Scottish Actor Peter Capaldi Arrives For The World Premiere Of His Film 'World War Z.'
Scottish actor Peter Capaldi arrives for the world premiere of his film "World War Z" in London June 2, 2013. Reuters

Peter Capaldi has reached out to a grieving 9-year-old autistic boy whose grandmother has died. The 56-year-old Scottish actor appeared as his character “Doctor Who” in a heart-warming video he sent to the boy.

On Thursday, Mr Ross Goodall posted a video of Capaldi addressing his son, who was struggling to cope with his beloved grandmother’s death. According to Goodall, Capaldi helped his son Thomas deal with his grief over the death of Goodall’s mother simply by recording a brief message for him.

In the barely a minute clip, Capaldi speaks in character as he addresses Thomas directly. He thanks the boy for writing him a letter, saying that, like Thomas, the Doctor and his companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) also encounters sad things.

“Thomas, hello! Thank you very much for your letter. I really enjoyed getting it,” Capaldi, as the 12th Doctor, said in the video, “because you see when Clara and I are travelling around in time and space, sometimes bad things happen to us.

“And you know what, Thomas? Sometimes sad things happen to us, too. So what’s nice to know is that there’s somebody like you out there who’s on our side. And you should know that we’re on your side, too. So you look after yourself and take care and be happy. Bye!”

It was a short and simple message, but one that has had a profound impact on the little boy. His father shared that the video arrived just before Thomas’ grandmother’s funeral, and it has helped him deal with his grief.

“Made such a huge difference and helped him cope with the hardest of days,” Goodall wrote on YouTube about Capaldi’s message, adding that he had no idea the video would go virla. “It was an incredibly kind thing to do that has help Thomas gain perspective and not feel so alone in his grief. Where Thomas is autistic, he doesn’t feel emotions the same way the rest of us do so this has been incredibly hard for him. This message seems to have given him the strength to keep going, with his chin up.” [sic]

He added, “Wish I could thank Mr Capaldi in person.”

Comments on the video have been largely positive, with both “Doctor Who” fans and casual viewers alike praising Capaldi for taking time to help cheer up a mourning child. As some of the fans noted, although Capaldi plays the character as a darker, less playful Doctor who couldn’t be bothered with looking after children, he made an exception for Thomas when he spoke to the young boy with concern in the video.

Meanwhile, the series eight of “Doctor Who” has concluded on Sunday with “Death in Heaven.” Capaldi will be back for a Christmas special before the series nine starts.