Actors who could be a great Doctor Who/The Doctor

I want to say right away that I have no problem with Peter Capaldi. He's a great choice and I'm looking forward to his performance. However like many sci-fi fans I like to ponder the what ifs of the world which is why I've made this list. Here's a list of actors who I think would make great Doctors and possibly could be one day.

To most of America he may be known as "the guy from Pirates of the Caribbean", but Davenport is much more. Jack Davenport has proven his dramatic capabilities but also his comedic potential which is essential to play the Doctor. Nowhere did he prove this better than in the BBC show Coupling. His character - named jack - appeared normal to most until something really bugged him. It was instances like this that Davenport demonstrated the ability to lose himself in hilarious monologues about trivial things. This ability could be easily be applied to a portrayal of The Doctor. Davenport also has the added bonus that he hasn't been type cast as anyone so it would be easy for an audience to watch him without thinking of another character he's played.

You can almost picture it when he mentions Daleks in the clip below.

Not well known to many except fans of BBC show Being Human in which he played an obsessive compulsive vampire. From this performance alone, however, something very Doctor like emerges. Lets have a look: A character not very human like, check; a tortured character, check; a character with strange obsessions, check.These traits could lend themselves to a Doctor who is more timid and not as flamboyant as the rest but instead one who finds beauty in the details. Not sweeping a female companion off her feet but instead intriguing her.

One can almost foresee a very reserved character showing passionate curiosity more than anything else. Then when the situation becomes dire, Molony would break out into fast paced pedantics to save the day, carrying a smirk when all becomes well again.

The clip below showcases exactly what I mean.

This one would certainly take some getting used too. After his performance as Sherlock Holmes' nemesis many would have trouble seeing him as a sympathetic alien time traveler. Companions would definitely be a little creeped out. However if Scott has proven anything it's that he can approach an established character in a different way and make it work. Many weren't sure about his soft voice and small figure in the role of Moriarty, but now he's seen as the best version. Could the same happen if he were cast as the Time Lord?

No actor wants to be type cast and a role such as the Doctor gives actors a chance to let loose and come up with something completely different. Perhaps Scott could turn his voice into an energetic pattern or transform his cold creepiness into cool swavness (probably not a word). This being Doctor Who after all, anything is possible.

Once again a casting decision against type. Most sci-fi fans won't know Callis as anyone else but the cowardly, cunning genius Gaius Baltar. Going from Battlestar Galactica to Doctor Who would certainly up Callis' geek cred but besides his accent could he bring anything else to the role? Well yes.

For one thing Callis as a person has an undeniable sense of cool and swavness. Undoubtedly this would come through as the Doctor. Callis also demonstrates that he's fully capable of rattling off techno babel as any sci-fi actor should. But the best trait that Callis could bring is unexpectedly a sense of vulnerability. As Baltar Callis often broke down into fits of rage or tears as his character's guilt would undermine his supreme intellect - sound familiar?

Oddly enough James Callis could potentially become the smoothest but also the most tragic Doctor.

P.S This man was robbed of an award for BSG

If any actor has proven they have range then Elliott has done so ten fold. From dashing to menacing from comedic to darkly intelligent. Elliott has a surprisingly large body of work and critical praise despite many not knowing who he actually is. With so many different roles under his belt and no type casting the Doctor would be a completely original creation on his part, drawing aspects from several characters he's played to create a new one.

The two roles however present themselves as proof that he has the chops. Moray from Paradise and Christian King from the short lived show Paradox. Moray gave him the likability the sense of a leading man while King gave him a dark intelligence. Combining both elements could create a Doctor akin to Jon Pertwee or Christopher Eccelston (who was my personal favourite btw).

In the clip below this scene could almost be the Doctor introducing a new companion to the Tardis, if he were a little more charming.

Now for this section I discuss actors/actresses who would fit the part but I'm unsure would ever take it. The ones I have already named are at a point where they could realistically take on the role. These mentions, however, are not.

Hiddleston certainly has the vote from the ladies. His devious turn as Norse God Loki has earned him mainstream success in the Marvel universe and infinite amounts of geek cred. However being such a big name in Hollywood and in the Marvel universe makes his portrayal of the Doctor unlikely to happen. He's already tied into a massive movie franchise and while returning to the UK for a TV franchise wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing it simply isn't on the cards for Hiddleston.

Time and time again this man's name comes up and not surprisingly. The actor is already closely associated with Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat. He has portrayed all the characteristics that a version of the Doctor could have so why not? Isn't he a perfect fit? Well there in lies the problem. He's too perfect mainly because we've already seen Cumberbatch's Doctor, he's just called Sherlock Holmes. Now don't get me wrong, Sherlock is a brilliant show and Cumberbatch is a brilliant actor. However I struggle to see what Cumberbatch could do differently if he were to take on the Doctor. I personally think that because both Sherlock and Doctor Who are so closely associated that we'd just get Sherlock in space.

A lot of people still see McAvoy as an up and coming star, but he's already established himself as a mainstream actor in films such as X-Men First Class. Most of the time when actors make it in Hollywood they very rarely return to the UK (which is partly why Eccelston's time was so short). McAvoy could definitely take on the role, but at this point in time I don't think he wants to. McAvoy in the past few years has shown an active attempt at challenging himself as an actor - see Filth. McAvoy is avoiding being typecast at every turn and refusing to be confined to one kind of role which is highly commendable.

However if he were to become the next Doctor he would quickly fall back into dreamboat, swav youngster image which is what he seems to be avoiding. With the exception of X-Men most of McAvoy's roles have been far from sure fire career boosts. If the writing wasn't so strong his role in Filth could have put viewers off his character and driven his audience away. Doctor Who, however, would be a definite career boost, but not the one he's looking for.

On the subject of the Doctor regenerating into a woman: that's a much more complicated issue. Some ask, "Why not just do it?". Well that's a conversation for another hub.