The 11th Doctor is in and he's younger than ever

The 11th Doctor Who was announced last night and already most newspapers and websites are headlining with something along the lines of "Doctor WHO?". 26-year-old Matt Smith is the new doctor, and the youngest ever.

Matt Smith

Since David Tennant announced he would step down from the role, rumours have been flying. There were a lot of names going around, from James Nesbitt to James McEnvoy and from Patterson Joseph (the bookies' favourite) to Jennifer Saunders. But the role went to young actor Matt Smith, who said yesterday that he was very excited to take on a role so iconic.

Matt Smith studied drama and creative writing at the University of East Anglia. During his studies he starred in several plays with the National Youth Theatre, and one of his roles there landed him an agent and a role opposite Christian Slater. After that he starred in "On the Shore of the Wild World" (Royal National Theatre), which really set his name in the theatre. Several other roles followed, and in 2008 he and the entire cast of the play "That Face" (Duke of York's Theatre) were nominated for an Olivier Award.

His first TV role was in the adaptations of the Sally Lockheart books for the BBC. He played opposite Billie Piper in these series and played opposite her again for on episode of The Secret Diary of a Callgirl. He also did party Animals for the BBC and will soon be seen in new BBC2 drama Moses Jones.

The Doctor Who producers mentioned that they at first wanted a more mature Doctor, and were worried about the large amount of young people that were on the list the BBC provided them. But when Matt came to audition, they immediately knew he was the right person for the job. It's good to see that the BBC takes good note of the actors that are in their own series and gives them a chance at such a big role by including them on their list for the auditions. It also shows that they are very confident that Doctor Who does not need a well-known 11th incarnation to make the series an ongoing success.

People who are lashing out on the fact that the 11th doctor will be a virtually unknown, seem to have forgotten that David Tennant wasn't a household name before he started his stint as the 10th doctor. The BBC and the producers of the show made the right choice then, and they will most likely have made the right decision now. For now, we can enjoy the last couple of adventures of the 10th doctor, before the 11th steps in early 2010. As David Tennant said, Matt Smith will need the months ahead to make some major decisions about the role, starting with what
he will wear....

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