Posted in: Movies | Tagged: doctor who, entertainment, film, mark gatiss, peter capaldi, robin hood, Robot of Sherwood, Tom Riley

Mark Gatiss And Tom Riley Talk Robot Of Sherwood

Tonight's episode of Doctor Who, Robot of Sherwood was written by the talented Mark Gatiss (Co-creator of Sherlock and plays Mycroft) and stars Tom Riley (Di Vinci's Demons) as Robin Hood. EW chatted with the two  and specifically asked Gatiss what it is like writing for Peter Capaldi:

I've written for all four of the modern Doctors and it's essentially the same process. As (Doctor Who writer) Terrance Dicks once said, "The Doctor is always the Doctor." You just obviously have to have a go at what you think the new one will be like. I know Peter a bit, so I knew what he wanted to bring to it. But at the same time you can't really tell until you start getting the speech patterns and you start seeing bits of footage. To be utterly frank, because I knew that he wanted to do it in a gruffer and less human way, essentially the first draft of "Robot of Sherwood" was like a season 16 Tom Baker story. As soon as you start writing the Doctor as less human, and more grand, and slightly more abrasive, Tom is what comes into your head. So that's how it started and then obviously I brought in much more of Peter as I went along and I was sent footage from episode 1 and stuff like that.

And Riley was asked about his audition for the role:

I was offered the role straight-out, which was a lovely surprise, and the email came through while I was watching Mark in Coriolanus at the Donmar. Brilliant, bizarre timing.

I didn't pick it up until after. It was a strange coincidence. It was just lovely to be thought of for something like this. When things to come through as direct — "We thought you'd be great for this!" — you don't assume it's going to be such a great part, a fantastic role, and obviously one with so much fantastical baggage. It was a treat. It does mean a lot to me. I've been saying to Mark forever, "Why haven't I been on Doctor Who yet?" But I never expected, when I was, that it would be someone so iconic.

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