December 16, 2018 | Arts / Entertainment

Matt Smith is famed photographer Mapplethorpe in new flick

Actor Matt Smith, probably best known for his stint as the titular character in the British sci-fi series Doctor Who, is playing gay in a new biopic. He'll take the lead in Mapplethorpe, a film about the life and untimely death of Robert Mapplethorpe. 

“In many ways, [playing Robert] felt outside of my comfort zone, outside of the things that come naturally to me, ” Smith told IndieWire. “But then they’re the jobs that I like, because they make you feel alive.”

Without going into detail, Smith admitted he set limits with the movie's director, Ondi Timoner, about what he was and was not willing to do. 

“I think that’s true of every part [I play],” said Smith. “Like, am I prepared to go and live in a hut in South Thailand with 10 other people? Maybe not, or maybe so. It could be anything. Am I prepared to put on [approximately 200 pounds]? It just depends. I think those boundaries always exist, whatever the part, but absolutely, with a part like this, you have to be clear about what level of nudity you’re willing to do.”

There is some full frontal, though, so if you ever wanted to see what Doctor Who's willy looks like, now's your chance!

According to distributor Samuel Goldwyn: “Mapplethorpe revisits the titular photographer’s legacy, beginning at the moment just before he takes up residence in the Chelsea Hotel. There, Mapplethorpe begins to amass a portfolio of images -- and, at the same time, to explore his formerly supressed attraction to men. 

"But Mapplethorpe’s relentless ambition -- as he says in one early scene, 'I can’t just be Mapplethorpe the photographer,' fancying himself a 'modern Michelangelo' -- threatens to tear apart the relationships he cherishes the most. From the early ’70s until his untimely death at age 42, the film explores the intersection of his art and his sexuality, his struggle for mainstream recognition, and, looming above it all, the specter of the emerging AIDS crisis.”