List of actors who have played the Doctor.html |
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Since the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who 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 periodically to 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 (including a fully human variant whose name - unlike that of the canonical version - really is Doctor Who) 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.
Contents |
Actors who have played an official Doctor in television series
| Name | Tenure | First appearance | Last appearance | Other appearances |
| William Hartnell (The First Doctor) |
23 November 1963 to 29 October 1966 |
An Unearthly Child Episode 1 |
The Tenth Planet Episode 4 |
|
| Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor) |
29 October 1966 to 21 June 1969 | The Tenth Planet Episode 4 |
The War Games Episode Ten |
|
| Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor) |
3 January 1970 to 8 June 1974 | Spearhead from Space Episode 1 |
Planet of the Spiders Part Six |
|
| Tom Baker (The Fourth Doctor) |
8 June 1974 to 21 March 1981 | Planet of the Spiders Part Six |
Logopolis Part Four |
|
| Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor) |
21 March 1981 to 16 March 1984 | Logopolis Part Four |
The Caves of Androzani Part Four |
|
| Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor) |
16 March 1984 to 6 December 1986 | The Caves of Androzani Part Four |
The Trial of a Time Lord Part Fourteen (The Ultimate Foe Episode 2) (not played by Colin Baker for regeneration in Time and the Rani; Sylvester McCoy played the part for this scene)2 |
|
| Sylvester McCoy (The Seventh Doctor) |
7 September 1987 to 6 December 1989 27 May 1996 in the Doctor Who television movie |
Time and the Rani Part One |
Doctor Who: The Movie |
|
| Paul McGann (The Eighth Doctor) |
27 May 1996 in the Doctor Who television movie | Doctor Who: The Movie | Doctor Who: The Movie |
|
| Christopher Eccleston (The Ninth Doctor) |
26 March to 18 June 2005 | Rose | The Parting of the Ways |
|
| David Tennant (The Tenth Doctor) |
18 June 2005 to 20103 | The Parting of the Ways | 4th 2009 Special - Currently untitled 3 |
|
Other Doctors
| Actor | Medium | Title | Dates | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Cushing | Film | Dr. Who and the Daleks | 25 June 1965 | Dr. Who |
| Film | Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD | 22 July 1966 | Dr. Who | |
| Trevor Martin | Stage | Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday | 16 December 1974 to January 1975 | The Fourth Doctor (shown on stage to be regenerated from the Jon Pertwee Third Doctor) 4 |
| Audio | 23 October 2008 | The Fourth Doctor | ||
| Adrian Gibbs | Television | Logopolis | 28 February 1981 to 21 March 1981 | The Watcher (Nyssa comments, "he was the Doctor all the time.") |
| Richard Hurndall | Television | The Five Doctors | 23 November 1983 | The First Doctor (standing in for the late William Hartnell) |
| Michael Jayston | Television | The Trial of a Time Lord | 6 September to 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 | |
| Sylvester McCoy | Television | Time and the Rani | 7 September 1987 | The Sixth Doctor (standing in for Colin Baker during the regeneration scene) |
| 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 | 1996 | The Doctor5 |
| Stage | The Web of Fear | June 2000 | The Second Doctor | |
| Stage | Fury From the Deep | 27 to 30 March 2002 | The Second Doctor | |
| Stage | Evil of the Daleks | 25 to 28 October 2006 | The Second Doctor | |
| Stage | The Dalek Masterplan | 24 to 27 October 2007 | The First Doctor | |
| Rowan Atkinson | Television | Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | The Ninth Doctor (spoof version... modelled on the style of the then-current Paul McGann's Doctor) |
| Richard E. Grant | Television | Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | The Tenth Doctor (spoof version) |
| Webcast | Scream of the Shalka | 13 November to 18 December 2003 | The unofficial Ninth Doctor6 | |
| Jim Broadbent | Television | Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | The Eleventh Doctor (spoof version)7 |
| Hugh Grant | Television | Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | The Twelfth Doctor (spoof version) |
| Joanna Lumley | Television | Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | The Thirteenth Doctor (spoof version)8 |
| 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) |
| Audio | A Storm of Angels | January 2005 | Alternative Doctor (possibly first) | |
| David Warner | Audio | Sympathy for the Devil | June 2003 | Alternative Doctor (possibly third) |
| Audio | Masters of War | December 2008 | Alternative Doctor (possibly third) | |
| David Collings | Audio | Full Fathom Five | August 2003 | Alternative Doctor |
| Ian Brooker | Audio | Full Fathom Five | August 2003 | Alternative Doctor (uncredited) |
| Derek Jacobi | Audio | Deadline | September 2003 | A possibly delusional writer who believes he is the Doctor |
| Nicholas Briggs | Audio | Exile | September 2003 | The previous incarnation of Arabella Weir's Doctor (possibly second)9 |
| Audio | Seven Keys to Doomsday | 23 October 2008 | The Third Doctor | |
| Arabella Weir | Audio | Exile | September 2003 | Alternative Doctor (possibly third) |
| Jon Culshaw | Audio | The Kingmaker | April 2006 | The Fourth Doctor10 |
| David Tennant | Television | Journey's End | 5 July 2008 | A part-human, part-Time Lord version of the Tenth Doctor. |
| Catherine Tate | Television | Journey's End | 5 July 2008 | Companion Donna Noble became the part-Time Lord "DoctorDonna" when her mind was infused with the knowledge and memories of the Doctor. |
| David Morrissey | Television | The Next Doctor | 25 December 2008 | A mysterious man who claims to be the Doctor, a Time Lord, having a Sonic Screwdriver and a TARDIS, and travels with a companion named Rosita. |
Notes
- ^ Baker declined to appear in this reunion special, so unbroadcast footage from a never-completed serial, Shada was incorporated into the storyline
- ^ McCoy is the second actor to officially play two Doctors.
- ^ a b "David Tennant quits as Doctor Who". BBC (2008-10-29). Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ At the beginning of the play Martin acted as Pertwee with his face covered and then regenerated. Thus he is the first actor to officially play two Doctors.
- ^ Scovell also played the Doctor in the Bedlam Theatre fan video production, The Millennium Trap in 1997.
- ^ Grant is the third actor to officially play two Doctors.
- ^ 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 (if not canonical) production
- ^ Briggs had previously played the Doctor in a series of fan-made audio stories for Audio Visuals. He appeared in all but the pilot, in which the Doctor was voiced by Stephen Payne.
- ^ Culshaw also impersonated the Fourth Doctor, and currently does Tenth Doctor impressions, in the radio and television series Dead Ringers.