Eccleston was born on 16 February 1964 into a working-class family inLangworthy,Salford,[1][2] then part ofLancashire.[3] His identical twin brothers, Alan and Keith, were born eight years earlier.[1][4] His father Ronnie Eccleston was aforklift truck driver and later a foreman,[1][5] and his mother Elsie worked as a cleaner at a launderette.[6] The family lived on Blodwell Street[7] before moving to a council estate inLittle Hulton when Eccleston was seven months old.[4][1] He attended Bridgewater County Primary School, thenJoseph Eastham High School, where he becamehead boy.[8][1]
Eccleston struggled to find acting work for three years after graduating from college and he took a variety of odd jobs: at a supermarket, on building sites, and as an artist's nude life model atSlade School of Art.[10] He stated in 2015: "I'd had very good roles in my final year [at college] but agents looked the other way. I wasn't delivering, and knew it. In every profession you have to believe in yourself. I was an odd mix of dedication and lack of confidence. I sabotaged myself."[19] In 1989 he joined thestage crew of theRoyal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. He was offered a job doingtheatre-in-education for a team which needed a driver, but because he couldn't drive, he received half-wages (£70 a week) plus anEquity card.[10][5] As soon as Eccleston was a member ofEquity, theatre directorPhyllida Lloyd, who had seen him at Central,[5][9] offered him the part of Pablo Gonzalez in theBristol Old Vic's April-May 1989 production ofA Streetcar Named Desire. This was his professional stage debut.[10][5]
Eccleston in May 2012
Eccleston'sbreakout role was as teenage convictDerek Bentley in the 1991 drama filmLet Him Have It, his film debut.[5][20] Despite an initial desire to be a theatre actor, he subsequently "became a film and television actor by default".[21][19] He had a guest appearance in the 1991Inspector Morse episode "Second Time Around".[22] The following year he portrayed Sean Maddox in the BBC miniseriesFriday on My Mind,[23] and appeared in thePoirot episode "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe".[24] His regular role as DCI Bilborough in the crime dramaCracker (1993–94) brought him widespread recognition in the UK.[25][26] When he decided to quit the series, he asked writerJimmy McGovern to give Bilborough a memorable and violent death scene.[12][20]
Following a role in McGovern's television seriesHearts and Minds (1995), Eccleston starred in McGovern's 1996 television filmHillsborough, portraying Trevor Hicks, who lost his two daughters in the 1989Hillsborough disaster.[21][2] Eccleston reflected in 2010 that "Hillsborough is the most important piece of work I've ever done and ever will do".[35] He met with Hicks to discuss the project, and the two men remained close; when Hicks remarried in 2009, Eccleston was his best man.[b]
Eccleston viewed his involvement in Hollywood cinema as "a strategic move", stating "the money allowed me to come back and do some really interesting British television". His television roles includedClocking Off (2000) andLinda Green (2001).[43] He played Ben Jago (Iago) in theITV television filmOthello (2001), an adaptation ofShakespeare's play performed in modern English and set in a contemporary police force.[44] He appeared inStrumpet (2001), a television film directed by Danny Boyle.[45] For his role inFlesh and Blood (2002), he won Best Actor at the 2003Royal Television Society Programme Awards.[46] He had a small part in the comedy seriesThe League of Gentlemen (2002).[46][38] Eccleston portrayed Stephen Baxter, a Mancunianeveryman who learns he is the son of God, in theITV television drama serialThe Second Coming (2003)[46] written byRussell T Davies.[42] For the role, he was again nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor.[47]
In 2000, Eccleston starred withAisling O'Sullivan in a London production ofAugust Strindberg's playMiss Julie.[48] Writing forVariety, Matt Wolf praised Eccleston as "a real presence on stage" and which illustrated "Strindberg’s savage, wounded psyche".[49] Eccleston played the lead role inHamlet at theWest Yorkshire Playhouse in 2002.[2][46]Charles Spencer ofThe Daily Telegraph praised the "dangerous edge of unpredictability" Eccleston brought to the stage but criticised his Hamlet for lacking "a spiritual dimension".[50] In April 2004, Eccleston returned to the venue to appear inMurray Gold's playElectricity.[51] On his rare stage appearances (from 1989 to 2016, Eccleston had less than a dozen theatre credits), he stated "I'm not seen as a theatre actor, which is what I trained for, so don’t get offered the parts".[46]
In 2005,The Guardian wrote that Eccleston had "cornered the market in troubled masculinity" with his "career in damaged males".[2] Eccleston stated in 2011 that "in the past I was attracted to angry roles. After all, anger is about grabbing attention and you want to do a lot of that as a young actor."[52] In 2022, he stated "in my pursuit of the Oscar and BAFTAs and all that, I thought what I had to be was serious. And I took myself far, far too seriously. I thought that great acting was straight acting."[53]
In March 2004, it was announced that Eccleston was to play theninth incarnation of the Doctor in the upcoming revival of the BBCscience fiction seriesDoctor Who.[54][55] He had emailed Davies, the series' lead writer, in late 2003 to express interest in auditioning for the role.[46][56] Eccleston's casting was unexpected considering his association with gritty northern dramas,[57] and lended credibility to a series consideredlight entertainment.[25][58] He cited the quality of the scripts as a reason for joining the cast, stating in aBBC Breakfast interview that he was "excited" about working with Davies.[59] In contrast to his predecessors who typically spoke with anRP accent, Eccleston used his naturalNorthern accent in the role. His aim was to challenge the correlation between the Doctor's intellect and his accent.[60][61] He was the first actor born after the series' debut in 1963 to star in the lead role.[62]
"[The] central message of [Doctor Who] is: seize life, it's brief, enjoy it. The Doctor is always saying, 'Isn't it fantastic?', which is one of Russell's favourite words. 'Look at that blue alien, isn't it fantastic? Oh, it's trying to kill me. Never mind, let's solve it.'"[2]
— Eccleston in 2005
Doctor Who filming began in July 2004.[54] By January 2005 he had decided to leave the series, and had arranged with the BBC to make a joint statement in future.[63]Doctor Who's first series debuted on 26 March 2005.[64] On 30 March, in a response to press questions, the BBC stated that Eccleston was leaving the role due to the series' gruelling schedule and to avoid becomingtypecast. On 4 April, producerJane Tranter publicly apologised to Eccleston on behalf of the BBC, admitting that the statement was falsely attributed and released without his consent.[65][66][63] Following his departure, Eccleston was succeeded byDavid Tennant as theTenth Doctor.[58]
The breakdown of Eccleston's professional relationship withDoctor Who showrunnerRussell T Davies contributed to his decision to leave the lead role after one series.[67]
Eccleston's performance as the Doctor was widely praised for its realism, humanity and emotional depth,[57][68] as well as for his chemistry with co-starBillie Piper.[69][70] He was nominated for a Broadcasting Press Guild Award[71] and aBAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actor.[72] He also won Most Popular Actor at the 2005National Television Awards.[73]
In the years since, Eccleston has elaborated on his experience filming the series. He criticised the environment and culture that the cast and crew worked in[c] and described filming as "a nightmare".[67] He said that staying in the role would require him to "blind [himself] to certain things that [he] thought were wrong". In 2011 he stated "it’s easy to find a job when you've got no morals, you've got nothing to be compromised, you can go, 'Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t matter. That director can bully that prop man and I won't say anything about it'."[75] His professional relationship with showrunner Russell T Davies, producerJulie Gardner and co-producerPhil Collinson "broke down" during the first block of filming and never recovered.[76][67] He also felt out of his comfort zone as he was "not a natural light comedian",[76] and had stated in 2005 thatDoctor Who was "a massive risk for [him]" because he was not known for "charm or comedy".[2] Eccleston criticised the BBC's falsely attributed statement as being damaging to his career,[67][76] and claimed he was subsequentlyblacklisted by the BBC, forcing him to take part in more American productions whilst waiting for "regime change".[40] Eccleston has maintained that he is proud ofDoctor Who[74][77] and stated in 2015: "I hope I'll be remembered as one of the Doctors. I have no ill feeling towards the character or the series".[61]
After discussions with executive producerSteven Moffat, Eccleston declined to return for the series' 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor" (2013), as he did not feel the script "did justice to the Ninth Doctor".[78][79] As a resultJohn Hurt was cast as the substituteWar Doctor.[79][80]
In July 2018, Eccleston began appearing as a guest atDoctor Who conventions for the first time.[81] He had previously expressed his reluctance to appear at conventions, saying in 2017 that he preferred to "just earn [his] living by acting".[82] In 2019 he said that his experience of meeting fans at conventions "healed something in [him]" and made him re-evaluate his relationship to the series.[77]
On 9 August 2020, it was announced that Eccleston would reprise his role as the Ninth Doctor in licensed audio dramas forBig Finish Productions, across four boxsets beginning with a release in May 2021. This was the first time he had portrayed the character in 16 years.[83][84] Eccleston was later confirmed to appear in a further boxsets releasing in 2022 and 2023,[85] as well as the audio seriesOnce and Future.[86] On his decision to return to the role, Eccleston stated that "the deciding factor—it might not be fashionable to say it—is that it's paid work, particularly in apandemic. After that it was the quality of the writing".[87] When asked in 2023 what it would take for him to return to the character on television, Eccleston replied, "sack Russell T Davies, sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Collinson, sack Julie Gardner and I'll come back."[88][89]
From 2016 to 2020, Eccleston played Maurice Scott, the grandfather of an autistic boy, in the drama seriesThe A Word. Eccleston described the series as a highlight of his television career and a "benchmark" in its depiction of disabled characters.[134][135][136]
Eccleston starred in the six-part television mini-seriesClose to Me (2021), based on the 2017 book by Amanda Reynolds.[148][149] He playedFagin in the BBC family comedy drama seriesDodger (2022–present), a prequel toOliver Twist.[150][151] The comedic role was a departure for Eccleston: "Because I am the most miserable man in British television... I never thought anyone would cast me in a comedy."[53] He appeared in a 2022 television film adaptation ofKit de Waal's award-winning 2016 novelMy Name is Leon.[152][153]
In 2000, Eccleston stated: "The work I have chosen to do has meant that I have played a lot of conflicted people. That comes out of my conviction that what's on our TV screens should be of value."[13] He is an ambassador forThe Big Issue, a British street newspaper which supports homeless people.[166]
Eccleston has criticised theConservative Party and has held them responsible[174] for what he has described as a decline in opportunities for working-class actors.[174][175][176][6] He said in July 2017, "It's always been a policy of the Conservative government and party to destroy working class identity. If you prevent them from having a cultural voice, which is what's happening, they achieve that. They hate us, they want to destroy us, so we're being ruled out of having a voice."[174][177]
On his religious upbringing, Eccleston said in 2015: "My dad's family wereCatholic. My mum was veryChurch of England – still is – but it doesn't work for me."[4] In 2016 he stated he wasagnostic: "when I was stomping around saying I was anatheist, I was not thinking about it enough... there is certainly a huge part of me that feels intense anger against organized religion. But I do feel, at the moment, a little more spiritually open to what may be religious beliefs. I mean, if anything, Buddhism is - which is a philosophy, of course - the thing that makes the most sense to me".[123] In 2017 he identified himself as "a peace-loving atheist", criticisingorganised religion and calling for "a spiritual revolution".[174] In 2019 he stated he was an atheist.[181]
Ainsworth, John, ed. (2016). "Rose, The End of the World and The Unquiet Dead".Doctor Who: The Complete History. Vol. 48.Panini Comics,Hachette Partworks. pp. 76–81.ISSN2057-6048.
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