Matt Smith on the advice Doctor Who co-star Karen Gillan gave him after taking on Morbius role

Virgin Radio

29 Mar 2022, 11:10

Joining the Marvel universe is no easy feat, and Matt Smith made sure to seek out some advice from someone who knows that world all too well. 

Matt is currently starring in Marvel’s latest movie, Morbius, as the villainous Milo, who uses his new found powers, derived from a blood disease cure gone-wrong, for evil. 

The actor has revealed he asked former Doctor Who co-star Karen Gillan about her time within the MCU as Guardians Of The Galaxy’s Nebula, a role she’s played since 2014. 

Karen and Matt shared the Tardis together for two years in 2010, with Karen's Amy Pond accompanying Matt's eleventh Doctor.

In an interview with Digital Spy, Matt admitted it was Karen who persuaded him to take the role in the first place, and helped guide him through his first comic book movie. 

He explained: “I phoned Karen and said, 'What's it like? Have you had a nice time?' and she's like, 'Yeah, go for it, do it'. So I did. Good old Kaz. I mean, she's a seasoned pro, she's made about 9 of them.”

Matt stars alongside Jared Leto in the comic book film, and while Matt’s much more used to playing the good guy, it was fun to be the villain for once. 

The star continued: “I did enjoy doing that and I did enjoy leaning into all the villainous stuff, and long may it continue.

"It's always quite fun playing people on that side of the story, I think, and in a film like this, it does allow you to lean into those tropes and ideas and angles a bit more. I tried to let the reins off, I guess.

"I mean, I didn't overthink it, I just turned up and did it to be honest."

Jared and Matt both bring Marvel characters never before seen on the big screen, and when Jared sat down on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, the Hollywood actor admitted it was something he wanted to sink his teeth into. 

He told Chris: “I'd never been in a film like this. I've never starred in a big Marvel movie, obviously. But what I loved about it is it's the very first time this character has ever been on the screen. So, it was quite an honour to be asked to bring it to life.”

There’s quite a lot of pressure that comes with that, as Jared admitted, but the actor wasn’t afraid of the challenge.

Jared continued: “You can always get it wrong. And I think it's your job to dig deep, to work as hard as you can to bring something that's, you know, entertaining and exciting for audiences. And I did exactly that. It was a massive transformation in this role. And I really dug in and loved every single second of it.”

Morbius is out in cinemas on Thursday 31st March.