Meeting Strax, aka Dan Starkey

Dan Starkey may not be a household name, but to Doctor Who fans, he's been integral to the portrayal of the Sontaran race in the last few seasons. He's most known for his role as Strax nowadays. But he started off as Sontaran Commander Skorr in 2008 in the episode "The Sontaran Stratagem". Then was cast as Commandar Jast in "The End of Time: Part 2" with David Tennant. Then finally coming back as Strax in "A Good Man Goes to War" with Matt Smith as the Doctor. This would be his iconic role in Doctor Who and the one now many rumor and fans want as a spin-off with Strax, Jenny and Madame Vastra. More on that later...

photo courtesy of BBC

So at the last minute, seeing a tweet from the Nerdist, Chris Hardwick, last Tuesday I was able to meet the amazing Dan Starkey!

He was in town for that Friday's, WhoYork event signing and q&a. I hadn't realized not only was he in town for the whole week prior to, but also had an interview and live podcast planned with the Comic Book Live crew. Whom, honestly I hadn't really heard of before since I don't listen to many podcasts.

Either way, I was eager to see Dan. So, I called my friend and told him to drop what he was doing, we were going to meet Strax!

Soooo glad I did. The podcast gang was so much fun! So funny. And they interviewed Dan. There was only a handful of us in the audience. So it was nice to be able to talk to Dan after the podcast and get a pic with him.

Because we asked questions to Dan, my friend and I won a stack of comics from the group (Thank you!) And then my friend won for best question, a superhero walking tour in the city. Sweet!

But back to Dan... He explained how in the beginning of being asked to be a Sontaran how he went into the audition as a normal actor, using his normal voice and acting skills. But they wanted something more "alien" so he went with the voice we hear today.

He also explained how the makeup process is for him. It's several hours of prosthetic being placed on his entire head. He says it's like a giant thumb with a hole for the face! HA! Dan is hilarious. But it does go all the way down to his shoulders. (see pic below) He has about seven inches of the prosthetic over his ears so he can't hear much. Which not only proves challenging to hear his directions and cues from other actors and the director but also to know how loudly he is speaking for his own part.

A pic of Dan inside his "thumb" costume.

Dan mentioned that the actress who plays Madame Vastra, a lizard-like creature also has the same problem, though, her prosthetic isn't quite as thick so she can hear a bit more than he can. But they both get into the chair a few hours before anyone else needs makeup to have their prosthetics put on. Dan's learned to meditate and even fall asleep as the makeup people slap on the glue and makeup for his character because he's so used to it now.

Dan and his alter ego Strax

Since the podcast was also mostly about comics, Dan was asked if he read comics as a kid growing up in London since nerdom wasn't that prevalent there. But he did say he did read a few comics over time but not a lot.

Dan has heard the fans wanting a spin-off series with Strax, Madame Vastra and Jenny but there are no confirmed talks or anything from the BBC and he hasn't been asked to do anything else with Strax at the moment, but fans will keep hoping... He did say if it ever happened, he believes it would be well-received.

Madame Vastra, Strax and Jenny

So then I saw Dan again on Friday night, at the aforementioned WhoYork event. It started with a nice long q&a with Dan where he discussed the obvious prosthetic process again and what it was like to be Strax. He talked about the audition process as well. Once the questions got a little looser, Dan laughed and made more jokes. Even to the point of singing holiday tunes as Strax, to which we all said we'd buy our copies that day!! It was hilarious. Here's some video to prove it! The video is dark, apologies. But you can at least listen to it.

 

video of Strax/Dan Starkey singing Christmas carols. Sorry it's so dark.

Dan with our host Barnaby who runs WhoYork events in NYC

Dan talked about his time on Sarah Jane Adventures and being around the wonderful and professional Elizabeth Sladen to which we all tipped our invisible hats to at the mention of her name. (I almost want to say that last part like River Song/Alex Kingston did when she talked about the Doctor in "A Good Man Goes to War")

He also discussed ripping his rubber pants of the Sontaran outfit (hey, that's what he calls them! haha) He took great long strides as Strax but that proved to be a disaster at one point when the crew quickly stopped the scene and the makeup and prosthetic folks whisked him away to patch up his crotch area where the rubber pants suit had ripped.

You can find Dan on Wizards and Aliens now, which he plays a hobgoblin. I need to check out this series still. He wishes one day the world will know who he is by playing a human or at least someone with his own face and body. But for now he's ever so grateful for all the press as Strax and the doors Doctor Who has opened for him.

And lastly, here's me and Dan! Thanks for a great week Dan! Hope to see you again soon!

Me and Dan at Fontana's ComicBookLive podcast

  

Me and Dan after WhoYork q&a