On Sunday, the person who would take over for Peter Capaldi as the Doctor was revealed. It was an exciting moment for fans to learn that Jodie Whittaker will play the 13th Doctor on Doctor Who. If you haven’t seen the unmasking yet, it’s one you should absolutely take the time to watch. Trust us when we say you’ll get chills.
Now that the announcement is over and done with, it’s time to get to know Whittaker. Yes, she is the first ever female lead on the hit sci-fi series (and that’s an achievement she’ll forever be known for), but there is so much more to the 35-year-old than that.
Whittaker is already to be admired, especially since she is taking on a huge role, breaking barriers and defying stereotypes, but once you learn even more about her, she’ll most likely become your new favorite actor. Based on the following, she sounds perfect for the Doctor.
She’s no stranger to TV
Whittaker is known for her role as Beth Latimer in Broadchurch. She is fantastic in the BBC America drama, where Whittaker has taken on heavy and relatable storylines, including that of a grieving mother and as someone who supports and counsels rape victims.
She’s ready to be the Doctor
It wasn’t easy for Whittaker to keep her huge Doctor Who secret, but soon after the reveal, she opened up about how this is one character she’s been waiting to play.
“I’m beyond excited to begin this epic journey — with Chris [Chibnall, also the creator of Broadchurch] and with every Whovian on this planet,” she told the BBC. “It’s more than an honor to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait.”
Becoming part of the Doctor Who universe wasn’t something Whittaker needed to think twice about it. “There was no persuasion needed,” she also told the BBC. “If you need to be persuaded to do this part, you’re not right for this part, and the part isn’t right for you. I also think, for anyone taking this on, you have to want to fight for it, which I certainly had to do. I know there will have been some phenomenal actors who threw their hats in the ring.”
‘Doctor Who’ was calling her
Via E News, before being cast as the lead, Whittaker asked Chibnall if she could play a villainous role once he took over for Steven Moffat. Rather than making that particular wish come true, he granted another one of her dreams. Chibnall told her to audition for the Doctor.
“I always knew I wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman and we’re thrilled to have secured our number one choice,” Chibnall told the BBC. “Her audition for the Doctor simply blew us all away. Jodie is an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature and will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role. The 13th Doctor is on her way.”
She’s a feminist
After the casting news made headlines, Whittaker opened up about what this means to her as a feminist.
As she beautifully told the BBC, “It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you’re told you can and can’t be. It feels incredible.”
For those fans who aren’t supportive of Whittaker as the Doctor, she said, “Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.”
She knows all about pouring a pint
While chatting with The Guardian in January 2011, Whittaker opened up about her first job in London as a bartender.
At just 19, she moved from Huddersfield to study drama at Guildhall. “I love pubs and I love pub culture,” she said at the time. Even after all this time, Whittaker said she would still make a great bartender. “You never forget a trade.” She added, “Of all the life skills I could have learned. First aid? Nah. But I can pour a pint.”
Her big break was next to Peter O’Toole
After graduating from Guildhall in 2005, Whittaker got her big break in the 2006 film Venus starring Peter O’Toole.
It’s something she’ll never forget and will always cherish. “I’ll never be able to quantify how important Venus was for me or my career,” she told The Guardian. “I ticked a huge box.”
She has a family
Whittaker is married to actor Christian Contreras, who has starred in Snowden and Zero Dark Thirty. The two met at drama school in London and married in 2008. They also welcomed their first child in April 2015.
“I felt really young when I got married at just 26, especially living and working somewhere as fast-paced as London — where you can’t even plan for the next week, let alone commit to something for the rest of your life,” she told the Daily Mail in May 2010. “But I’m a good wife, though I think I’m a bit rubbish at home comforts.”
She opened up further, “He’s from Tucson and I’m from Huddersfield — and we do get comments like, ‘Where the hell did you two meet?'” Whittaker continued, “We’re like an international couple. I decided to get married for the same reason that everybody does. But I don’t divulge stuff about him, because I don’t think he’d appreciate a half-interview about him when he’s not here to speak for himself. So I would prefer not to talk about him personally because I could be misquoted — and then I won’t be popular at home.”
She got a ‘gold medal’ in acting
Seriously, she has a gold medal in acting. After graduating from Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she earned the coveted Gold Medal. Soon after, she found herself at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Basically, she can do anything and is super-talented.
She champions women in acting
In no surprise whatsoever, Whittaker is all about supporting other women and ensuring they have more acting opportunities. Not to mention, she is a believer in expanding the types of roles available to women.
As she told i News in May 2016, “There have been so few films in my life that have been about female friendship and I’m quoting my own quote, but I’m so proud of it: Women are not a genre. It’s so important that we support new work and celebrate voices that aren’t necessarily voices that are going to make £100m at the box office, because then we can start to break the glass ceiling.”
She’s an avid Mencap supporter
As an actor, it’s important for Whittaker to give back, and there is one special cause that means a great deal to her: Mencap, which is a U.K. charity focused on individuals with learning disabilities. Whittaker is also an ambassador for the organization.
“I’m not famous, which generally is an absolute plus point, but if you’re on TV or someone knows who you are it can be quite helpful to a certain charity or certain cause,” she told The Telegraph in March. Mencap is close to her heart, as her nephew, Harry Whittaker, a child actor who had Down syndrome and starred in the soap Emmerdale, died suddenly in 2014.
‘Stranger Things’ has inspired her
She is a huge Stranger Things fan and hopes to one day create the Nothern version of the hit Netflix series that she would call Strange North.
“The roles I want to play often are the guys, I just want to play that energy, just like the character in Stranger Things called Eleven — I want to play that,” she also told The Telegraph. “All those people, their age is irrelevant, their sex is irrelevant, their accent. It’s just about storytelling and it’s not restricted to what we think you can play.”
Well, she certainly is doing just that as the 13th Doctor.
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