Doctor Who’s Arthur Darvill reveals his immediate first impressions of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan

Doctor Who star Arthur Darvill has looked back on his bond with co-stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, recalling the instant chemistry between them.

The trio starred together in the BBC sci-fi from 2010 to 2012, heralding in a new era of the series with then-showrunner Steven Moffat.

While Smith starred as the Eleventh Doctor, taking over from David Tennant, Gillan starred as companion Amy Pond and Darvill played her husband (and, later, a companion in his own right), Rory Williams.

But, before starring in Doctor Who together, Darvill and Smith met when they were cast in the stage adaptation of Swimming With Sharks.

Speaking exclusively to Radio Times, Darvill recalled of his bond with Smith: "I just felt like we were kindred spirits. We were thrown into this play - it was quite difficult process, the play, it was called Swimming with Sharks. It was Christian Slater and Helen Baxendale and Matt and me.

"It was my first time on a West End stage. I was like, 'Yes, this is great.' The first days of rehearsal, especially back then, I was such a kind of insecure, wiry man, and we just found each other straight away and formed quite a bond. Working with him was great, because he's so brilliant and committed. We're the same age, but I learned a lot from working with him, and we just got on."

Meanwhile, Darvill went on to meet Gillan on the set of Doctor Who.

"Kazza is this strange being," he said. "My first impression was, she's so tall, and she was wearing heels, and I was like, 'Oh, wow, this is going to look really funny', because, I mean, I'm 5'11. She is, in heels, eight foot! I was like, 'Well this is going to look really funny, and that's great - and also you're quite imposing.'

"And immediately, she's just really silly and it's really surprising. She's really, really great. But I remember being surprised about how silly she is."

The three of them and showrunner Moffat were conscious that they were steering the show into a new era with their first episode, The Eleventh Hour, after Russell T Davies rebooted it in 2005.

But Darvill had a sense that their first episode was something special.

"I think that script is incredible," he pointed out. "And Karen and Matt were just extraordinary. We just really committed to it and and had such a good time. That episode, really, it's one of the only ones I've watched more than once - some of them I've never seen.

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"But I think it's a brilliant piece of television. It's got fairytale, the emotional setup of it is so beautiful, it establishes so many characters, establishes places, and really just relaunches the show in such a beautiful, grand, serious and funny way.

"Matt had, immediately, that ability to play this kooky alien who seemed both really young and really old at the same time - it's amazing."

Arthur Darvill's full interview will be published later this month.

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