As a fan of Doctor Who, I tend to asked now and then how I would cast the programme, especially the lead role. Whilst that's not as interesting to me as discussing how I would like to see the programme ran, I do have some thoughts. I'm a tad reluctant to share them, as I typically don't consider the post-2004 "New Who" as being part of my headcanon, and haven't watched any in a few years. I have heard that Jodie Whittaker is good in the role, and I keep meaning to try it out, but never quite seem to get to it. I have no objection to The Doctor being a woman, it works well with the nature of the Time Lords as I see them, but I felt Whittaker was a little bland and too conventionally attractive for the role. The best incarnations of The Doctor have been 'interesting' looking, and rarely attractive, with Paul McGann being the exception. Similarly, I don't care what race The Doctor is, so long as the character works and the writing is good.
That said, I do think if The Doctor is going to be in a non-male or POC incarnation, then it should mean something. Now, I acknowledge that the previous sentence is something someone may couch their bigotry in, but such is not my intention. One of the reasons The Doctor works so well as an older, white (especially British) gentleman, is the internalised deference that many in the Global North will have to such a person. The Doctor gets away with his bluster much of the time because he looks like the kind of person who would have authority. Now, if you make The Doctor someone outside of this group, then many historical periods and totalitarian regimes will probably not accept the bluster and The Doctor will get pushback. Of course, race and gender don't have to have anything to do with this, The 2nd Doctor got that kind of thing all the time. It needn't be every episode or story, but if The Doctor is a woman, then they/she should probably have to fight a little harder to be taken seriously in say, the Victorian era, think Leela in The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
To get a couple more things out of the way, I would have suggested Sach Dhawan as a good casting, but he's played The Master in the most recent season. I hear he's pretty good in the role, but after seeing him in the second season of Iron Fist, I was thinking he's make a good, if particularly intense Doctor. Imagine a 7th style Doctor with the refinement of the 3rd. He's polite, well-spoken and knows which is the fish fork, but he will burn the world down if he has to to win. I guess that's a Master-esque Doctor in a way, right? Anyway, he's not on this list only because I don't think it would work, even with a Superior Spider-man style body-swap story on the cards.
Finally, if I'm making a fantasy take on how I'd run Doctor Who, then the actor playing The Doctor is only part of it. If we're asking The Miracle Question, then everything since Scream of the Shalka is rendered non-canon, we move back to weekly, half-hour episodes over a full broadcast season and the team is Producer and Head Writer/Script Editor, so no more of one person setting the tone for an entire run. Yes, I'm dreaming, but why not? I want Doctor Who to be more like the Doctor Who I enjoy, not what is popular, so that's what I'm aiming for here. I'm still leaning to white, cis-men from the UK, because that's what I've liked in the past and it's just kind of how I think of the series. I'll admit that it's a bias, but one I think I can park when need be. While I've got you, The Doctor's clothing should always be anachronistic, which New Who has never really done, so I'd like to see that changed as well. So I hope you'll take the following at face value, as it is intended, and enjoy where my head has gone with this concept.
Olivia Colman
Probably getting a little "too famous" for the role of The Doctor (an issue with this list, I'll admit, but it is really hard to find obscure British actors who suit the role), when I first heard that an actor from Broadchurch was taking on the role of The Doctor, I had thought it would be Colman. Aside from her familial connection to the series, Colman has a huge depth of range as an actor and I can see her taking the post-regeneration madness concept that torpedoed Colin Baker's run before it started and actually running with it. An unknowable alien intelligence that is mostly beneficent, but can turn at any moment into a monster; and you're traveling with it. I see Colman's Doctor embodying the "blank space in history" that they tried with Eccleston, arriving to a crisis, resolving it and moving on without a backwards glance.
Sean Pertwee/David Bradley/Whoever is still alive
Ok, so hear me out on this one, why do we only ever have one incarnation of The Doctor on TV at a time? I'm not saying that multi-Doctor stories should be more common and less special, but why not have one story a season just not feature the current Doctor? Instead of the "Doctor-lite" episodes, just have 1st (Bradley), 3rd (Pertwee) or even 7 or 8 do a story to give the main cast a rest. Also maybe 9, but we'll get to him later. And to be clear, I do mean do a past Doctor story, not just put them in a new story. Have 3 driving and being an all-action-man, have 7 manipulate the enemy into their own demise, that kind of thing. As well as celebrating the legacy of the programme, this kind of approach would enable new fans to get a "taste" of previous eras without having to wade through the morass of the poorer episodes or online fan communities. Probably should have mentioned this above, but this is basically how I would run the series, given the chance.
Brian Blessed
No, I swear this isn't a meme, I actually think Brian Blessed would be a great Doctor, let me explain. First of all, don't think of his previous Doctor Who appearance, or even Flash Gordon, check him out in King Lear. Blessed has an underrated subtlety that rarely gets used and I think would work masterfully for The Doctor. Think John Fallstaff, especially in The Chimes at Midnight, yes he can be bombastic and blustery, but when the bravado slips, there is a wounded man inside who can't quite deal with what he has lost. A world-weary incarnation who keeps fighting because it is all that he knows, rather than a calling; a sad Doctor who can explode when pushed and needs his companions around to keep going some days. Also, Blessed's health has declined of late, which means he may not be able to return to the stage in major roles, so why not let him round out an astonishingly great career with an iconic role?
Tom Hollander
Do you know this actor? Chances are you've seen him in quite a few films and series, but may never have known his name. Seriously, check out this guy's IMDB page sometime, he has a hell of a lot of credits to his name. In various cable television programmes, such as The Night Manager and Taboo, Hollander plays creepy, sexual-predator types, but always with a smack of mad genius about him. I can see Hollander being a good take on The Doctor as a scientist, fixing problems with his knowledge and expertise, rewiring control panels and mixing batches of chemical smoke to cover his escape. Hell, go all out and have him teach a little chemistry, biology and/or physics during the episode to the companion, and thereby the kids watching, that'd be neat. A scatterbrained genius dragged around by the companion and not as prone to the big speeches so much as he likes a big reveal to show off how smart he is. "And that, my dear Davros, is why you don't mix acids and bases!"
Richard E Grant
Look, in my head-canon, Scream of the Shalka is official and Richard E Grant is the real 9th Doctor, so I may as well discuss it. Grant's version is a fascinating take on the character and not what you'd expect from his brief appearance in The Curse of Fatal Death, he is haunted, reluctant and clearly working for the Celestial Intervention Agency after some kind of incident, which I assume was the death of Grandfather Paradox in the 8th Doctor novels. To keep himself sane, and to punish himself a little, The Doctor has built a robot version of The Master, played by Derek Jacobi, to pick at all his ideas and suggest selfishness. Doesn't that just sound like an awesome premise for a series? Utterly unique and utterly Doctor Who at the same time, I can't believe no one has tried it again since 2005. Seriously, check out Scream of the Shalka if you get the chance, it's more clever than good, but it's really bloody clever.
Essie Davis
Do people outside of Australia know Essie Davis? I know Miss Fischer's Murder Mysteries is huge in China and there is a local remake that's pretty damn good, but how well is she really known? Of course, being a little obscure is kind of perfect for an actor playing The Doctor, so why not? Now, the eye of the beholder and all that, but I'd say Davis does violate my "no attractive actors" rule, except that she is very interesting to look at, especially when she plays the part of Phryne Fischer. Now, The Doctor as a 1920s flapper does sound tempting, but I'm thinking something a little more out-there with this one. Keep the "smartest person in any room" aspect of the 3rd Doctor and dress Davis up like a Governess; The Doctor as Miss Marple. Smart as a whip and a bit matronly, a great take for a female incarnation and still echoing what has come before.
Guy Pearce
Another entry in the "do non-Aussies know about this" category, in-between big Hollywood roles, Guy Pearce plays a burnout small claims lawyer who solves mysteries on Australian television. It hasn't come through the backlog yet, but I wanted Pearce to play Doctor Strange before he was cast in Iron Man 3 and I think he would have owned the role, he could easily deliver all the classic "Wands of Watoomb" stuff with a straight face. And that's kind of where I see him as The Doctor, a more flippant and silly incarnation like Tom Baker, maybe even bordering into camp. Probably a little too famous for the role right now, but I think that perception may be changing, and if it does I think Pearce could fill the scarf well.
David Suchet
Whenever I mention Suchet near Doctor Who, people make a lot of Hercule Poirot assumptions, but that's really not where I'm going with this. I once saw a documentary where Suchet followed the travels of the Apostle St John in which he demonstrated himself a masterful storyteller. Quiet, pensive and possessing a taciturn intelligence, Suchet has a brilliant energy to bring to the role of The Doctor. I'm picturing the thoughtfulness of 5 with the keen intellect of 2, not quite the 7th Chess-master persona, but certainly an incarnation that is already ahead of you and is only letting you think you're winning. Tweed jacket and a bamboo cane feel like a must.
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