Sci-fi actor David Tennant was asked earlier this week to describe the current presidential election through the lens of one of his characters, a mind controller and expert manipulator named Kilgrave he plays on Netflix’s “Jessica Jones.”
“It seems grotesque to apply the word ‘expert’ to Donald Trump, although clearly he’s doing something right,” Tennant told The Daily Beast. “Let’s hope he’s finally gone too far and it’s all over.”
Tennant was referring to Trump’s long list of controversial declarations, including his Monday comments supporting a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
“People can apparently say the most appalling things and get away with it and go from success to success in terms of their poll numbers,” he said. “It seems like he might have gone too far, but I feel like we’ve said that a few times over the last few months, and it’s only gone the other way.”
The “Doctor Who” star and native Brit compared Trump to U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, another politician known for bombastic rhetoric, though on Wednesday Farage called Trump’s Muslim proposition “a political mistake too far.”
“Clearly people are attracted to that kind of plain-speaking, tell-it-like-it-is politician who often seems to trade on people’s fear rather than people’s hopes,” Tennant said. “They talk about building a better country but their building blocks are about making us afraid and wanting to close ourselves down.”
Going back to the original question, Tennant said that Kilgrave’s powers, though generally used for evil on “Jessica Jones,” might come in handy to deal with politicians like Trump, who currently sits at second place in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings.
“I wish I could do an actual bit of Kilgraving and sort some of these people out,” he said.
