Actors’ faces are not so characterful now, says animator
Martin Geraghty worked on the new Doctor Who animation.
Actors’ faces lack the character they had decades ago, the animator who has brought missing Doctor Who episodes back to life has said.
Martin Geraghty analysed the faces of stars such as Patrick Troughton, Anneke Wills, Michael Craze and Frazer Hines in decades-old episodes of Doctor Who, to create a new animation based on the sci-fi show.
Over a year, he drew “every single facial expression, mouth shape, blink, frown and smile from every single angle” in the new animation of the sci-fi series, The Macra Terror.
And the animation character designer said: “I noticed that actors in the ’60s had such fantastic faces. Most of them are so full of character, most of them lived through a world war.
“They’ve taken a few knocks in childhood because the NHS hadn’t been invented yet.
“So they’ve got these really great, characterful faces which I don’t think you get on TV nowadays. Everyone is airbrushed and looks sparkly and new.”
He told the Press Association: “You don’t see that many character actors on TV who have lived-in faces.
“People expect a level of elegance and beauty on screen now. The polish that’s added to TV now, it detracts from it.”
He added: “I don’t think British actors are particularly vain but people like Aidan Turner and Eddie Redmayne have a level of attractiveness that’s evident on screen and there are certain people from ’60s TV who wouldn’t get a look in now.”
But he said: “It made my job easier because these characters had so many foibles and characteristics and trademarks to their physical appearance.”
The Macra Terror is out on DVD and Blu-ray on March 25.
