Though Gemma Chan had a guest appearance on Doctor Who season 4, she didn’t make it any further than one episode. It was the first significant role of Chan’s career, as she was completely unknown at the time, but it quickly opened up other opportunities that allowed her to rise within the industry. Despite only having a few lines, Chan made a huge impact on the episode and quickly found herself appearing in other popular series such as The IT Crowd and Sherlock. Without this role, it’s hard to imagine that Chan’s career would’ve been given the boost that it needed.
Most audiences will know Chan from the MCU blockbuster Eternals, which introduced some of the most exciting new superheroes of Marvel’s Phase 4. This role transformed her into a household name, likely opening the door to potential returns to that character in the future. Outside of Eternals, Chan is well-known for her work in the genre-defining film Crazy Rich Asians, which housed a formidable cast of talented Asian actors and actresses. Though her role in Doctor Who wasn’t quite as memorable, it was the start of an important journey.
Gemma Chan Played Mia Bennett In The Doctor Who Special “The Water Of Mars”
After separating from his long-time companion Donna Noble in “Journey’s End," the Doctor spent a couple of episodes traveling the universe by himself. One of these adventures, "The Water of Mars," took him to the planet Mars, where he encountered The Flood, one of Doctor Who’s scariest aliens. While on Mars, he discovered a team of human scientists that had colonized the planet for their biological experiments, one of whom was Gemma Chan’s character, Mia Bennett. She was an American geologist who’d always been fascinated with space travel, which brought her to Bowie Base One to conduct her studies.
Unlike most of the humans that the Doctor meets along his travels, Mia Bennett was special. He knew her death was a fixed point in time and that his pursuits to save her life would ultimately prove fruitless. This made her journey fascinating to watch, not least because of the Doctor’s eventual decision to break the laws of time and save her. This marked the climax of the Doctor’s Time Lord Victorious storyline after he grew too powerful and angry for his own good. Mia Bennett’s supposed death and eventual survival were huge contributors to the Doctor’s realization of his own downfall, which made her an extremely special guest star.
How Gemma Chan's Doctor Who Part Compares To Her Eternals Part
After watching Eternals, viewers may have noted a few similarities between Gemma Chan’s role as Sersi and her previous turn as Mia Bennett on Doctor Who. Although Sersi is much more powerful and gifted, both women are extremely headstrong and determined to protect the people around them. This led to Sersi being instated as the leader of the Eternals, and Bennett being willing to sacrifice herself for her team. They both put their friends’ lives ahead of their own, regardless of the characters’ conflicting skill sets. Sersi may have superpowers that make her more powerful and reliable, but Bennett’s heart and mind are just as strong.
Eternals’ Sersi is a brilliant leader, and although Bennett was never given the opportunity to lead her team, she clearly proved her appreciation and comion for her friends after the Doctor saved her life. She spent her remaining days informing the world of exactly what happened on Bowie Base One, chronicling all the sacrifices and losses that allowed her to return safely to Earth. In this way, she displays the same courage and respect that allowed Sersi to swiftly climb to the top of the ranks with the Eternals while Bennett's leadership qualities were never given a chance to shine in Doctor Who.
