Ex-'Doctor Who' star Christopher Eccleston to sign £95 autographs at first ever Comic Con
Former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston is set to appear at his first ever Comic Con event in London this summer, selling autographs for £95 a pop.
Eccleston was the ninth actor to play the Time Lord, and quit acrimoniously after just one series in the Tardis.
He’s always distanced himself from the fandom around the show, so his confirmation for the event is something of a curveball.
As recently as last year he spoke about how he had no interest in the lucrative fan convention circuit.
“I’ve never done conventions,” he told Lorraine Kelly. “I know there’s a lot of money there, but I’ve always wanted to just earn my living by acting, and that’s not a judgment on people who do them… it’s just the way I am.”
According to the London Film & Comic Con website, he’ll be available for photographs at £85 each, and autographs for £95.
Peter Capaldi, the most recent Doctor, will also be appearing (autograph price £75, photo price £65), along with fellow former stars David Bradley, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and sidekick Pearl Mackie.
Despite his previous reluctance, Eccleston’s prices are highest, likely as his appearance is a world first.
He’s shied away from talking about his brief tenure in Doctor Who in the past, however, he told the Radio Times recently: “My relationship with my three immediate superiors – the showrunner, the producer and co-producer – broke down irreparably during the first block of filming and it never recovered,”
“They lost trust in me, and I lost faith and trust and belief in them.”
In a separate interview with The Guardian, he claimed that the show ‘almost destroyed’ his career, and afterwards he was ‘blacklisted’ by the BBC.
“What happened around Doctor Who almost destroyed my career,” he said. “I gave them a hit show and I left with dignity and then they put me on a blacklist. I was carrying my own insecurities as it was something I had never done before and then I was abandoned, vilified in the tabloid press and blacklisted.
“I was told by my agent at the time: ‘The BBC regime is against you. You’re going to have to get out of the country and wait for regime change.’ So I went away to America and I kept on working because that’s what my parents instilled in me.
“My dad always said to me: ‘I don’t care what you do – sweeping the floor or whatever you’re doing – just do the best job you can.’ I know it’s cliched and northern and all that bollocks, but it applies.”
Eccleston’s popularity at the Comic Con event will also likely be bolstered by his appearance in Thor: The Dark World in 2013, but he’s been none-too complimentary about that either, claiming that Marvel misled him over the amount of time he’d be spending in the make-up chair every day.
“Working on something like GI Joe was horrendous,” he added. “I just wanted to cut my throat every day. And Thor? Just a gun in your mouth.
“Gone in 60 Seconds was a good experience. Nic Cage is a gentleman and fantastic actor. But GI Joe and Thor were… I really paid for being a whore those times.”
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