You may be thinking, "Who?"
Exactly.
Smith is the 11th man to take on the mantle of Doctor Who, the galactic white knight who has been a staple of British pop culture since the 1960s. The eccentric savior of civilizations from the machinations of evil-doers has fostered a cult following in America since the rebooted BBC series launched in 2005.
Who-philes all around the world will want to tune in for Smith's first Doctor Who Christmas special, a loose take on The Christmas Carol featuring Michael Gambon, which airs Saturday night at 9 ET/PT on BBC America. The special comes at the end of a Christmas Day Doctor Who marathon.
"There's lots of snow, crackers and turkey, and that goes hand in hand with the spirit of The Doctor and Doctor Who," Smith says. "He loves Christmas. It's showcasing humans at their most open and giving and kind. It's everything The Doctor's about."
Plus, "I had great fun making it because obviously it was (filmed in) the middle of July and there's loads of fake snow."
And released last month on DVD and Blu-ray, Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series features Smith, 28, in his first season as The Doctor, traveling through time and the cosmos in the iconic police call box/space vessel, The TARDIS, with his redheaded companion, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan).
Tall and lively on screen portraying The Doctor, Smith proves just as quirky, mercurial and excitable in conversation, running down what he adores about the eons-old Time Lord. "I love his madness. I love his brain. I love that he's completely silly. I love how lonely he is. I love his bravery. I love the fact that he's clumsy," the actor says.
Smith's casting was met with a good amount of skepticism: Smith took over the role from David Tennant, who was beloved on both sides of the pond, and was the youngest Doctor ever.
"I didn't go on the Internet, I didn't read any of the press, because you can't. I knew people were saying I was too young and stuff, but I just had faith in my own instincts and my own ability and kept pushing forward with that," Smith says. "It was a risk, of course, but thankfully people have been very positive. I really want to push the boundaries of this part into next year now."
Smith now has a passion for sci-fi, but didn't grow up on Doctor Who or even American TV exports such as Star Trek. "I used to love ninja movies. That was my thing," he says.
Now being The Doctor comes with such celebrity in Britain that "I have to wear a lot more hoods in my life," Smith says.
But he seems to consider that a small sacrifice.
"What's so wonderful about playing The Doctor is it's all based on invention. It's the greatest part I've ever played, I have to say, because you're given this white canvas to invent and paint on, and he can be any color."
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