INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

‘Doctor Who’: Peter Capaldi Sends Heartwarming Message To Autistic Boy

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 04:36 PST, Nov 8, 2014

Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi recently reached out to a young fan, recording a video for a 9-year-old autistic boy who had suffered the death of a loved one, a selfless act that the boy’s family claims helped their son in a profound manner.

Capaldi personally sent the message of support to his young fan, Thomas, whose grandmother had recently passed away, according to the Mirror. The video was posted to YouTube by Thomas’ father, Ross Goodall, on Thursday.

“A lovely message from Peter Capaldi to my 9 year old autistic son,” Goodall noted. “This arrived just before Thomas’ nanny’s funeral and helped him to deal with his grief in a profound way. Thankyou[sic] Peter so much.”

In the video, the 56-year-old Capaldi remains in character as the Time Lord, thanking Thomas for his fan letter. Capaldi goes on to explain that as he travels through time and space with his companion, Clara, they face constant challenges.

“Sometimes bad things happen to us. And do you know what, Thomas? Sometimes sad things happen to us, too,” Capaldi says. “So it’s nice to know there’s somebody out there like you on our side.”

Capaldi ends the 42-second-long message by telling Thomas to take care of himself, and be happy.

As the Daily Mail notes, Capaldi is no stranger to Doctor Who fan mail. As a 14-year-old, he regularly wrote to the Doctor Who production team, asking for set photos. In 1972, Capaldi even asked to be made president of the Official Doctor Who Fan Club, though the spot had already been filled by a rival fan, 13-year-old Keith Miller. Sarah Newman, secretary to Doctor Who’s producer, even complained about Peter Capaldi once in a letter to Miller.

“You’re not by any means worse than Peter C,” She observed. “I think he’s the end and I wish the Daleks or someone would exterminate him or something to that effect.”

The young superfan recently came full circle, stepping into the role of The Doctor earlier this year. Portraying the Time Lord’s 12th regeneration, Capaldi initially faced criticism that he was too old for the part. As the Inquisitr previously noted, Capaldi’s interpretation of the Doctor is markedly different from that of his immediate predecessor, Matt Smith.

“Death in Heaven,” the final episode of Peter Capaldi’s first Doctor Who season, airs tonight.

[Image: Peter Capaldi, via YouTube]

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