Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t matter. That director can bully that prop man and I won’t say anything about it’. But then when that director comes to you and says ‘I think you should play it like this’ you’ve surely got to go ‘How can I respect you, when you behave like that?’” said Eccleston.
“So, that’s why I left. My face didn’t fit and I’m sure they were glad to see the back of me. The important thing is that I succeeded. It was a great part. I loved playing him. I loved connecting with that audience. Because I’ve always acted for adults and then suddenly you’re acting for children, who are far more tasteful; they will not be bullshitted. It’s either good, or it’s bad. They don’t schmooze at after-show parties, with cocktails,” the actor told the class.
I guess this mean we won’t see him reprising the role any time soon or for the 50th anniversary in 2013….
I dunno. There’s a whole new set of higher-ups now. He says he really did like the character, so if it were just for the 50th anniversary…
so nice to be able to just quit a job when you disagree with the higher-ups. Wish everyone in the world had that luxury!
–Lawnbuddha
He made some of these comments a while back about not being happy with the culture of the show. The general response at the time was that Doctor Who is a difficult show to make, everyone is pushed very hard, under a lot of pressure, and a lot is expected. There are a lot of long hours, press to do etc where it basically takes over your life and maybe that wasn’t something that he was used to. I thought he did a good job as the Doctor and would have liked to see him do more. But, if he wasn’t happy it was probably for the best that he left.
Hey good for him, sounds like a man of integrity.
I clicked on this post expecting some douche-bag whiney-actor comments from him, but now I have a whole new respect for the man.
Rare these days to hear someone talk about integrity being more important than money/exposure.
I keep forgetting that in the U.K., this show is a show for children more than adults. It’s interesting to hear that it’s such a punishing job on set, simply to make a kiddie-show. Of course, one of the reasons that Tennent left was because of back injuries acquired through the job. I guess acting isn’t such an easy gig after all.
Don’t forgot that he has a policy of never reprising character he once played. It isn’t isolated to Doctor Who.
He was great as Dr. Who. If I may say it, he was the best of the ones I know. Yes, I liked Jack Tenant too, but Eccleston just had that X Factor working for him his charm was effortless.
Sorry I meant David Tennant.
I don’t blame him for leaving if that is how he feels. Actually, it was really nice of him not to broadcast that around early on because it probably would have been a blow to the fledgling show. Hopefully people will stop bothering him about it now. He’s moved on as all Doctors eventually do. Out of the new series I liked him the best after Smith. He only had one season, but he set the show off on the right foot.
Good… I’m actually glad he left because I absolutely DESPISED his portrayal of the Doctor. It was more than a departure from past performances we had seen. We were given an actor who did not know how to be funny when called, or to come across as brave, or even intelligent. Instead Eccleston gave us a brooding man who wasn’t ANYTHING like we had come to expect. Yes, there are probably a dozen explanations as to why this specific regeneration behaved in this manner, but if you’re going to play in the Doctor Who universe then you need to accept all of the baggage that comes with it, and that even means taking on a character who has a very specific personality.
From the moment he stepped onto the screen I knew that I didn’t like him and as each episode aired he continually reinforced my dislike for him.