"I'm not very dainty with the tights situation."

[teyla]

John Simm, you are an odd, odd man.

I just watched the confidential for End of Time 1. Apart from the fact that watching confidentials makes me ridiculously happy--I love watching the show, of course, but watching the confidentials is much more likely to make me tear up and jump up and down with glee, because seeing so many people working on something I love and seeing them love it just as much is just wonderful--I also find it really interesting to see the reaction of the actors to what the script had them doing. In this case, of course, John I-am-six-billion-people Simm was the most interesting.

When Simm gives an interview, he never looks at the person he's talking to. He doesn't look at the camera, anyway, of course, but you will very rarely see him looking at the interviewer, either. He usually looks down, or sideways, or is scratching his cheek or whatever, just to be able to avoid looking at the interviewer. He seems really embarrassed when he's talking about his acting and his work. Except then, from time to time, you get these little moments when he forgets that he's being interviewed, and then you get quotes like the one I used as a subject for this entry. (Which, by the way, had me pausing the confidential and just lol'ing for a good minute. I feel your pain, John. I am not very dainty with the tights situation, either.)

But, yes. John Simm seems to be a bit of an odd guy. Not odd in a bad way, of course. It must be hard, though, having to feel so awkward and embarrassed about something you're so bloody good at--acting, in this case. Or maybe it's not that. Maybe he's just not very good with being aware of what he should and shouldn't say, and gets paranoid about it. Which is understandable, if you consider that this is the guy who freely shared that he used to be a cage dancer. >_>

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Comments

[mind-the-tardis.livejournal.com]

I hated tights :| I say hated, because they went with church and Sunday school and my mum forcing me to wear them, and I have never once had tights on of my own volition. They are things that make you look like you're still not wearing anything much. I don't get them.

I need to watch the confidentials. I feel like I would empathize with Simm. >_> Though I don't think I'd be too neurotic if I were an actor. I like talking to people. I'd probably be the sort whose agent would go WHY, why did you tell them all of that? Me: Dunno. I was just talking \o/

[teyla]

I actually liked tights because getting to wear them was a sign of "being grown up". Also, I do think they look sexy. But they are one of the most impractical pieces of clothing I've ever come across. I usually put runners in them simply by putting them on. >_>

I'd probably be the sort whose agent would go WHY, why did you tell them all of that?
Ahaha, I think Simm's agent must have moments like that. Agent: WHY did you tell them you used to cage dance? -- Simm: Um. They asked? >_>

[mind-the-tardis.livejournal.com]

I don't have any really good stories to tell people, sadly :\ No cage dancing for me.

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

OMG I LOVE HIM TO TINY BITS YES!

[teyla]

Ahaha xD We need to hurry up with the rewatch to get to his episodes more quickly.

[debris_k.livejournal.com]

this is the guy who freely shared that he used to be a cage dancer

HE WHAT NOW?

*grabby hands*

[teyla]

I hunted down the link for you. Sadly, no clips of him cage dancing, but there's an interview where he fidgets and shifts and then mumbles something about cage dancing, while the interviewers go O__O. It's very cute.

[debris_k.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *rushes off to read/watch*

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I've heard that John Simm is painfully shy and shy people have a tendency not to make eye contact. I certainly used to be that way myself. Maybe it's a habit he picked up when he was a child and he reverts back to it when faced with people he doesn't know or uncomfortable situations. In the commentary for 24-Hour Party People, Steve Coogan seemed shocked that "shy little John" was up on stage with New Order for one of their concerts. Well, John Simm was basically dragged on stage by the lead singer, who kept having to haul him back to the microphone when he tried to sneak away. *g*

I totally loved the Doctor Who Confidential for "End of Time". If you haven't checked it out already listen to the commentary for the second part of "End of Time". John Simm is really funny at times. I wish he and David Tennant could do more things together.

[teyla]

Yeah, I've heard that about John Simm, too. It's a strange thought, since he has a tendency to play these really nutso characters--the Master, of course, but I've seen him in other stuff as well where he was playing people who were anything but shy. I suppose acting would probably an outlet of some sort in this case. That's gotta be hard to deal with, though--your job dragging you into the limelight like that, if you personally hate having people's attention on you.

Oh, I love all the confidentials. And the commentaries; I've so far only listened to the Last of the Time Lords one, but am definitely planning to give the End of Time one a listen, too. Just need to get around to doing it at some point. >_>

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

That's gotta be hard to deal with, though--your job dragging you into the limelight like that, if you personally hate having people's attention on you.

I've read that shy actors (and there are quite a few of them around) don't find it a problem because they're playing a particular role and, so, have everything scripted already or, at least, I assume that's part of the logic. I get the impression that a lot of actors don't feel comfortable in their own skins (which could account for the shyness), but love becoming other people. Maybe it's similar to the security you might feel in adopting a cyber pseudonym and not revealing your real identity. It's certainly an interesting phenomenon whatever the reasoning is behind it. As you said before, I think it often is a kind of outlet. For example, John Simm can do and say all of these outrageous things he would never normally do himself when he plays the Master. Of course, I can't think of anyone who would say or do the kinds of things the Master does! *g*

[teyla]

Yeah, no, I meant the way that being an actor drags you as a person into the limelight--with interviews and fans and people asking for your autograph etc etc. For people like David Tennant, I don't think it would be as much of a problem, since that man can't walk past a camera without grinning and waving at it anyway. But if you're naturally shy, and then end up having a job that focuses a whole lot of people's attention on you, that's gotta be hard to deal with.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

*Smacks forehead* Of course! Sorry! I should have realized that you were talking about things like interviews and autograph sessions. Yes, that definitely would be a problem for a shy actor!

[tinny]

I totally agree: the confidentials are the most amazing thing.

I mean, they must cost a fortune, and they make a half-hour one for every (almost-)hour of "actual" tv they shoot. That's insane, from a production cost standpoint, isn't it?

But I love any kind of behind-the-scenes coverage, and those confidentials rock so much. I will never stop being thankful to the BBC for doing them.

It's probably one of the things that warmed me to David Tennant, because Eccleston? He did the bare minimum only - no fun at all. So... pity David is gone. But I'm thinking Matt might be fun, too. :D

[teyla]

they must cost a fortune
Not really, I think. All you need is a documentary team, a camera and some tape, really. And of course post-production costs, but that's it. I mean, they do all this crazy stuff like faking helicopters and driving cars into the Thames anyway. Putting a small team on site and telling them to document all of this shouldn't be all that expensive, and the actors can be interviewed while they're hanging out on set waiting for their turn to shoot their scenes. I mean, yes, it does add some production costs, but Doctor Who eats so much money anyway, I don't think a small documentary team plus some post-production costs for the confidentials make that much of a difference.

because Eccleston? He did the bare minimum only - no fun at all.
Yeah, I think Eccleston wasn't all that interested in that role anyway. He did it because he'd worked with RTD before and respects him a great deal, but that's it, really. I do like it that Doctor Who often goes for fairly unknown actors for their major roles--I mean, nobody really knew David Tennant before he became the Doctor, and it's even more so with companions. And now Matt Smith, I bet he was celebrating when they cast him as the Doctor--people already know his name, and he hasn't even been on television as the Doctor yet. And of course, if they cast more-or-less no-name actors, they can rope them into doing pretty much anything--and have to pay them less. (I read that the production team was actually really glad that Eccleston left after s1, because he was so expensive.)

It's obscene, though, how much money the BBC spends on their dramas. Incidentally, we had a guest speaker from the BBC at uni yesterday--the season one line producer and production manager for Merlin. Apparently, the entire budget for season 1 of Merlin was over 14 million pounds. That's more than a million pounds per episode. For a new show they weren't even sure would take off. Thinking about that, that's just crazy.