May 13, 2010
Also Karen Gillan Interviews Matt Smith
March 20, 2010
DOCTOR WHO – THE OFFICIAL SEASON 5 BBC TRAILER – AMY POND
March 19, 2010
The regenerations of the Doctor are a staple part of the mythology of Doctor Who, but across the past five decades there has been another constant in the series; the changing faces of his companion. Now, as Inverness-born Karen Gillan becomes the latest actress to join the Doctor in the TARDIS, we find out her thoughts on landing one of the most enviable roles in British television and making her mum cry…
“It was one of the strangest experiences ever; it was a really weird feeling!” exclaims Karen Gillan about her casting as Amy Pond.
“I found out on the day of my second audition with Matt, so at least I didn’t have a really long wait. It just didn’t feel real, and I couldn’t believe it!”
But auditioning for Doctor Who is unlike any other audition for the excitable, down to earth actress: “I knew that the audition was for the part of the Companion, but I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about it. They even had a code name for the role because it was so top secret. The code name was ‘Panic Moon’; an anagram of Companion which I thought was really clever.”
Even after Karen discovered she had been cast as Amy Pond the veil of secrecy was not lifted: “I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone that I got the part but my boyfriend was with me when I found out so there was rather a lot of screaming!
“I decided not to tell my parents as I didn’t want to spoil the surprise but when I finally did tell them I made a special day of it and my mum took a day off work. She just couldn’t believe it when I told her. She was doing the dishes and she literally stopped in her tracks and cried. She’s a huge fan of the show, has been a fan for years. She even has Dalek bubble bath at home!”
However, when the BBC announced her casting Karen was just as curious as her parents to find out what reaction she’s get from the fans.
“I couldn’t resist it; I couldn’t stop myself from having a look online to see what people thought,” laughs Karen.
“Although after a while it all got a bit strange seeing people talking about me so I had to stop and I haven’t looked since!”
Part of the interest in Karen was due to her being a relative newcomer to the industry, so how would she explain her life so far to the public?
“I’m from Inverness in Scotland, right up in the highlands. When I was 16 I moved to Edinburgh to study acting and I stayed there for a year, then at 17 I decided to move to London to continue my acting career,” she reveals. “I also did a little bit of modelling for two years which I enjoyed. I met some great people and it was a really fantastic experience.”
March 14, 2010
Karen Gillan, who plays Doctor Who’s new assistant. Photograph by Suki Dhanda
Can there be any woman between 17 and 30 who doesn’t secretly (or not even that secretly) want, with shivers of yearning, to be Karen Gillan at this moment? Plucked, she freely admits, from obscurity, she’s the new girl, Amy Pond, in the life of the new Doctor, as Matt Smith replaces David Tennant this Easter, and Steven Moffat comes back to the writing.
There is, I regret to inform those of you who like a bit of grit in the oyster to mitigate yellow jealousy, not a bad bone in this story. Karen is, truly and annoyingly, a lucky, pretty, talented, happy, smart, leggy, ordinary, honest, laughing girl, from a very loving family ….
