Den of Geek: WasPride and Prejudicekind of a mandatory thing you had to read in school?
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Matt Smith: Yeah.
Im pretty sure it was on the curriculum, but I didnt read it at school.
To be honest, its not something I was really that familiar with.
I always just felt it was for girls.
So when it wasPride and Prejudice and Zombies, I thought, Ah!
Actually, theres sort of something that brings me to it.
And I think I found that quite refreshing.
So you get a call like that from your agent saying, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies…
I was like, Well, OK. Ill check it out and read it.
And then I read the part.
So then you have a way in.
So it appealed to me for that, really.
What was your way into Mr. Collins?
But I thought: What if he was secretly in love with Mr. Darcy?
What does that do to him, a man of the clergy who has to get married?
What if, secretly, he is harboring this secret about his own sexuality?
I thought that could make him funny and interesting.
That was my way in.
Did you talk with Burr Steers about this?
Yeah, I did.
And he liked the idea.
He was like, Cool, man.
So whenever he meets Darcy, hes always like, Oh, yeah.
I thought, Well, whats his role in that?
What was he thinking?
And his love, I thought, what if its just completely unrequited?
But hes got to live that way anyway.
Hes got to get married.
And hed probably be a very dutiful and good husband.
In this day and age I think he would have made a different choice.
Because when you think about it, does it not enrich his story slightly?
It did to me.
I thought, actually, What about all that?
I quite liked the idea that he wasnt a very good vicar.
But, again, its duty thats forced him.
Hes a man thats bound by duty and manners and willingness to impress.
And there are things that make a character a human being and make them interesting.
What makes it work is that you all play it straight.
I think thats important.
And Burr was really keen that that would be the case.
Did you ever go back and look at Mr. Collins in the book?
I did, actually, because I improvised quite a lot.
Maybe thats quite interesting.
I think Burr did a good job of that.
Am I watching a zombie movie or am I watchingPride and Prejudice?
Hopefully, theres a wry irony, I suppose, to it, but its being played straight.
Also, the chicks are in costumes that are slightly heightened, sexier.
I think theres a sort of sexiness to the world of the film.
You mentioned there was a lot of improv.
Did you get a chance to do that a lot onDoctor Who?
You stick totally to the script withDoctor Who.
So I dont know, really.
I always quite liked improvising ever since I was at school.
I think its because you dont know what to expect yourself.
Its quite an interesting place to be as an actor.
You are unaware of what you are going to do next, if you’re free to be.
And Burr was encouraging to that?
Hed let me do whatever I want, which is great.
And some of it works and some of it doesnt.
But a lot of the stuff about muffins and all that sort of stuff is completely made up.
Yeah, you do.
But England is full of that everywhere.
You just have to go and look at Parliament, across Waterloo Bridge.
Its why I love living in London, because everywhere you look theres something that you go, Wow.
Ive never seen that before.
Its so old and its still there.
Thats what I love about living there.
So no LA for you anytime…?
I like it here, too.
The weather is great.
I think you guys have a wonderful lifestyle out here.
you could be outdoors.
you could be active.
I think its a lovely place to come visit.
Id love to live in New York.
Id probably choose New York over LA, but Ive got a lot of friends here.
Hey, who knows?
Im really grateful to the world ofDoctor Who, and particularly the fans.
I think they are just an incredible set of fans, actually, and supportive.
And its a real family,Doctor Who, in a strange way.
Once you are in it, you really feel part of it.
Im just forever grateful to that chapter of my life.
It was a wonderful job.
Its a wonderful part.
I had a great time making it and made great friends with a lot of people in it.
So I feel very privileged to have been a part of that show.
Do you ever watch it now?
I didnt really watch it when I was in it.
I watch it every now and again.
Hes great, isnt he?
I just heard that.
Did you ever get any sense that youd be more involved had they moved forward?
I never really knew, to be honest.
You know what films are like.
Youve got to make one if you are going to make the other.
I entered it with that in mind, to see what would happen next.
Yeah, its news to me that thats the case.
But, who knows?
It may get picked up in the future.
Just tell me quickly aboutPatient Zero, which comes out in September.
Thats another zombie movie, actually.
Its a different one.
The tone is very different indeed.
I get to be a bit more in the heart of the action on that.
I suppose there is in a different way.
But Ive not seen anything yet.
So Ive got to see how its turned out.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombiesis out in theaters Friday (February 5).
