Warning: Some slight spoilers for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special follow.
Hot on the heels of her first visit to the maelstrom of fandom that is San Diego Comic-Con, Jenna Coleman, who plays the current companion Clara Oswald on Doctor Who has entered the fray at this summer's TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour.
We sat down with the actress to talk about her impressions of the Con/the U.S. fan experience, where she sees her character going now that Matt Smith's 11th Doctor is set to make his exit, and what we can expect from the upcoming Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special which she tells us, "will change everything."
Jenna Coleman: [Taking in the posters and surroundings in the BBC America press room] I haven't seen these posters yet - that's cool. I like that An Adventure in Space and Time poster.
IGN: Are you looking forward to that one?
Coleman: I am! I saw the trailer for the first time at Comic-Con and it was great.
IGN: It really was. How was your first Comic-Con? What was the experience like for you?
Coleman: I feel like it's the closest to being a rock star that I'm ever going to become. It was cool. It was lovely, actually. I've heard so much about it and I wasn't sure what to expect but it was great to see that kind of immediate reaction. Because I've not had that before from fans. People appreciating what you do, and dressing up, and going to all of the effort. It was just amazing, actually. Really amazing.
IGN: You and Matt Smith had mentioned at the panel that there's a difference between U.S. and U.K. fans. What is that difference in your experience so far?
Coleman: I just think that U.S. fans are louder really and it's funny because I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's that the British are a bit more reserved. I don't know, but it seems to be that if the Americans like something they're not afraid to kind of "Whoohoo!" Whereas in London I get a lot of people kind of quietly coming up to me and going, [whispers] "Oh, I really like the show." It's all quite a bit more relaxed. So it's nice to have that response and reaction.
IGN: Steven Moffat had said that he was 20 pages into writing the Christmas Special.
Coleman: I'v heard it's 24.
IGN: Ahh, four more pages! Have you seen any of it?
Coleman: I haven't! And I don't want to until it's written because I like reading a script for the first time in full and not really knowing too much about it so that every page turn you're seeing an episode in full - rather than knowing ahead of time.
IGN: Can you talk a little bit about what it's like for you as the crossover companion? Do you have anxieties about it? Are you looking forward to it?
Coleman: I'm looking forward to it. I mean I haven't really gone there in my head yet because we've yet to cast the next Doctor and Matt and I haven't finished yet. You know we've got another episode to do together, and we're still very much Doctor and Companion at the moment, so I'm not there yet in my head. We've got the 50th, we've got Christmas, so even though it's not that far away, it feels that way at the moment. But it's exciting. I'm kind of looking forward to, in whatever way I can, helping a new Doctor come in and be able to play that iconic role and do his own thing with it. And be able to be that person who can just be there with him, in the same way that Matt was with me.
IGN: A lot of it is going to have to do with the chemistry between the two of you as well, I'd imagine.
Coleman: Yeah, yeah.
IGN: Of course there is a big discussion now about who the next Doctor ought to be. Do you have thoughts about who you'd like to see step-in and be the Doctor?
Coleman: No, I don't. I think it depends on the actor, and how they come in and read, and what their take is. I think that it's such an interesting part because it's one of those iconic parts that everyone has an opinion on, but there's a million different ways to play that part. You can have a David Bradley, or you can have a Matt Smith, and it's still The Doctor. It's such a special quality. It's what Steven [Moffat] said about it, that part is basically everything at once: He's old, he's young, he could be a brother, an uncle, a grandfather, a friend. It's kind of this indefinable quality that is just Doctor; which is Doctor Who. I'm fascinated to see lots of different people read it, and I suppose it depends on which direction the show wants to go.
IGN: You know there is a whole segment of people - and I'm actually not sure how this would be possible - but there is a portion of the fanbase who would love to see you as The Doctor.
Coleman: Oh yeah I heard that, someone else told me that recently! You know I don't even know how that could possibly work in the timey-wimey universe. There's a thousand Claras already running around the place. I think if she were to start as The Doctor as well it would just get, I don't know, universal time-flux or something. I'm making up sci-fi words that I don't even understand. But, yeah, I can't even manage to get my head around that one.
The fiftieth leaves the whole show going in a different direction.
IGN: Well as you were saying, we now know what the impossible girl is and that there are all these different versions of her. Going forward, is it just the one Clara?
Coleman: Well I suppose it's open. That's what's really interesting. Because like I say, we've done the 50th which is, though it does lead off the end of last season, is kind of self-contained in a way. So it's kind of a blank canvas in a way. But the 50th leaves the whole show going in a very different direction. It's kind of a transformational episode for the show.
IGN: Really?
Coleman: Yeah, it's really...it changes things. It changes everything. Really. So we're kind of on this blank canvas. I don't know where Steven [Moffat] is going to take it. I don't know who The Doctor is going to be yet, I don't know what our relationship is going to be. You know it's completely open, but in theory it could be a new Clara for the new Doctor even. You know a Clara could pop-up at any time in theory, I don't know if they will or not. It's definitely something that's been set-up, though.
IGN: That's interesting. So I'm assuming the reworking has something to do with John Hurt. The non-Doctor, possibly 8.5, Dark Doctor/Mystery Doctor who was introduced in the Season 7 finale, as we know he's an integral part of the 50th. Is it possible that you could go back into that Doctor's time period and explore his story?
Coleman: I mean, it is, but I feel like I'm totally steering you in the wrong direction because John Hurt's in for the 50th and that's all [Laughs]. But in theory it is. Because I think the theory is that Clara has been shattered into infinite pieces. She's in every single timeline, kind of chasing these Doctors all around. She must be exhausted the poor girl, she must be running all of the time.
IGN: How do you think the life-long, as Matt Smith says Stalwart, fans are going to respond to whatever this change is in the mythology of the show?
Coleman: Good. Because I think what's incredible about it is that after 50 years you can do that with a show like this. And I think that's why it's gone for 50 years. You can change The Doctor, and you can change the companions. One thing that Matt said is that you're not bound by logic in the show, so you can change something. You can change something dramatically and it keeps the show kind of barreling forward. You know because if it was just the same thing over and over again...But it's not, and that's what keeps it going, I think.
For more on Clara's future & working with Hurt, David Tennant and Billie Piper...
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