Meet Your New Doctor

Five things to know about the 11th man to earn a PhD in Who-ness

Every good nerd knows that tomorrow the new Doctor Who makes its U.S. debut on BBC-America. The Brits have already seen the episode and their critics unanimously loved new doctor Matt Smith, which is impressive because English people usually hate everything. (Except crumpets.) But before you welcome Smith into your life this weekend, here are a few things to know:

He’d rather be playing soccer Growing up as a promising athlete and playing on elite football (by which we mean soccer) teams in his teens, Smith aimed to become a professional ball kicker. Then, at 16, he got a back injury that sent him into rehab for a year and essentially ended any pro sports dreams. But starring in history’s longest running sci-fi series isn’t a bad fallback career option.

He’s channeling Einstein When asked if he’s basing his doctor on anyone, Smith has replied, “I thought of all the people on Earth who would be a little like the Doctor, and Einstein’s probably the closest or has a mind that’s the closest to the Doctor.”

He has a letter from a past life Just as U.S. presidents do, Smith’s immediate past-predecessor, 10th doctor David Tennant, left Smith a sealed envelope containing advice for his time-traveling successor.

He lives in a church With the money from his new role, Smith bought his first house: a $1.2 million mansion that’s actually an old, converted church.

He writes Doctor Who stories While waiting to film his first season, Smith worked on his character by penning Doctor Who short stories. The plot found the doctor and Einstein—yes, Einstein again—heading to Egypt where they froze time and built the pyramids for a pharaoh with an addiction to grapes. Which is to say, perhaps it’s best that Smith is just the show’s new actor, and not, say, its new head writer.

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