Matt Smith was an honored guest at the Wizard World convention during February 7-9. This marked the young actor’s first public appearance since he relinquished his role as the Doctor and passed the proverbial sonic screwdriver to Peter Capaldi, and the energy in the air was palpable as a result. An estimated 3,700 Whovians filed into the New Orleans Theater Saturday night for an intimate Q&A session with the Doctor himself. The panel was moderated by Tony Kim, and it had more than its fair share of laughter, awkward silences, and, yes, even tears.
Most remarkable, perhaps, was Matt’s own exuberance; he showed no indication of a long day spent doling out autographs and posing for pictures with fans. This was the continuation of a precedence set during those autograph and photo op sessions: Smith extended a smile and a kind word to each fan, regardless of how many came before them.
The session’s topics ranged from the sincere to the non sequitur. Fans learned about how Smith’s tenure on Doctor Who affected his life, and they challenged him to articulate what Doctor Who meant to him in a single word. Matt gamely responded with a word from what he claimed as the Time Lord’s native tongue: Geronimoplendidimous. Smith also shared a top-five list of his favorite animals, expressed wonderment at the New Orleans lifestyle, and gave one final performance of the Doctor’s signature “Drunk Giraffe” dance.
SideQuesting is happy to share some highlights from the Q&A panel in the video below, though the proximity of so many sonic screwdrivers caused the video to go a bit wibbly-wobbly at times.
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