Many actors have been considered for the part of The Doctor in Doctor Who. Here is a list of actors who have been linked to the role.
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Geoffrey Bayldon told Doctor Who Magazine that he had declined the role. He would later play an alternative version of the First Doctor in two plays for the Doctor Who Unbound series of audio plays by Big Finish Productions: Auld Mortality (2003) and A Storm of Angels (2005). Furthermore, he played Organon in the Fourth Doctor serial The Creature from the Pit (1979).
Hugh David was the choice of Rex Tucker, who was the series' "caretaker producer" before the arrival of Verity Lambert. Verity rejected this idea on the grounds that at 38, Hugh was too young.[1] David later became a director and, in that capacity, worked on the Second Doctor serials The Highlanders (1966-7) and Fury from the Deep.
Alan Webb was then offered the role but declined, as did Cyril Cusack.[1]
Leslie French was considered for the role. He later appeared in the Seventh Doctor serial Silver Nemesis (1988) as Lady Peinforte's mathematician.[2]
Rupert Davies, Valentine Dyall and Michael Hordern were all approached for the role but none wanted to commit to a long-running series.[3] Dyall would later play the Black Guardian in the television stories The Armageddon Factor (1979), Mawdryn Undead (1983), Terminus (1983) and Enlightenment (1983) and Slarn in the audio drama Slipback (1985).
Ron Moody was said to be the producers' choice after his success in "Oliver" but he turned down the role, which he later regretted.[3]
Graham Crowden, who would later play Soldeed in The Horns of Nimon (1979-1980), turned down the role as he did not wish to commit himself to a long-term role,[4] while Michael Bentine turned down the role when the production team felt he wanted too much influence over the series' scripts. Other actors considered included Bernard Cribbins [5] and Fulton Mackay, who had previously played Dr. Quinn in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970).[6]
Richard Hearne was offered the role but his insistence that he play the part in the style of his 'Mr Pastry' character was not acceptable to the series' producer, Barry Letts. Also considered was "Carry On" actor Jim Dale.[7]
Richard Griffiths was considered by producers for the role when Tom Baker left.[8]
The final three actors considered for the role were Sylvester McCoy, Ken Campbell[9] and Chris Jury.[10] While Campbell's portrayal was considered too dark for the series, Jury was remembered by the production team and cast as Kingpin in 1988's The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.
Dermot Crowley had also auditioned for the role.[11]
Had the show continued past 1989, the producers were again considering Richard Griffiths for the role of the Doctor.[8]
Actors who auditioned for the role included Rowan Atkinson, Liam Cunningham,[12] Mark McGann (whose brother, Paul McGann eventually got the role),[13] Robert Lindsay, Eric Idle, Tim McInnerny (who appeared in the 4th series of the new series of Doctor Who, in the episode Planet of the Ood ), Nathaniel Parker, Peter Woodward, John Sessions (who later played Tannis in the audio drama Death Comes to Time), Anthony Head (who appeared in the 2nd series of the new series of Doctor Who, in the episode School Reunion ) and Tony Slattery.[14]
Hugh Grant has stated that he turned down the role and expressed his regret once he saw how the show turned out[15]
Bill Nighy was also rumoured to have been offered the role[16] (and was erroneously claimed to have been cast),[17] as was Eddie Izzard after the Fourth Doctor actor, Tom Baker, publicly supported his potential casting.[16]
According to a Sylvester McCoy fansite, Robert Carlyle was in discussions about the role. British bookmakers William Hill then reported that 85% of bets placed on who would be the Eleventh Doctor were bets for Robert Carlyle. A spokesperson for the company said "At this stage it is difficult to tell if the bets are wishful thinking or based on insider knowledge". Robert Carlyle was no longer being considered for the role as he had been cast in the new Stargate series, Stargate Universe.[18]
Harry Lloyd, who played Son of Mine in Family of Blood, impressed Russell T Davies with his performance so much that Davies stated that he would be suitable casting for the Doctor (even though Davies himself would not influence the casting of the Eleventh Doctor). Interestingly when David Tennant announced he was stepping down as the Tenth Doctor, Davies did not reiterate his preference of Harry Lloyd as the Eleventh Doctor but instead stated that Russell Tovey should become the Eleventh Doctor. Tovey had appeared in Doctor Who as Midshipman Frame alongside Tenth Doctor David Tennant in Voyage of the Damned and then reprising this role in a cameo for the Tenth Doctor swansong The End of Time.
On the 14th October 2008, it was widely reported on many websites that Paterson Joseph was being considered [19][20][21]
On 27 November 2008 an Australian newspaper reported a story hinting that Dutch/Australian actor David Knijnenburg was under consideration for the part.[22] Despite the highly speculative nature of the report, it was neither confirmed nor denied by the BBC or the actor himself and the story was picked up by other sources.[23][24] Comparatively unknown outside Australia, his appointment seemed unlikely although he was favourably recommended by previous Doctor Sylvester McCoy.[25]
David Walliams was in the race as well [26]
Benedict Cumberbatch was offered the role, but turned it down.[27] He later went on to star in the TV series Sherlock, created by current Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.
On 3 January 2009, the BBC aired an episode of Doctor Who Confidential that revealed Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. [28]
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