Matt Smith immediately became a household name when he was chosen to take over from David Tennant as Doctor Who's Time Lord in 2010. The youngest actor to play the character at that time, the House of the Dragon and Morbius star has frequently admitted to initially having reservations about filling such big shoes.
By the time his stint in the TARDIS wrapped up, Smith was a beloved fan favourite and remains among the most popular actors to ever play the iconic time traveller.
Talking to the BBC (via SFFGazette.com), the actor admitted that his feelings about his Doctor Who role have changed significantly in recent years, including initial concerns he had about the adverse effects joining the long-running series might have on his career.
"I was young and sort of foolish. I'm still foolish, I'm just older," Smith said of fears he might never escape the shadow of Doctor Who. "I thought, 'Well, would I just always be Doctor Who?' And then I realized, actually, always being Doctor Who is amazing. It's a great thing. It's still one of the great pleasures of my life. I'm so, so proud of that show."
As for whether he'd be open to playing the Time Lord again - similar to David Tennant's recent return for the 60th anniversary special - Smith simply replied, "Never say never. Never say never!"
It was way back in 2013 that Smith handed the TARDIS keys to Peter Capaldi, and while he appeared in a flashback scene the following year, that had been filmed when cameras were rolling on his final year as part of the series.
Russell T Davies is now calling the shots in the Whoniverse but never worked with Smith as Steven Moffat was the one who cast the actor as Tennant's replacement. In 2023, Smith made it clear he'd be open to working with Davies should the opportunity present itself.
"Like, who knows?" he said. "I mean, look, I'm pleased Russell [T Davies is] back. I think he oversaw one of the great 10 years of Doctor Who. He's a great guy, he's a brilliant writer, I think he manages to get in the cultural zeitgeist, which is what that show needs to do."
"It's an exciting move for the show, so, I'm sure one of his scripts would be just brilliant. I haven't heard and no one's picked up the phone yet."
What would you like to see from Smith's possible Doctor Who return? Let us know in the comments section.