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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/christopher_eccleston_natalie_singer_33206008_696_970.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:'''[[Series/DoctorWho Don't Skip NINE.]]''']]
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4->''"I love my accent. I thought it was useful in ''Film/{{Gone in Sixty Seconds|2000}}'' because the standard villain is upper class or Cockney."''
5-->--On being {{typecast}} in American films
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7Christopher Eccleston (born 16 February 1964 in Salford, England) is an English stage, film and television actor. Most may remember him as [[Characters/DoctorWhoNinthDoctor the ninth incarnation of the Doctor]] in ''Series/DoctorWho'' in 2005, the first Doctor of Revival ''Who'' -- and is likewise the first actor to play the Doctor who was born after [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild the show's debut in 1963]]. The shortest-serving of the Doctors, he only played the part for a single series before leaving the show over {{creative differences}} and handing the role to Creator/DavidTennant.
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9He gained fame in ''Series/OurFriendsInTheNorth'' (along with Creator/DanielCraig), played the new Jesus in ''Series/TheSecondComing'' (written by Creator/RussellTDavies), appeared alongside Creator/NicoleKidman in ''Film/TheOthers2001'', and starred with Creator/EwanMcGregor in ''Film/ShallowGrave''. He also had a recurring role as a tough police inspector, DCI David Bilborough, on ''Series/{{Cracker}}''. American audiences may recognize him as stolen-car broker Raymond Calitri in ''Film/GoneInSixtySeconds2000'', the traitorous Duke of Norfolk in ''Elizabeth'', or as Major Henry West in ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater''. Or perhaps they saw him as Claude the invisible man ([[ObligatoryJoke or didn't see him]]) in ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.
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11On 30 October 2005, Eccleston appeared on stage at the Old Vic theatre in London in the one-night play ''Night Sky'' alongside Navin Chowdhry, Bruno Langley, Creator/DavidWarner, Saffron Burrows and David Baddiel. Eccleston sat on the 2nd Amazonas International Film Festival Film Jury in November 2005. The director Norman Jewison was chairman of the Jury.
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13In December 2005, Eccleston traveled to UsefulNotes/{{Indonesia}}'s Aceh province for the BBC Breakfast news programme, examining how survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami were rebuilding their lives.
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15In May 2006, Eccleston appeared as the narrator in a production of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' at The Lowry theatre in his home city of Salford. The theatre company with which he performed, Celebrity Pig (of which he is patron), is made up of learning disabled actors.
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17In August 2006, Eccleston filmed ''New Orleans, Mon Amour'' with Creator/ElisabethMoss. The film was directed by Michael Almereyda, and shot in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, it is currently in post-production and was scheduled for a 2008 release. Also in 2006, he starred in ''Perfect Parents'', an Creator/{{ITV}} drama written and directed by Joe Ahearne, who had directed him in ''Series/DoctorWho''.
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19Eccleston joined the cast of the NBC TV series ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' in the episode "Godsend", which was broadcast on 22 January 2007. He played a character named Claude who has the power of invisibility, and helped Peter Petrelli with his powers.
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21Eccleston appeared as the Rider in ''Film/TheSeeker'', a film adaptation of Susan Cooper's novel ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising'', which opened in the U.S. on 5 October 2007. He also appeared as the villainous Destro in the live-action Franchise/GIJoe film: ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' where he proceeded to be one of the best parts of the movie.
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23Eccleston also appeared in an episode of ''Series/TheSarahSilvermanProgram'' as [[CaptainErsatz Dr. Lazer Rage]], the title character in a ShowWithinAShow about a cult favourite science fiction hero, [[ActorAllusion possibly in reference to his stint as the Doctor in]] ''Series/DoctorWho''.
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25So, once you've played the Doctor and Jesus, [[ToughActToFollow where do you go after that?]] Music/JohnLennon, of course.
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27Eccleston starred in the first episode of the BBC One drama ''{{Series/Accused}}'' in 2010. He won an International Emmy Award for this role, becoming the first-ever actor to have played the Doctor to win television's most prestigious honor.
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29In 2012, [[http://splashpage.mtv.com/2012/08/02/christopher-eccleston-thor-the-dark-world/ he was cast]] as Malekith the Accursed in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' (2013). That same year, he would play the role of Creon in ''Theatre/{{Antigone}}'' alongside future successor Creator/JodieWhittaker as the title character.
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31From 2014 to 2017, he played Matt Jamison on ''Series/TheLeftovers''.
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33Despite his tough-guy image, Eccleston is known to be quite humble and easy-going, with a dry wit, and often cracking self-deprecating jokes. In 2019 he released his autobiography, detailing how he cared for his father (who suffered from Alzheimer's Disease), and his own struggles with anorexia and depression. Much like another [[Creator/TomBaker actor who played the Doctor and struggled with mental illness]], Eccleston has a huge [[FriendToAllChildren soft spot for his young fans]], and numerous anecdotes attest that he is ''always'' on his best behavior with them.
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35On August 9th 2020 it was [[https://www.doctorwho.tv/news/?article=christopher-eccleston-big-finish announced]] that he would be returning to his role as the Ninth Doctor in an audio series for [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho Big Finish]], after a fifteen year absence from playing the character. By his own admission, [[MoneyDearBoy this was financially motivated]] due to lack of work in the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, but he has since found other work, including the 2021 psychological thriller 'Close to Me', based on the novel of the same name, and Season 4 of ''Series/TrueDetective''.
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37%%!!Tropes associated with this actor include:
38* CreatorBacklash: Zig-zagged for his run in the first season/series of Series/DoctorWho. He loves being associated with the show, but he hated the fairweather politics that went on behind the scenes with the production staff, according to a panel involving him and his co-star Creator/BilliePiper at the [[https://youtu.be/SWh6JnN9bOw?si=C-MwbrH-3AE9gm7I "For The Love Of Sci-Fi" 2023 convention.]]
39-->'''Panel Moderator:''' Now, what would have to happen for that [Eccleston returning to the role of The Doctor] to happen?
40-->'''Eccleston:''' Sack Creator/RussellTDavies, sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Collinson, sack Julie Gardner, and I'll come back. Can you arrange that?
41-->'''Moderator:''' Did you find it hard to be associated with the character?
42-->'''Eccleston:''' Not at all, I love being associated with the character, just don't like being associated with those people and the politics that went on in the first series. The first series was a mess, and it wasn't to do with me or [[Creator/BilliePiper Billie]], it was to do with the people who were supposed to make it, and it was a mess. And the first series of any show, [[Creator/BilliePiper Billie]] did [[Series/SecretDiaryOfACallGirl Confessions of a...]]
43-->'''Piper:''' [[Series/SecretDiaryOfACallGirl Call Girl.]]
44-->'''Eccleston:''' You know, first series: nobody wants to know. The BBC were like [[ItWillNeverCatchOn "We're gonna keep a big distance from this", and then as soon it was a success, they were all up close going "I was responsible for that!" but they were all at a distance like this is a folly. "Eccelston's Folly", "Piper's Folly", "Russell T Davies' Folly".]] And then when it worked, suddenly: "I worked on that!" They wouldn't come anywhere near us, and then they jumped on the bandwagon. Those kind of politics, I'm not good at handling, [[PrecisionFStrike I can't swallow that shit.]]
45** Played straight with his opinion of ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'', as an interview [[http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-03-12/christopher-eccleston-says-doctor-who-exit-almost-destroyed-his-career/ revealed]] that he hated the film.

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