Along with all the Easter festivities this past weekend, fans of the semi-centennial series, ‘Doctor Who’, were treated to the premiere of season ten. Without having seen a new season in 2016, this was important to those who have invested a lot of faith in the show. Recently, however, there’s been a great deal of controversy surrounding the new season. Along with the revelation that Pearl Mackie would play The Doctor’s first LGBT companion, Bill Potts, Peter Capaldi himself announced in an interview that this would also be his final time aboard the TARDIS.
Capaldi’s run was arguably pretty uneasy for some. While the initial change from a series of younger, “heart-throbbier” Doctor’s to an older, more grown-up version was jarring to some, The Doctor was never really the cause of some fans failing to truly connect this time. Showrunner, Steven Moffat, made some experimental choices with the tried and true format, mostly in season nine. The Doctor made the odd decision to use sonic sunglasses, as opposed to his usual sonic screwdriver, as well as every episode having been written as a two-parter, which forced each story to spread thinly across an extra episode. These just being the most glaring issues, there were still more than enough poorly constructed stories and no real sense of direction with the overall scheme.
After the most recent premiere, it looks like this might be a great season for Peter Capaldi to go out with a bang. Now that we know the hunt for the thirteenth Doctor is well underway, one can’t help but imagine what the shortlist looks like. The candidates are never announced before BBC is ready with their final decision, so we can only speculate until then. These are the top five actors perfect to take on The Doctor for season eleven:
5) Dan Stevens
Dan Stevens has been growing in popularity thanks to his break-out roles as David Haller on FX’s Legion and his most recent appearance in Disney’s live-action ‘Beauty and the Beast’. With his career on something of a meteoric rise, the one role that could put him over the top and earn him a “legion” of fans would be The Doctor. His ability to effortlessly teeter between dark and light; showing a casual joy and sense of humor, then finding the twisted inner struggle that comes with a sullen past would make him an ideal candidate to take on playing the last of the Timelords.
4) Hayley Atwell
Fans were heartbroken last year to discover that ABC’s Agent Carter wasn’t making it to season three. Things were looking up for the star of the series, Hayley Atwell, after having snagged the edgy dramedy, ‘Conviction’, but unfortunately, it opened to rock bottom ratings and was promptly canceled. Having made her name as the classic Marvel femme-fatale, Atwell is no stranger to playing strong, independent women who break barriers to save the day. Focusing her efforts on not only one of the most iconic characters in history, but also the first actress to take on the role would be perfect to herald in the next Doctor.
3) Richard Ayoade
If you’re one of those hardcore anglophiles out there, you’ve likely stumbled across a hilarious little UK sitcom called ‘The IT Crowd’. The shining light of that series was the awkwardly cunning performance from Richard Ayoade as IT professional, Maurice Moss. Ayoade naturally gives off an eccentric aura; he’s clumsy, hilarious, and always makes you question what he’s really thinking thanks to his incredibly dry wit. His version of The Doctor would arguably be one of the most memorable of our generation, and it would only further solidify his status as ‘Doctor Who’ royalty, already the brother-in-law to a former companion, Billie Piper.
2) Michael Sheen
As both a lifelong fan and former guest appearance in the episode, ‘The Doctor’s Wife’, Michael Sheen is no stranger to ‘Doctor Who’. Now that he’s wrapped on his Showtime series, ‘Masters of Sex’, the next project he commits to could be ‘Doctor Who’. As a fan, Sheen would bring a genuine love for the character that seems to be the secret ingredient to a truly great regeneration, a tradition that held sway by such Doctors as David Tennant and Peter Capaldi himself. His adept range as an actor is exactly what The Doctor needs to maintain both his trademark levity and intimidation.
1) Ben Wishaw
By far, one of the biggest frontrunners for the coveted role of The Doctor is Ben Whishaw. You might remember Ben from his many versatile roles like Q in the most recent ‘007’ series, or one of Bob Dylan’s many lives in ‘I’m Not There’. Along with his diverse IMDB page, his very demeanor screams The Doctor! He’s lanky, slightly odd-looking, and he’s known for sporting some pretty noticeable hairstyles. Bearing in mind the fact that Oddsmakers has already placed Whishaw as the likeliest candidate to receive the TARDIS key after Capaldi, his status as the next incarnation might be pretty secure.
