'Doctor Who' lands a jolly old elf for Christmas show
London doesn't usually have a white Christmas, which is why the annual Doctor Who Christmas special is such a big deal for Nick Frost: There's always guaranteed snowfall on Dec. 25.
The British actor and lifelong sci-fi fan gets up close and personal with the Doctor like never before Thursday (BBC America, 9 p.m. ET/PT) when Frost plays Santa Claus opposite Who star Peter Capaldi in "Last Christmas," this year's holiday episode written by executive producer Steven Moffat.
"We always go hell-for-leather for the Christmas angle," Moffat says, "and for some people who are grumpy at Christmas, they won't like it that much."
It's the tenth Christmas special since Russell T Davies jump-started the long-running TV franchise, which started in 1963.
Since then, Christmases have seen an attack of Cybermen, an intergalactic Titanic and even killer snowmen, but this year's special is a psychological thriller that's one of the darkest and scariest yet, says Jenna Coleman, who stars as the Doctor's companion Clara Oswald.
Last month's season finale seemingly had the Doctor and Clara going their separate ways following the death of Clara's boyfriend Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson) and his resurrection as one of the Cybermen. But in the special, Santa sends them to a base at the polar ice cap under siege by monsters.
"There's some proper horror-movie stuff going on in this one," says Moffat, likening it to Alien meets Miracle on 34th Street. "It's not a mash-up anyone had particularly anticipated but it's there, man. It's fun to see the Doctor trying to solve an alien monster problem with Santa Claus at his side."
Having Santa around does makes it seem like Doctor Who may be doing "one of our very mad lovely festive saccharine" specials, but Frost's take on the big man with a beard is as "a Cockney gangster Santa," Moffat says. "He's a proper working man with a big sack load of toys to deliver to all of civilization. That can make you just a little bit hard-edged."
Coleman finds Frost to be a brilliant balance between "the Santa you see on Christmas cards who's very traditional and also one of your mates down the street." And Frost is glad that his Claus isn't candy-coated or particularly nice.
"He's very lippy," Frost says, "and he and the Doctor are immediately at loggerheads and you're not really sure why, due to their whole history."
Between Doctor Who and Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Moffat writes some iconic characters, but he's long dreamed of writing scenes where people get to confront Santa.
"If you came face to face with Santa, you'd have some reasonable questions," Moffat explains. "Some foolish skeptics might say, 'I thought it was my mom and dad,' and Santa would roll around laughing and say, 'Why would they do that? Come on, it's me. That's just a story.' And then you'd ask how he gets around to all the houses and where does he put all the presents, and he has answers for all those things."
And Frost is a perfect man with the bag. "He's got the beard, he's got the shape. But also there's a coolness to Nick. He's got a kind of sass to him that makes him fit in the Doctor Who world."
Best known for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End, with friends Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, Frost grew up in the 1970s and '80s with Tom Baker as his first Doctor.
Actually being on the Welsh set of a Doctor Who special was an amazing experience for him.
"When you see a rubbery monster in a jar, you get a tingle of 'Ooooh!' " Frost says. "Those are the times when I had a giant kind of freak-out."
Most of his scenes are on the North Pole, but from his vantage point he could see the set of the Doctor's time-traveling police box, the TARDIS, one soundstage over.
But he didn't want to go traipsing around and pushing buttons in his down time, Frost says. Instead he savored that moment for his scene on the TARDIS. "I couldn't believe how much of a child I felt. It was so incredible to be on an iconic flying ship that I've known since I was 4 years old."