List of actors who have played the Doctor
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2009) |
This is a list of actors who have played the Doctor role in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Since the series began 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. However, as noted below, some actors have played versions of the Doctor that depart from the canon.
This list does not include stand-ins, stunt men, most actors featured in sketch comedies and send-ups or Doctors who have appeared in fan films, amateur stage shows or audios.
Actors in the official television continuity
Actor (role) |
Tenure | First regular appearance | Last regular appearance |
---|---|---|---|
William Hartnell (First Doctor) |
23 November 1963 – 29 October 1966 | An Unearthly Child Episode 1 |
The Tenth Planet Episode 4 |
William Hartnell also played the Doctor in "An Unearthly Child", also known as 'The Pilot Episode'. This was the first attempt at the first episode of the original series, filmed in September 1963, and first released on The Hartnell Years VHS in 1990. Other appearances:
| |||
Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor) |
29 October 1966 – 21 June 1969 | The Tenth Planet Episode 4 |
The War Games Episode 10 |
Other appearances:
| |||
Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor) |
3 January 1970 – 8 June 1974 | Spearhead from Space Episode 1 |
Planet of the Spiders Part Six |
Other appearances:
| |||
Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) |
8 June 1974 – 21 March 1981 | Planet of the Spiders Part Six |
Logopolis Part Four |
Other appearances:
| |||
Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor) |
21 March 1981 – 16 March 1984 | Logopolis Part Four |
The Caves of Androzani Part Four |
Other appearances:
| |||
Richard Hurndall (First Doctor) |
23 November 1983 | The Five Doctors | |
Hurndall replaced William Hartnell, who had died in 1975, as the First Doctor for the show's 20th anniversary special. | |||
Colin Baker (Sixth Doctor) |
16 March 1984 – 6 December 1986 | The Caves of Androzani Part Four |
The Ultimate Foe Part Two |
Other appearances:
| |||
Sylvester McCoy (Seventh Doctor) |
7 September 1987 – 6 December 1989 27 May 1996 |
Time and the Rani Part One |
Doctor Who |
Sylvester McCoy also briefly played the Sixth Doctor in Time and the Rani, during the regeneration scene, wearing a curly blond wig. Other appearances:
| |||
Paul McGann (Eighth Doctor) |
27 May 1996 | Doctor Who | |
Other appearances:
| |||
Christopher Eccleston (Ninth Doctor) |
26 March – 18 June 2005 | Rose | The Parting of the Ways |
Other appearances:
| |||
David Tennant (Tenth Doctor) |
18 June 2005 – 1 January 2010 | The Parting of the Ways | The End of Time Part Two |
David Tennant also played the half-human Doctor in "Journey's End" – 5 July 2008 Other appearances:
| |||
Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) |
1 January 2010 – present | The End of Time Part Two |
Present |
Other appearances:
|
Note: John Hurt is set to play "The Doctor" in the 50th Anniversary. It is unconfirmed which incarnation he is portraying.
Other actors who played the Doctor
Actor | Medium | Title | Dates | Role |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brian Proudfoot | Television | The Reign of Terror (Episode 2, titled "Guests of Madame Guillotine") | 15 August 1964 | Played the First Doctor, in the first outdoor filmed sequence of the Doctor walking towards Paris. He was uncredited. [12] |
Edmund Warwick | Television | The Dalek Invasion of Earth (Episode 4, titled "The End of Tomorrow") | 12 December 1964 | Played the First Doctor, filling in for an injured William Hartnell. He was uncredited. |
Peter Cushing | Film | Dr. Who and the Daleks | 23 August 1965 | Dr. Who |
Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD | 5 August 1966 | |||
Albert Ward[disambiguation needed] | Television | The Celestial Toymaker (Episode 3, titled "The Dancing Floor") | 16 April 1966 | William Hartnell was on holiday during episodes two and three. Pre-recordings of his voice were heard in episode two and Albert Ward was a hand double for scenes where the mostly invisible Doctor played the Trilogic Game throughout the story. He was uncredited. |
Gordon Craig[disambiguation needed] | Television | The Tenth Planet (Episode 3) | 22 October 1966 | Played the First Doctor. He was uncredited. William Hartnell did not appear in the third episode. On the Monday before the programme was due to be recorded, he sent a telegram to the production team informing them that he was too ill to work. |
Chris Jeffries | Television | The Wheel in Space (Episode 2) | 4 May 1968 | Played the Second Doctor. Patrick Troughton did not appear in episode 2 as he was on holiday. Chris Jeffries body doubled to substitute for the unconscious Doctor. |
Tommy Laird | Television | The Seeds of Death (Episode 4) | 15 February 1969 | Played the Second Doctor. Patrick Troughton does not appear in Episode 4 as he was on holiday when it was being recorded. Tommy Laird stands in for him in some shots where the Doctor is seen unconscious on the floor. |
Trevor Martin | Stage | The Seven Keys to Doomsday | 16 December 1974 – January 1975 | Alternative Fourth Doctor (shown on stage to be regenerated from the Third Doctor)[13] |
Audio | 23 October 2008 | |||
Adrian Gibbs | Television | Logopolis | 28 February – 21 March 1981 | The Watcher (Nyssa comments, "He was the Doctor all the time.") |
Castrovalva (Reprised) | 4 January 1982 | |||
Michael Sagar | Stage | The Seven Keys to Doomsday | 24 November – 8 December 1984 | The Doctor (alternate version, possibly Fourth)[14] |
Michael Jayston | Television | The Trial of a Time Lord | 6 September – 6 December 1986 | The Valeyard (said to be an evil version of the Doctor, existing somewhere between his twelfth and final incarnations). |
Audio | He Jests at Scars... | September 2003 | The Valeyard (alternate reality version) | |
Geoffrey Hughes | Television | The Ultimate Foe | 29 November – 6 December 1986 | Mr Popplewick (a disguise used by The Valeyard) |
David Banks | Stage | Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure | 29 April 1989 | The Doctor (understudy for Jon Pertwee; performed as the Doctor for two performances when Pertwee fell ill) |
Nick Scovell | Stage | The Planet of Storms | October 1996 | The Doctor[15][16] |
The Web of Fear | June 2000 | The Second Doctor[17] | ||
Fury From the Deep | 27–30 March 2002 | |||
Evil of the Daleks | 25–28 October 2006 | |||
The Dalek Masterplan | 24–27 October 2007 | The First Doctor[18] | ||
Rowan Atkinson | Television | The Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | Alternative Ninth Doctor |
Richard E. Grant | Television | The Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | Alternative Tenth Doctor |
Webcast | Scream of the Shalka | 13 November – 18 December 2003 | Alternative Ninth Doctor | |
Jim Broadbent | Television | The Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | Alternative Eleventh Doctor[19] |
Hugh Grant | Television | The Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | Alternative Twelfth Doctor |
Joanna Lumley | Television | The Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | Alternative Thirteenth Doctor[20] |
Mark Gatiss | Television | The Web of Caves | 13 November 1999 | The Doctor (spoof version) |
Geoffrey Bayldon | Audio | Auld Mortality | May 2003 | Alternative Doctor (possibly first) |
A Storm of Angels | January 2005 | |||
David Warner | Audio | Sympathy for the Devil | June 2003 | Alternative Doctor (possibly third) |
Masters of War | December 2008 | |||
David Collings | Audio | Full Fathom Five | August 2003 | Alternative Doctor |
Ian Brooker | Audio | Full Fathom Five | August 2003 | Alternative Doctor (uncredited) |
Arabella Weir | Audio | Exile | September 2003 | Alternative Doctor (possibly third) |
Nicholas Briggs | Audio | Exile | September 2003 | The previous incarnation of Arabella Weir's Doctor (possibly second).[21] |
Stage | The Dalek Masterplan | 24–27 October 2007 | The Doctor (regenerated from Nick Scovell's Doctor) | |
Audio | The Seven Keys to Doomsday | 23 October 2008 | The Third Doctor | |
Jon Culshaw | Audio | The Kingmaker | April 2006 | The Fourth Doctor[22] |
Toby Jones | Television | Amy's Choice | 15 May 2010 | The Dream Lord |
Daniel Anthony | Television | Death of the Doctor | 26 October 2010 | The Eleventh Doctor in Clyde Langer's body. |
David Troughton | Audio | Serpent Crest: The Hexford Invasion/Survivors in Space | December 2011 | The Second Doctor |
Terry Molloy | Audio | The Curse of Davros | January 2012 | The Sixth Doctor in the body of Davros |
John Hurt | Television | The Name of the Doctor | 18 May 2013 | "Forgotten Doctor" |
Actors who played characters thought to be the Doctor
Actor | Medium | Title | Dates | Role |
---|---|---|---|---|
Edmund Warwick | Television | The Chase, episodes 4 & 5 | 12–19 June 1965 | Robot Dr. Who, an android replica of the First Doctor created by the Daleks to infiltrate and kill the Doctor and his companions. William Hartnell provided the voice and filmed close-up sequence for this character. |
Nicholas Briggs | Audio | Minuet in Hell | April 2001 | Gideon Crane – While making an emergency materialisation in an alleyway in Malebolgia, the Eighth Doctor's mind is merged with that of Gideon Crane, a British journalist from the London Torch. The Doctor and Gideon briefly swap identities. |
Christopher Biggins | Audio | The One Doctor | 17 December 2001 | Banto Zame, a con-man claiming to be the Doctor, operating in the Generios System in the “vulgar end of time”, with companion Sally-Ann and his Stardis (a teleport device in the shape of a portaloo), until the Sixth Doctor and Mel intervened |
Derek Jacobi | Audio | Deadline | September 2003 | Martin Bannister, a possibly delusional television script writer who believes he is the Doctor |
Catherine Tate | Television | "Journey's End" | 5 July 2008 | Donna Noble a.k.a. Doctor-Donna, gains the Doctor's memories and intelligence when she initiates a two-way biological metacrisis regeneration, and fulfilling Dalek Caan's prophecy of the Doctor being the "Three-fold Man". The 10th Doctor is forced to suppress these memories in order to avoid her death, as Donna's human brain was not designed to hold Time Lord knowledge. |
David Morrissey | Television | "The Next Doctor" | 25 December 2008 | Jackson Lake, a human recently moved to London in 1851, who believes he is the Doctor, when the Cybermen's infostamp containing information about the Doctor is transferred into his mind. The 10th Doctor briefly believes Jackson is a future incarnation of himself, until he discovers the truth and helps restore Lake's memories and personality |
See also
References
- ^ This trailer was shown at the end of The Enemy of the World Episode 6, with the Doctor advising younger viewers that the Yeti would be appearing in the next adventure, and would be a little more frightening than their last encounter (The Abominable Snowmen), and if their mummy and daddy were scared to "just get them to hold your hand".
- ^ The Fourth Dimension: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s8pn6/features/journey-to-the-fourth-dimension, retrieved 28 April, 2013.
- ^ “” (19 December 2008). "Tom Baker Doctor Who 1979 New season advert". YouTube. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Baker declined to appear in this reunion special, so unbroadcast footage from a never-completed serial, Shada, was incorporated into the storyline.
- ^ Howe's Transcendental Toybox: The Unauthorised Guide to "Doctor Who" Collectibles by David J. Howe, Telos Publishing, 2003
- ^ The Fourth Dimension: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s8pn6/features/journey-to-the-fourth-dimension, retrieved 28 April, 2013.
- ^ "The Doctor Who News Page: First "Proper" Trailer Airs, plus Screen Grabs". Gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com. 15 March 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2010. [dead link]
- ^ The Fourth Dimension: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s8pn6/features/journey-to-the-fourth-dimension, retrieved 28 April, 2013.
- ^ "The Doctor Who News Page: New Trailer Debuts". Gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com. 3 April 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "Tennant & Piper are back for the 50th". Blogtor Who. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
- ^ P.S. What Happened to Brian and the Ponds?, http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/What-Happened-to-Brian-and-the-Ponds, Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ 17.14.59 T/R DR. WHO - EPISODE 2: 'GUEST OF MADAME GUILLOTINE' (23/1/4/3160), Television Service- BBC1: Saturday: 15.8.1964, p. 2, http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/isite-downloads/doctorwho/classic/pasb/reignofterror.pdf, page 4/12, retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ At the beginning of the play Martin acted as Jon Pertwee with his face covered and then regenerated.
- ^ Porirua Little Theatre production, directed by Brian Hudson. This New Zealand production had approval from writer Terrance Dicks, the BBC (for the use of the Doctor), and Terry Nation (for the use of the Daleks) and did not include a regeneration sequence – http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv61/sevenkeys.html. Retrieved 21 July 2010
- ^ The Evil of the Daleks Stage Show: The Plays before Evil, http://www.evilofthedaleks.co.uk/the-evil-of-the-daleks-stage-show.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010
- ^ Scovell also played the Doctor in the Bedlam Theatre fan video production, The Millennium Trap in 1997.
- ^ Dalek Links: Evil of the Daleks, http://www.daleklinks.co.uk/articles/evil-of-the-daleks. Retrieved 26 July 2010
- ^ Dalek Links: The Dalek Masterplan, http://www.daleklinks.co.uk/articles/the-dalek-masterplan. Retrieved 26 July 2010
- ^ Broadbent previously played the Doctor in a Victoria Wood As Seen On TV sketch.
- ^ Lumley is the first woman to play the Doctor on screen in an officially licensed production.
- ^ Briggs had previously played the Doctor in a series of fan-made audio stories for Audio Visuals, including the original version of Minuet In Hell. He appeared in all but the pilot, in which the Doctor was voiced by Stephen Payne. Brigg's Audio Visuals Doctor was the inspiration for a future incarnation of the Doctor that appeared with the Seventh Doctor and Ace, in the Doctor Who Magazine comic adventure “Party Animals” in issue 173. Brigg’s future Doctor made a reappearance in the fourth part of the DWM comic “The Final Chapter” (issue 265), when the Eighth Doctor regenerates into him. This “Ninth Doctor” was revealed to be Shayde acting undercover for the Eighth Doctor in the next story “Wormwood” (DWM issues 266–271).
- ^ Culshaw also impersonated the Fourth Doctor, and currently does Tenth Doctor impressions, in the radio and television series Dead Ringers.