What actor currently plays Doctor Who?
8209#2
Thirteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which a Time Lord "transforms" into a new body when the current one is too badly harmed to heal normally. Each actor's portrayal is unique, but all represent stages in the life of the same character. Together, they form a single lifetime with a single narrative. The time-travelling feature of the plot means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet. The Doctor is currently portrayed by Jodie Whittaker, who took on the role after Peter Capaldi's exit in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time".
Doctor Who
959699#55
Jodie Whittaker took over the role as the Thirteenth Doctor in the 2017 Christmas special. In addition to the above-listed actors, others have played versions of the Doctor for the duration of particular storylines.
Notably, John Hurt guest starred as the War Doctor in the closing moments of the 2013 episode "The Name of the Doctor", the webcast "The Night of the Doctor" and the 50th Anniversary episode "The Day of the Doctor". The War Doctor is an incarnation existing between those of McGann and Eccleston. Hurt was never the programme's lead actor; his Doctor was retroactively inserted into continuity for the programme's 50th anniversary, and was written so as not to disturb the ordinal naming of the established Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. In the 1986 serial "The Trial of a Time Lord", Michael Jayston played the Valeyard, an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incarnations.
The Doctor (Doctor Who)
8209#45
On rare occasions, other actors have stood in for the lead. In "The Five Doctors", Richard Hurndall played the First Doctor due to William Hartnell's death in 1975; 34 years later David Bradley similarly replaced Hartnell in "Twice Upon a Time". In "Time and the Rani", Sylvester McCoy briefly played the Sixth Doctor during the regeneration sequence, carrying on as the Seventh. For more information, see the list of actors who have played the Doctor. In other media, the Doctor has been played by various other actors, including Peter Cushing in two films.
Doctor Who
359013#10
The "Doctor Who" audio plays have, to date, featured six of the nine living actors to play the character of the Doctor in the series (Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, and David Tennant), as well as many of the regular supporting actors over the many years of the programme. The late Jon Pertwee's voice is featured in the 40th-anniversary story "Zagreus". His part in the story was pieced together from snippets of Pertwee's dialogue from the fan-produced "Doctor Who" video "Devious". The actor John Hurt also recorded appearances as the War Doctor for Big Finish prior to his death in 2017.
Big Finish Productions
1994520#0
Since the beginning of the British science fiction television series "Doctor Who" in 1963, many actors have played the title character of The Doctor on television and in various BBC-licensed spin-offs on television, stage, radio, film, audio plays and webcasts. The character's ability to periodically regenerate his appearance and personality has facilitated the ability of new actors to take over the role – in both official and unofficial productions – while in most cases maintaining continuity with the television series.
List of actors who have played the Doctor
8209#100
"Doctor Who" has appeared on stage numerous times. In the early 1970s, Trevor Martin played the role in "Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday". In the late 1980s, Jon Pertwee and Colin Baker both played the Doctor at different times during the run of a play titled "Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure". For two performances, while Pertwee was ill, David Banks (better known for playing Cybermen) played the Doctor. Other original plays have been staged as amateur productions, with other actors playing the Doctor, while Terry Nation wrote "The Curse of the Daleks", a stage play mounted in the late 1960s, but without the Doctor.
Doctor Who
471755#11
Among the actors who were invited to audition for the role of the Doctor but declined the opportunity were Christopher Eccleston and Peter Capaldi. Eccleston and Capaldi would go on to play the Ninth and Twelfth incarnations of the Doctor, respectively, in the revived series of "Doctor Who" which began in 2005. Eccleston turned down the offer to audition for the TV Movie because at the time he felt he was not yet an established enough actor and did not want to be associated with a "brand name" so early in his career. Capaldi declined because he felt it was unlikely that he would be given the part.
Doctor Who (film)
24612086#4
The series introduced the Eleventh Doctor, played by Matt Smith. This followed the departure of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, who left the show to help ease the transition from Davies to Moffat. Smith's agent called him, suggesting that he audition for the role. Moffat wanted to cast a middle-aged actor, "young enough to run but old enough to look wise". When Smith was the third person to audition the production team knew "[they] had their man", although he was 26 years old. The producers were cautious about casting Smith because they felt that a 26-year-old actor could not play the Doctor; although BBC Head of Drama and executive producer Piers Wenger agreed, he said that Smith was capable enough to play the part. According to Moffat, Smith did not appear youthful. Smith's casting was announced during an episode of the "Doctor Who" companion show "Doctor Who Confidential", when he described the role as "a wonderful privilege and challenge that I hope I will thrive on".
Doctor Who (series 5)
898089#8
It was announced in March 2004 that Christopher Eccleston would be playing the Doctor. Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning, stated that casting an actor of Eccleston's reputation signaled "our intention to take "Doctor Who" into the 21st century, as well as retaining its core traditional values — to be surprising, edgy and eccentric." Eccleston is the ninth actor to play the Doctor since the programme started in 1963. New actors are able to take over the role through a plot device of regeneration, introduced in 1966, in which the character of the Doctor changes body and identity. Russell T Davies decided to begin the revived series with a new Doctor rather than show the regeneration, as he believed it was "madness" to start with someone and then change him before the audience could build a relationship with him. Davies wanted to initially approach the revival as a "new programme". Eccleston's character is more "down-to-earth" than previous Doctors; Davies referred to him as "stripped down", while still having "fun and humour". Eccleston's costume of a battered leather jacket was in Davies' original pitch, but the clothing also went with Eccleston's desire not to have clothes dominating his time on the show. The Ninth Doctor's clothes do not dominate him, but rather create a simple silhouette and an "action man" vibe.
Rose (Doctor Who episode)
6704437#63
More visibly, many Australians – or Britons with some connection to Australia – have appeared on-screen in "Doctor Who". The 1963 serial "The Daleks" featured several Australian actors: John Lee played Alydon, while Robert Jewell and Kevin Manser made their first contributions as Dalek operators, roles they revisited numerous times throughout the 1960s. Ilona Rodgers played Carol in the 1964 serial "The Sensorites" - Rodgers relocated to Australia in the late-1970s, then to New Zealand in the mid-1980s. Australian actor Ray Barrett played Bennett/Koquillion in the 1965 serial "The Rescue". Australian actor David Nettheim and the South African-born Australian actor Bill Kerr both portrayed Australian characters in the 1967 serial "The Enemy of the World". New Zealand-born actress Louise Pajo played Gia Kelly in the 1969 serial "The Seeds of Death" - Pajo completed her training in the UK before relocating to Australia during the 1970s. Katy Manning played companion Jo Grant 1971–73 and later lived in Australia for many years, becoming an Australian citizen and the patron of the Doctor Who Club of Australia. Australian actor Kevin Lindsay played Cho-Je in "Planet of the Spiders", as well as various Sontarans in both "The Time Warrior" and "The Sontaran Experiment". Australian actress Janet Fielding played companion Tegan 1981–84, while Fielding's contemporary Mark Strickson played companion Turlough 1983–84 - Strickson lived in Australia for many years before settling in New Zealand. British actress Liza Goddard played Kari in the 1983 serial "Terminus" - Goddard moved to Australia with her family in 1965 after her father's appointment as the ABC's Head of Drama and later starred in the first two seasons of "Skippy the Bush Kangaroo", before returning to the UK in 1969. Australian singer and actress Kylie Minogue played Astrid Peth in the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned" and Australian actor Peter O'Brien played Ed Gold in the 2009 special "The Waters of Mars".
Australia itself has also featured in "Doctor Who" more than once, though without ever having been filmed or produced locally. The Second Doctor 1967–68 serial "The Enemy of the World" was set on and near an unnamed Australian beach in 2018 and featured a cast of characters who were supposed to be Australian, though virtually all were played by British actors. As well, in the Fifth Doctor 1982 serial "Four to Doomsday", the main villain, Monarch, was said to have visited Earth in the distant past, gathering 'samples' of the local people as he went; included in his collection was an Aboriginal tribal elder and his tribesmen, following Monarch's visit to the Australian continent.
A scene from the first episode of Series 10, "The Pilot" (premiered in Australia on April 16, 2017) was shot near Circular Quay, Sydney; the first "Doctor Who" scene shot in Australia.
Doctor Who in Australia