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RISE OF THE LIZARD QUEEN Neve McIntosh never expected her one-off appearance on cult sci-fi smash Doctor Who as a pair of antagonistic ancient lizard-people would make her one of the show’s most loved recurring faces, but it feels like the stars are the limit, she tells Mitch Knox.
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eve McIntosh is no stranger to performance. In fact, the ebullient, raven-haired Scottish actress has spent 15 years in various spotlights of stage and screen, and occasionally radio, but to hear her speak of her recurring role as past-dwelling reptilian detective Madam Vastra in the BBC’s world-beating revival of long-running sci-fi series, Doctor Who, is to hear a thespian who has arrived at their station completely free of the cynicism and jaded sighs so often encountered among experienced performers. Perhaps, though, that has something to do with the somewhat circuitous route McIntosh took to assuming Vastra’s mantle after first appearing on the show in 2010 as a pair of villainous Silurians – ancient, Earth-native lizard people that predate humanity – and assuming that was it for her brush with the Doctor. “Every time I get the call to go on, it’s a bonus,” McIntosh bubbles down the line. “It’s the sort of program that it can take whatever twists and turns, and I never for the life of me thought I would be back in it after I played the initial two bad ones… And then hearing that I’d be coming back and playing a goodie, then the way that that’s expanded, I mean – when they gave us episodes like Crimson Horror and the first one of [new Doctor] Peter [Capaldi]’s, you know – we very kindly heavily featured, thank you very much, Mr Moffat [Steven Moffat, Doctor Who showrunner]
– so it’s incredible. It’s gone from strength to strength as a character that people just love. I mean, not just her on her own – the whole Paternoster Gang.” Indeed, the unlikely heroes of the Victorian-era crime-solving team known as the Paternoster Gang – Vastra, her human wife, Jenny, and their alien comic relief, Sontaran commander, Strax – have become utterly invaluable to the Doctor over his past two incarnations, leading to several calls – especially in the wake of Torchwood’s disappearance – for the trio to earn their own spin-off honours. “Oh God, I hope so!” McIntosh gushes at the suggestion. “Everyone keeps asking about that, and, I mean, I haven’t heard anything – if Steven Moffat phones me up and tells me it’s happening, then I’ll believe it, d’you know what I mean? – but God, yeah, I’d love to do something like that. Even if we don’t do a series, you know, you start thinking, ‘Well, what about a one-off special?’ Then, of course, I start going, ‘Well, what about a movie? A three-picture deal!’ “There’s the whole steampunk element to it. I mean, you could have us – ugh! It’s such a great time to base stuff in, because it’s the start of the Industrial Revolution… I mean, there’s so much going on in Victorian time. Look at the writing that came out of it – the imagination – so yeah, I think it’s a brilliant time. Fingers crossed!”
NEVE MCINTOSH AS MADAME VASTRA IN DOCTOR WHO
10 • THE MUSIC • 26TH NOVEMBER 2014
ALAN TUDYK AS HOBAN IN FIREFLY
VOICE OF REASON A self-proclaimed “weirdo” who creates trouble for animators of multi-million dollar Disney films, US actor Alan Tudyk’s taken to subtly ripping on a “jaded” and “litigious” crowd as of late. Daniel Cribb investigates.
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visit to Australia for Supanova may have fans of cult hero/voice actor master/all-round nice guy Alan Tudyk in a flurry, but it’s actually his second trip Down Under this year. At the beginning of 2014, he ventured to Victoria to film 2015’s Oddball, alongside a wealth of Aussie talent, including Shane Jacobson (Kenny). “It’s about a dog and some penguins,” an affable Tudyk laughs. “It isn’t some drama where we’re in pain or struggling or fighting off some alien invasion or anything too overbearing.” Stepping away from his home and spending a prolonged period of time in Australia gave him an interesting perspective on the US. “Australia reminds me of America, but [Australians] are not quite as jaded, and not as litigious. There’s a little bit more personal responsibility down there, which allows for more fun.” It’s the difference in cultures that Adult Swim parody news show Newsreaders feeds from, and season two – which is currently rolling out – sees Tudyk take the lead as news anchor Reagan Biscayne. “It’s a good place for comedy because,” he pauses to prep his deep news anchor voice, “newscasters are typically very serious people and they’re an authority figure, and if an authority figure comes on and says, ‘Tonight, we discuss how my gerbil was able to fly for a very short period of time, and then he experienced rapid weight loss.’ It’s ridiculous, and it’s funny. “I feel like we’re losing – at least here – that authority news figure.
Our news anchors want to be your friend; they’re funny and they tweet and giggle. There isn’t that kind of serious news so much anymore, and the lines are blurred... I think the people who really need the news are the ones that are missing out.” As evident with a series of different roles in multiple genres, Tudyk makes whatever he’s working on his own. He made a name for himself with Joss Whedon’s [Buffy, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.] cult hit Firefly and its accompanying film, Serenity, which wrapped up in 2005, but was quick to break free from being typecast. On top of frequently voicing games such as Halo, he’s also a regular on blockbuster animated films like Frozen, Ice Age and new kids hit Big Hero 6. “I’ve always played with my voice; doing different voices growing up, mimicking people who I thought had funny voices… Just to be able to match a voice to a drawing, that’s a lot of fun, and in the world of animation, you can do anything. You’re in your head; you’re not seeing animation in front of you. “And also, any noises you make – ‘eewweeeww’ – they’ll animate something happening to the character that would validate him making that noise and that is a really fun collaboration to do. You just made a noise because you’re a weirdo like me, and then you’ll see they took it and made something. That’s a lot of fun.”