Matt Smith was a relative unknown when he joined Doctor Who as the Eleventh Doctor but his popularity soon skyrocketed and he remains the best version of the Time Lord in the eyes of many fans.
The British actor followed in the footsteps of David Tennant and was later replaced by Peter Capaldi; when The Suicide Squad star walked away from the TARDIS, Jodie Whittaker was next and it was then we started seeing a divide form in the show's fanbase.
Some fans were deeply unhappy with a woman playing the Doctor and Ncuti Gatwa has, unfortunately, faced a similar level of backlash because he's Black and a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
In an interview with The Times (via SFFGazette.com), Smith reflected on his stint in the long-running sci-fi series and questioned why anyone would take issue with Doctor Who, a show he says is simply "about an alien who is cool and travels around the universe."
"It was overnight," the Morbius star said of Doctor Who's impact on his career. "Nobody knew who I was and suddenly I was f***ing Doctor Who!"
Asked whether he still watches it, Smith said, "Not much, but Ncuti’s brilliant. I feel very proud to have been in the show. It changed my life because few shows are watched by a nine-year-old, mum and dad and 83-year-old grandma. That’s three generations, and you’re in people’s homes at Christmas. It’s an amazing responsibility."
"Those debates reduce it to a place that it doesn’t need to be in," he continued referring to the recent backlash. "People that attack Doctor Who blow my mind. It’s about an alien who is cool and travels around the universe saving civilisations - what’s not to love?"
In the same interview, Smith shared his belief that flagging potentially upsetting content runs the risk of dumbing down storytelling. "Too much policing of stories and being afraid to bring them out because a climate is a certain way is a shame. I'm not sure I'm on board with trigger warnings."
He added, "It's OK to feel uncomfortable or provoked while looking at a painting or watching a play, but I worry everything's being dialed and dumbed down. We're telling audiences they're going to be scared before they've watched something."
This ties into Doctor Who as it was back in February when the actor explained, "I always thought that was one of the great things of doing Doctor Who. That you scared children, in a controlled way, but you did scare them. Imagine you go to kids watching Doctor Who, 'By the way, this might scare you.' No, I'm not into it."
Smith isn't expected to return to Doctor Who but we have plenty to look forward to from his role as Prince Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon as the best is yet to come with that character.