Is this the start of a Torchwood/Doctor Who rift? John Barrowman, whose Captain Jack has made a point of jumping between shows, has weirdly spoken out about Christopher Eccleston, the revamped Who's first Doctor, saying that he was too grumpy for his own good and comparing him to the more sociable current Doctor, David Tennant.
Talking about Eccleston - soon to make a reappearance in the third season of Heroes, and probably remarkably unconcerned about Barrowman's opinion - he said:
Chris was always grumpy. You don't always have to be intense. There comes a point when intensity makes you miserable - I think that was the case with Chris... Chris might have been a great Doc but he was darker and had a chip on his shoulder, he was not as much fun on set as David. I will give him the credit that he was the first Doctor to bring back the series and made a damn good job of it. But I just wouldn't go to the pub with him.On the other hand, apparently Tennant is a dream to work with, especially if you share a taste for 40-something pop singers:
David's been to my house, we went to the Madonna concert with our partners - we socialise together. He's a lot more fun.See, Chris? If only you'd taken some time out of your darker day to go and see Madge together, then you wouldn't have to deal with minor stories on very slow news days about your character from disgruntled former co-stars... Is that so hard to understand?
Barrowman criticises "grumpy" Eccleston [Digital Spy]













Comments
It wouldn't hurt to go slum at a convention sometime, either...
I think I will need to go to a pub w/Eccleston, Tennant, and John Barrowman both as one big group and then seperatly. Then I will make up my mind who is more fun.
But... but... Eccleston is so COOL!
Though I have to say I think Tennant rocks as well.
*sing-song-voice*
Someone's got a cru-ush!
@JennaW:
(Guy walks into a pub. Approaches hot girl at the bar. Asks to buy her a drink. She politely declines. He walks away muttering about what a b****y ice queen she is and tells his buddies not to bother cause she's "totally a Lesbian")
≈
(This)
I am just psyched he's coming back for Heroes. As long as I don't have to hang out with him, we're all good! I enjoy his acting.
@92BuickLeSabre: Well, I *meant* on David...
Because, let's face it. Who doesn't have a crush on David Tennant?
*Very few people!* that's who.
Eccleston always did seem like he took the 'art' of acting a little too seriously. If you check out the interviews with him, it's clear that he looks down upon anything other than traditional theatre. I got the very strong feeling that he needed to lighten up a little, and realise he was in Doctor Who, not Waiting for Godot.
@JennaW: I'll tell you who doesn't!
...um...just give me a second...
...yeah, can't think of anybody.
@92BuickLeSabre: The truth is humorous
@92BuickLeSabre: @JennaW: Hahaha! It certainly reads that way as it stands :-D
Then again, Tennant and Barrowman are infamous for their displays of infantile humour on the sets (farting contests and the likes), and if Chris Eccleston wasn't really into that sort of thing, I could see why he would come off as having a chip on his shoulder to Barrowman.
@JennaW: "That's who."
Yes.. I think the Doctor doesn't have a crush on David Tennant...
(because it is reciprocated so it isn't a crush.)
@JennaW: I have more of a crush on Billie Piper, but yeah..Tennant, too
It is Interesting that everyone has a crush on The Death Eater...
But hey our 1st Doctor was trying to recreate the human race by collecting and raping the few woman left in England...
So maybe The Death Eater is a better choice?... lol
@Theoban: What sets a self-important actor apart from a great actor is that the great actor treats every role as if it were as important as (well, I dn't think Godot is a good example here, so I'm changing it to) Hamlet.
@dOk: Very HOT Deatheater...
I think this puts this whole discussion into proper perspective.
+ Watch video
@dOk: As Death Eaters go, Jason Issacs faaaar out-sexy's Tennant. Wingardium leviosa, indeed!
Love JB. Lovin' his work. But having seen him in Panto and doing his concert (my boyfriend loves him and dragged me along) I really can't imagine being in a pub with him. He's fairly overpowering in a concert hall or a theatre. I have nightmares about being trapped in a lift with him
What we really need is Billie's opinion on this: she spent a year with both. Anyone got her phone number? *hopeful*
I think we need Billie's opinion on this, she spent a year with each Doctor so is the perfect person to judge. I don't mind asking her - anyone got her number? *hopeful*
@Miranda Kali: To be fair, we never get to see him all cleaned up. But I still thought he was hawt even all crazy like that.
@JennaW: I actually thought he was more enticing all mussed up and wild, but that's just me. I like the freaky, goth boys.
@JennaW: That implies that Eccleston didn't treat the role as important. And the first series of Doctor Who argues that. I don't think Eccleston looks down on them. It really depends on how you get your joy as an actor, no? On a live stage, you have 100-500 living breathing audience members waiting on ever word you say. That has to be cool. Hell, Tennant must love it if he's going off to do it next year. TV and film acting is incredibly different. Especially as TV has a lot less rehearsals and singular focus, a lot of the time it's about getting the shot, whether it's good or not. And if that's part of the experience, always going after mediocrity, you probably will be upset. But Eccleston acts in a range of tv and film, and he does a kickass job at it, so I don't think he dislikes it as a medium. Personally, I like Eccleston more. I liked his chippy shoulder. Sometimes I watch a Tennant episode and I think 'he's having too much fun'. First ep of season 4 is a great example. It's rather cartoony. I know Tennant is capable of great acting, but I feel sometimes that Davies gives him too free a reign, maybe because Davies doesn't really know how the doctor should be now. Notice how Barrowman didn't say he didn't like working with Eccleston, he simply said he wouldn't want to go to the pub with him. Huge difference.
John Barrowman's a trip! I get a big kick out of watching him on TV, The more I watch him, the more I like him. He just comes across as a really genuine-fun guy that loves his work. He's not a bad actor either.
I liked Eccleston's grumpy Doc. I enjoy Tennant, but given a choice, Eccleston.
@aspiringexpatriate: I was responding to what Theoban said, not judging Eccleston though I see it came across like that.
I don't know anything about Eccleston aside from the work of his I've seen and certainly wouldn't hold him responsible for what other people think he feels.
Sorry, Chris! *LOVE* you as the Doctor *and* as Claude -- yay, Claude!
@JennaW: Well, yes, so do I. But Jason was all clean and haughty and perhaps seeing them both in a range of DeathEater states would make the comparison more fair... if they'd be willing to put on a little fashion show... for me?
@JennaW: With Barrowman and Eccleston as well, of course. Reading lines from Shakespeare to compare their "talent". Or perhaps selections from "Equus" would be more appropriate?
@Urael: Yeah, I'd be interested to hear Billie's opinion on the two Docs.
uh yeah, no one has to like all their co-workers
@ManchuCandidate: Seconded. I'd even go so far as to say that the show couldn't have resurrected with Tennant. Of course, I also would suspect that it couldn't have sustained without him.
Eccleston is apparently going to play Destro in the G.I. Joe movie. The casting for that thing is bizarre, although his presence makes me slightly hopeful that it won't be too terrible. But then there's always Raul Julia's last role to scare me. Who knows, anymore?
@Pouncer:
Don't hold your breath:
[imdb.com]
@aspiringexpatriate: @ManchuCandidate: I couldn't agree more. Stopped watching Dr. Who because I couldn't stand David Tennant hamming his way across the screen. He does tend to overdo it a tad. Adored season one though. Eccleston then proved himself again in Heroes S1 and can do no wrong in my eyes.
"Eccleston is apparently going to play Destro in the G.I. Joe movie..."
Game, set, and match. Discussion over.
Maybe it's because I saw a lot of Jon Pertwee when I first saw Doctor Who, but I like a grumpy Doctor.
@edosan: Pertwee wasn't a grumpy Doctor! GEEZ, people. Neither was Eccleston.
Did you guys even WATCH the show?
@JennaW:
Please note. Above post was in "grumpy" mode for dramatic effect!
Please someone correct me if I'm not remembering this correctly.
Didn't Eccleston say one reason he was leaving was because he thought the show was "too gay" or something to that effect?
Who know; maybe Barrowman just doesn't like homophobes...
INcorrectly, I mean. Shhesh!
and "knows" not "know"
By Barrowman's use of the word "partners", am correct to think it sounded like Barrowman was saying Tennant is one of my people? (i.e., the gay kind)? Is this true, did I somehow miss out on this huge thing?
@Velireon: In England, they say "partner" equally for gay or straight.
@RRich. I don't see how you could work regularly with Russell T Davies AND be a homophobe. Before bringing back Doctor Who, Davies was best known for Queer as Folk, so any gayness can't have come as a surprise. Eccleston, who had already worked with Davies on The Second Coming, wrote to him asking to be considered for the role of the Doctor. He also said, repeatedly, that Davies was why he wanted to do the show.
Doing publicity for Doctor Who, Eccleston never sounded quite at home in sci-fi: clearly astonished by the idea that adults could get that excited over daleks. He also said the Doctor Who workload was exhausting, and hard to combine with other projects. Reason enough to leave.
@Velireon: No, Tennant is straight or at least exclusively linked with female girlfriends so far (including Sophia Myles who played Reinette in Season 2's "Girl in the Fireplace")
John Barrowman, however, is very out and has an ADORABLE picture on his website (I think) of himself in formal kilt with his male partner.
@btgoss: I totally recognized that video from the thumbnail, and I love you for it.
The more DT Doctor I see, the more I wish we'd gotten more CE Doctor. Not because Tennant is bad, but because he can be so lighthearted and glib it would have been nice to have a little longer period of that Eccleston intensity before the series shifted to such a contrast in Doctor. I wish Chris had done two seasons.
Watching CE Doctor you know you are watching a good, accomplished, "serious" actor when you see CE working his process on screen. Watching DT Doctor I feel I'm watching a good, accomplished television actor who is a big Doctor Who fan getting to play (a little too much, at times). Now, having said this, I enjoy both portrayals. I just wish, in retrospect, we'd had a little more CE to chew on.
Also, John Barrowman sure does love to talk, doesn't he? Perhaps there's a bit of jealousy in his comments? I like the Doctor Who version of Captain Jack, but Torchwood's "complexity" really shows up Barrowman's lack of range as an actor. I think it is not ironic in the least or surprising that John has recently added Game Show Host to his resume.
As someone who thinks that John Barrowman has done some amazing work and loved him in Dr Who, I'm disappointed that he would criticise his fellow thespian.
In the role, Tennant is an average Doctor, whilst Eccleston is (IMHO) the reason that the new series survived. His depth made it look like a serious attempt, rather than Tenannt's playing with a franchise.
Anyway, I would rather see Barrowman kiss Eccleston again. Seeing him kiss Tennant seems icky.
Well, I'm not disappointed to see JB criticizing a fellow actor, everyone's entitled to an opinion. However, I think JB's criticisms say a lot more about him than they do about CE. The extent of his critique of a fellow artist is that said artist is "too concerned about his craft" and "he won't go to Madge concerts with me". Yes, JB, what a SERIOUS actor you are.
@RRich: I thought he only agreed to do one year in the first place-before he even started, either so he wouldn't be typecast, or so he could move onto 'more serious' projects.
NO Tennant is not gay...
[en.wikipedia.org]
I think the EC intensity was really good, but DT can show both joy and intensity equally well. EC's ability to show anything but intensity either comes up flat or creepy.
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