Our beloved ‘Doctor Who’ just told us what it’s like to finally play a Big Bad on ‘Jessica Jones’
It’s been a week, so hopefully you’ve carved out 13 hours of time to binge all of Marvel’s Jessica Jones on Netflix. If you haven’t, don’t worry – the show isn’t going anywhere, and will patiently sit in your queue while you continue snagging all sorts of great shopping deals this weekend. But as soon as you’re done with that, mosey on over to Netflix and boot up the show. Come back as soon as you’re done, because there are Jessica Jones spoilers ahead.
The show focuses on Jessica’s abusive relationship with the show’s villain, Kilgrave. Over the course of the show we learn he kidnapped her via mind control and kept her prisoner until she was able to walk away when she had finally broke the spell he had over her. It’s easy to wager that Kilgrave is hands down the creepiest Marvel villain we’ve had to date — creepier than Dardevil’s Fisk, or even the Avenger’s robotic Ultron. Real talk, Kilgrave would make Loki kneel.
It’s no easy role to play, but David Tennant does so with flying purple colors. The Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who steps into the role as the power-hungry villain, and it was a role Tennant had been waiting for all his life.
Talking to The Daily Mail, Tennant explains that growing up, he loved superheroes and comic books, and was especially fond of the Hulk.
“I always wanted the TV shows to be more fantastical than they were, I was always thinking, ‘OK, but when is there going to be an alien invasion?’” He explains. “‘When is a mad scientist going to invent a death ray?’ Jessica Jones is much further out there on that score, so I guess those stories have finally caught up with my desires!”
As for actually playing the villain in the show, Tennant has loved it because it gives him a brand new, challenging character.
“It’s great to walk in many different alleys,” Tennant told People’s Choice. “It’s an exciting script. That’s the thing; if it’s a good script, whether it’s heroes or villains or anything else, that’s the challenge. That’s what you look forward to.”
And as odd as it’ll sound, and Tennant knows it sounds odd, he also sympathizes with Kilgrave, stating “I think there’s something quite tragic in where he’s ended up.”
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, he continues, “If you’re someone whose every word is acquiesced to, if you’ve never met any resistance in life, then your perception of reality is going to be quite skewed…You’ll never be able to interact with people on a normal human level and that’s going to do things to your mind. That’s going to do things to the way you perceive reality and it’s going to do things to your moral compass.”
Tennant is also THRILLED he wasn’t required to paint his entire body purple, because the character in the comics has a deep purple skin tone. “I imagined [the purple] would be quite fun. At first. But it would get dull quite quickly, I imagine. By week two, I’d be thinking, ‘This is no longer a lark,’ as I’m washing more pillowcases.”
If you’re looking for Tennant’s favorite episode of the season, it’s episode 9, “AKA Sin Bin.” Why? “The story takes such a left turn and it’s so brilliantly written.” That’s the episode where we really begin to learn Kilgrave’s backstory, and gives Tennant the opportunity to really flex his acting chops.
But now enough talk, time to get back to watching. Even if you’ve finished your binge of the whole series, it’s never too soon to start again.
(Image via Netflix)
