Geeks logo

13 Picks For the 13th Doctor

My picks for the new 'Doctor Who' lead role

By Iain ShawPublished 7 years ago 9 min read
Like

Whenever a Doctor says they are handing over the key to the Tardis and their sonic screwdriver as the Timelord a debate rages on who is going to be the next 'Doctor Who'. Below is a rundown of 13 of our picks for the titular Timelord (in no order of preference.

First of all the safe picks…

13) Kevin McKidd

Kevin can currently be seen in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ as the ex-army vet turned city surgeon Doctor Owen Hunt, however he is originally from Scotland. His early career involved roles in such classics as Tommy in 1997’s ‘Trainspotting,’ and Johnny in 1998’s ‘The Acid House,’ and possibly my favourite you may have missed his guessed role in ‘Father Ted’ in 1995 when he played Father Deegan in a Christmas special involving a group of priests stuck in a lingerie department of a clothing store.

He has shown in Grey’s Anatomy alone he can handle serious drama (the scenes of him coping with PTSD alone are award worthy) and fun lighter moments. He would bring an intensity to the role that could match pace with Capaldi.

12) Sir Ian McKellen

I feel like little pitching should be needed here. He is Magneto in the ‘X-Men’ films, Gandalf in ‘Lord of the Rings’ and a knight of the realm that has wowed audience on stage and screen for decades. Yes, this would be another older Doctor and lets face it, that is why this is unlikely. To be brutally honest as much as I have loved Capaldi’s Doctor viewing figures are down and the fact he is an older Doctor will be blamed in part. So I think we are going younger again, which leads us to…

11) Eddie Redmayne

Coming in at a spry 35 might not be the youngest ever Timelord, but would keep those wanting a younger man happy and he would be the first openly gay actor to play the Doctor. His recent role in ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ shows he can play this kind of role in his sleep and he had also shown great range playing real-life figures Stephen Hawkins in 2014’s ‘The Theory of Everything’ and showcasing the life of Danish painter Einar Wegener who was the first man to undergo a sex change operation in ‘The Danish Girl’ (2015). He was also in 'Jupiter Ascending,' but no one is perfect!

For me I think he is an amazing actor and could play the Doctor well but the fact we have seen him just do something very similar puts me off him a bit for the role. He is also unlikely to step away from the movies right now, but 'Doctor Who' is a high profile job, so might be slightly more tempting than most jobs in TV.

Now we step away from white males for some picks outside of the box (if you’ll excuse a mild Tardis pun)…

10) Juliet Landau

The first woman on the list. She was Drusilla in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’ on TV and appeared in Tim Burton’s ‘Ed Wood’ (1994). She has also shown how good a Timelord (or Timelady if your old fashioned) she would make in a few audio books playing an incarnation of one of the Doctor’s former companions, Romana, who was also from the Doctor’s home world of Gallifrey.

For those uncertain of where she hails from, she is British/American, so that covers what for me is a necessity for the Doctor of being British. Yes, that is the hill I want to die on!

Juliet has an other worldliness to her that would be the Doctor to a 'T' and even comes from sci-fi pedigree as her Mum and Dad met filming 'Space' 1999 (Martin Landau & Barbara Bain).

9) Gillian Anderson

Another British/American actress who has deep sci-fi roots being best known for playing the ever skeptical Scully in hit American TV show and 2 films, the 'X Files'.

You may notice me not pick too many young starlets for the Doctor. I think the actresses I name here could really show they have lived 2000 plus years and seen the world. Anderson is funny, charming, has gravitas as an actor and has shown in the 'X Files' she can manage the running involved.

8) Merra Syal

Another woman, this time a pick who isn’t white. Surly it is time to do something a little different with the role. If nothing else it would lead to more stories and possibly more challenges for the Doctor visiting a past where non-white and non-male where less in fashion! Merra is an Asian actress, comedian, writer, singer, journalist, rights activist and producer who came into the public eye in the UK in comedy sketch show ‘Goodness Gracious Me’. With a skill set like this she would not only be a great Doctor, but she could practically run the show. If any Who fans aren’t familiar with her work, go back to your boxset of series 5 of ‘Nu Who’ and the episodes ‘The Hungry Earth’ & ‘Cold Blood’ where she played alongside Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor as Nasreen Chaudhry.

Speaking of non-white actors in the role who have been in Doctor Who before...

7) David Harewood

Speaking to BBC news about speculation on him playing the role, he said "It’s nice to be in the running and the next Doctor should be something different, so I think it’s either going to be a black person or a woman". He was last seen in 'Doctor Who' in David Tennant’s regeneration 2 parter ‘The End of Time’.

He can currently be seen in CW’s Supergirl as the Martian Manhunter. He is known for intense and edgy roles but he can also show a lighter, funnier side as displayed in Supergirl.

6) Tilda Swinton

Not only another female pick, but I think it speaks volumes that she is the bookies favourite to play the Doctor. She has a wonderful androgyny to her that always reminds me a bit of David Bowie. Previous suggestion David Harewood said, "She’s extraordinary anyway so I think she’d be great… It would be a very different Doctor and maybe that’s what it needs".

She is just coming off box office smash 'Doctor Strange' and could be another one that is hard to lure away from Hollywood at this time.

5) Idris Elba

Another one that could be too successful as it is to want to return to TV. Elba came to prominence as ‘Luther’ (2010 - 2015) in the Detective show of the same name and ‘The Wire’ (2002 - 2004) and has since starred in such films as ‘Thor’ (2011), ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ (2013), ‘Star Trek: Beyond’ (2016) just to name a few.

He comes up in any discussion of who could play the next James Bond, but has said he would not be interested in the role. Although I am a great fan of his as an actor, he may be better suited to Bond than the Doctor, but you really can’t go too far wrong with him.

4) Dev Patel

At 26 he is the youngest pick on this list. He became known in the UK in teen drama ‘Skins’ (2007) but shot to international fame in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as the ‘chaiwala’ who finds himself recalling his life through the questions asked of him on a gameshow. For me the role that showed me he was capable of more far-reaching roles was when he starred in ‘The Newsroom’ (2012 - 2014) as Neal Sampat, a geeky technician who shows he is smarter than his years, a needed quality for a young Doctor. He had also recently wowed audiences in low budget drama ‘Lion’.

3) Olivia Coleman

I was skeptical when I first heard this name, but the more I think about it, the more I think it’s a winner. She is currently to be seen in the final series of ITV hit show 'Broadchurch' being showrun by next year’s new 'Doctor Who' showrunner Chris Chibnall. Her first best known show in the UK was the underground hit ‘Peepshow’ on channel 4. She’s since been a staple of British TV and came to worldwide fame on the back of ‘Broadchurch’ and the success of the ‘Night Manager’ (2016) for which she won a Golden Globe. She also featured in Matt Smith’s debut episode of Doctor Who ‘Eleventh Hour’ (2010).

She is in the bookies top 5 picks in most lists and is just simply a versatile and wonderful actor.

2) Eddie Izzard

Known in the UK primarily as an amazing, transvestite, surrealist comedian foremost, he is also an often over looked amazing actor.

You might have caught him in films like ‘The Cat’s Meow’ (2001) as Charlie Chaplin or in 'Mystery Men' (1999) as Tony P, or for that matter Valkrie (2008) as General Erich Felliebel. All of which he makes interesting and engaging choices. I would also point you toward his TV work in ‘The Riches’ and Hannibal (2013) as Dr Abel Giddeon. Or one of my favourites was Mockingbird Lane, the 2012 attempted reboot of ‘The Munsters’ as a serious drama. Although the show itself wasn’t that great, Izzards performance as Grandpa was. He is the type of actor that really sneaks up on most and would make a perfect Doctor.

1) An Unknown

It would go back to the tradition of how the Doctor has been cast most of the time. Whereas, I would be pleased to turn on my TV and see any of the above as the Doctor, an unknown or lesser known Doctor always comes in with less baggage (maybe less so if they are braver with casting and put a woman, someone who is LGBT, or someone who isn’t white in the role) but with an unknown actor we are unencumbered by the other work they have done. David Tennant and Tom Baker are the most successful of the Doctors of their incarnations of the show. Tennant had been in a handful of roles of any note at the time, and Baker was working as a bricklayer because he was finding it hard to find work at the time.

Whoever the new Doctor is, I hope they are as fantastic as the ones so far. Who would you pick?

I talk through these picks and more on the Gallifrey Stands podcast here.

pop culturecelebritieslisttv
Like

About the Creator

Iain Shaw

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.