The Doctor will need a new face for the eleventh season of Doctor Who and the candidates are numerous!
Now that Peter Capaldi has announced his departure from the show at the end of season 10, the position is vacant! Changes will take place for Doctor Who, of course with the departure of Capaldi, but also with that of Steven Moffat, current showrunner of the series, who leaves his place to Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch). Rumors are already circulating about the next interpreter of the role and several names have emerged in just a few days. Zoom on the actors and actresses in the running to take over!
The little favorites of the moment!
Actor Ben Whishaw is currently leading the bets of London bookmakers to play the Doctor! He is best known for his role as Q, a gadget provider to Agent 007 in Skyfall and 007 Spectre. Quite interesting choice because the actors who played the Doctor were little known or unknown to the public until now, and Wishaw would be an exception to the rule! A little further behind, we also talk about Rory Kinnear, who was also seen in the James Bond films as Bill Tanner. The name of Rupert Grint, the interpreter of Ron in Harry Potter and currently in production of the series adapted from Snatch, also emerged among the favorites of bettors. The next favorite would be a small revolution in the history of the series since it would be Richard Ayoade, who became known by the sitcom The IT Crowd, and who could then be the first actor of color to play the main character of Doctor Who. The future showrunner of the series, Chris Chibnall, would already have a slight preference for Andrew Buchan, with whom he has been working for four years on the series Broadchurch.
A woman to embody the Doctor?
This is THE revolution that fans talk about and that they seem to expect from the writers of the series: the Doctor could be played by an actress and not an actor. The character having the ability to regenerate himself totally, this would then make him a character who could be a man as well as a woman. And besides, Peter Capaldi himself defends this idea and has already named the actress he would see in his role: it is Frances de la Tour, known for having played Madame Maxime in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The Scottish actor told the Mirror : "The time had come for me to bow out, to let someone else play this magnificent role, and I would like Frances de la Tour to be the first female doctor." David Tennant, who played the Tenth Doctor, has also spoken on the subject and has already decided who he will see succeeding Capaldi: Olivia Colman. The actress happens to be his partner in the series Broadchurch (series directed by Chris Chibnall) and has already made an appearance in Doctor Who in the first episode of season 5. According to Tennant, the actress would be "a magnificent choice". Three other actresses are among the bookmakers' favorites at the moment: Miranda Hart (Call the Midwife), Laura Pulver (Irene Adler in Sherlock) and the world-famous Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club), the last two being among our favorites to the editor!
A worldwide reputation?
The interpreters of the Doctor are therefore generally not very famous (or rather in the United Kingdom). What if that changed for season 11? Crazy bettors have mentioned Daniel Radcliffe, who has already founded his notoriety for the British but also for the rest of the world through the Harry Potter saga and more recently in 2016 with Swiss Army Man. The 27-year-old actor would then be the youngest to play the Doctor and would probably bring a new youth to the character! Idris Elba's name also came up, which would allow the BBC to create a total surprise. The actor is currently dreamed to play James Bond; to see if one of the two roles will be offered and will potentially interest him. The actress Tilda Swinton would also have been mentioned and would obviously bring a glamorous and badass side to the Doctor! Other actors such as Jude Law (The Young Pope), Richard Madden (Robb Stark in Game of Thrones) or Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones) were also mentioned.
Editors' proposals
We will not hesitate to give our opinion! If the names of Helena Bonham Carter and Daniel Radcliffe came up in our discussions, two other personalities from Harry Potter were proposed (and yes, again): David Thewlis, the interpreter of Lupin in the films and who recently joined season 3 of Fargo, as well as Emma Watson, soon to star in Beauty and the Beast. Among the actors considered, we can also offer you Sean Pertwee (Alfred in Gotham), Thomas Gibson (Aaron Hotchner in Criminal Minds), as well as Eddie Redmayne (Norbert Dragonneau in Fantastic Beasts) who has already mentioned that the role would please him if his schedule allowed it. On the actress side, we thought of Eva Green (Miss Peregrine in Miss Peregrine and the Peculiar Children) and Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter in the universe of Marvel movies and series).
Peter Capaldi's departure will therefore take place during or at the end of the 2017 Christmas episode. Until then, the BBC has time to find a replacement for her and make a choice as satisfactory as those made so far to play the Doctor. In the meantime, we will be able to find Peter Capaldi from April 15 in season 10 of Doctor Who on the BBC!
