{"id":24340,"date":"2022-10-23T10:00:22","date_gmt":"2022-10-23T08:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1725242"},"modified":"2022-10-23T10:36:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T08:36:11","slug":"doctor-whos-sacha-dhawan-ill-never-ever-forget-playing-the-master","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-whos-sacha-dhawan-ill-never-ever-forget-playing-the-master\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who\u2019s Sacha Dhawan: \u2018I\u2019ll never, ever forget playing the Master\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Morgan Jeffery\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 23 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The feature-length Doctor Who<\/a> episode airing tonight (23rd October) on BBC One is a landmark outing for a number of reasons: as part of the BBC\u2019s centenary celebrations, it\u2019ll include \u201cEaster eggs and kisses to the past<\/a>\u201d which nod to the long history of both the show itself and the broadcaster without which, showrunner Chris Chibnall has argued<\/a>, it would\u2019ve disappeared from our screens long ago, but it also marks the end of the Chibnall era and the departure of his lead actor, Jodie Whittaker.<\/p>\n

Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Sacha Dhawan \u2013 a stalwart of this era as the latest incarnation of the Master \u2013 seems less certain as to whether The Power of the Doctor also marks the end of his own time with the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to come back,\u201d admits the softly-spoken actor, who off-screen <\/span>couldn\u2019t be further removed from his frenzied portrayal of the Doctor\u2019s nemesis. \u201cBut sometimes I think\u2026 have I done my bit with it? Is it time for me to get my teeth into new characters?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Debuting in the two-part 2020 story Spyfall<\/a>, Dhawan\u2019s take on the Master was warmly received by Doctor Who fandom. \u201cThe fan community is immensely supportive, but they\u2019re honest as well, and I appreciate that \u2013 you get told if they don\u2019t like something! So I was really nervous, it coming out on New Year\u2019s Day and the reveal\u2026 and seeing the reactions was really moving for me. It was unlike anything that I\u2019d done before \u2013 Doctor Who is a real event, it means so much to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sacha Dhawan as the Master in Doctor Who: Spyfall<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The type of encouragement he received from fans surprised Dhawan \u2013 they were supportive, he says, not just of his casting as the Master but on a more personal level. \u201cI\u2019ve been quite open about struggles with mental health, or Crohn\u2019s disease, and they\u2019re just so brilliant \u2013 I see comments on Twitter or if I\u2019m doing a Comic Con, I get to meet fans and it\u2019s really special.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than I ever expected. Going into the centenary special, I had a bit more of a spring in my step because I understood the community a bit better and I really wanted to do the episode justice for them and give my incarnation a really good send-off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dhawan\u2019s casting might not have happened at all, though, had he stuck to his plan of taking \u201ca little bit of time out\u201d from acting in 2019\u00a0 \u2013 but the call to play the Master was, he says, \u201can offer I couldn\u2019t refuse\u201d. By pure coincidence, the call came while Dhawan was working with one Peter Capaldi on a project at the National Theatre Rehearsal Studio. \u201cAs life and the universe would have it, a former Doctor was sitting in front of me \u2013 it was something I had to listen to in that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

A week later and Dhawan was on a plane to South Africa to begin filming on location. He credits his Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, with helping to quell his nerves in the early going. \u201cJodie was the first person I met in South Africa, in the make-up trailer \u2013 I was so nervous, but her charisma and charm and warm personality just totally put me at ease. She welcomed me into the pack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was really the start of a job that was more than just a job. It was like being welcomed into a family \u2013 and with where I was at that time, it was just what I needed. That<\/em> was the break that I needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sacha Dhawan as the Master in Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor<\/span><\/figcaption> James Pardon\/BBC Studios<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Though this wasn\u2019t his first brush with Doctor Who \u2013 he\u2019d previously played Waris Hussein, director of the first ever Doctor Who serial, in 2013 docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time<\/a> \u2013 Dhawan wasn\u2019t all that familiar with the iconic villain he\u2019d be playing. \u201cI could recall John Simm, his version of the Master, but other than that\u2026 so I actually went on Wikipedia. The source of all knowledge!\u201d<\/p>\n

But he quickly decided it wouldn\u2019t be helpful to spend too much time swotting up on previous incarnations. \u201cIt\u2019s steeped in so much history, but I didn\u2019t want to get too bogged down by it because it could end up stifling me a little bit. I was really keen to just kind of let rip a little bit and start making some bold choices as an actor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dhawan sent a self tape to Chibnall and Doctor Who\u2019s executive producer Matt Strevens to give them a steer on the approach he\u2019d be taking, but says his performance on set ended up being \u201ckind of different\u201d to that first attempt. \u201cOnce you\u2019re in that environment, your adrenaline kicks in and you just embrace taking the handbrake off and seeing what happens \u2013 and as nerve-wracking as it is, something magical can happen. I really felt that it did on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

His role in The Power of the Doctor will mark his fifth appearance on the show and Dhawan says he\u2019s still keen to \u201ckeep the audience guessing a little bit\u201d and reveal new sides to his Master. \u201cThat\u2019s something that I\u2019ve always continued, even coming back for the centenary \u2013 I didn\u2019t want people to think, \u2018Oh yeah, we\u2019ve seen Sacha\u2019s incarnation, now we\u2019re gonna get more of the same.’\u201d<\/p>

Though he\u2019d decided not to actively seek out previous portrayals, watching footage from classic Doctor Who \u2013 and in particular the performance of the first actor to play the Master, Roger Delgado \u2013 for a Blu-ray special feature did end up having an impact. \u201cIn the space in-between Spyfall and coming back [for series 12\u2019s two-part finale Ascension of the Cybermen\/The Timeless Children<\/a>], I did end up watching some of the original and I really like his stillness. I thought that was fascinating and something I would really love to incorporate.\u201d<\/p>\n

His desire to keep his portrayal feeling fresh also factored into how often we saw Dhawan\u2019s Master on-screen \u2013 he was absent from 2021\u2019s six-part serialised story Flux<\/a>, and two special episodes that followed it earlier this year. \u201cChris was like, \u2018We want you back \u2013 how many episodes do you want to be in?\u2019 and I said, \u2018Wow, I need to think about this.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been very fortunate that when I\u2019ve come in, I\u2019ve been part of big episodes, big events \u2013 me kind of cropping up all the time, I worry that people get might get a little bit sick of me! So I actually really liked kind of disappearing for a bit\u2026 and then coming in again at the last minute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still feel by the end of the centenary special, there\u2019s that question of\u2026 have we really seen my version of the Master? Is there more to discover? I think there\u2019s always more to unpick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loved this Big RT Interview<\/a>? Check out these\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n