(Dead) Actors and the Doctor

[selenak]

While we're waiting for the big announcement: I got around to listening to David Tennant being interviewed on Broadcasting House (Dec. 21st) . Basically your standard "so, how does it feel to play Hamlet after the Doctor" interview, but two replies made me smile: one to the question whether he wants to play James Bond (which was basically "no way, and also, no, but a Bond villain would be fun"), and the other as to which dead actor he'd regard as great casting for the Doctor. The interviewer boringly suggested Laurence Olivier. David T., bless his fannish heart, politely let that pass and came up with Charles Laughton instead. Which instantly made me wish for a time travel device of my own, because YES. Charles Laughton would have done great and original things with the Doctor.

It also made me wonder: which dead and gone actor would you regard as good Doctor casting?

Comments

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm generally a fan of bugfuck insane casting like Jason Statham or Charlton Heston, but... Jimmy Stewart? Be a good cure for emo Doctor...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Hm, for his type I'd rather go with Joseph Cotten. Either would be good, though.

[honorh.livejournal.com]

Katharine Hepburn.

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

With Spencer Tracy as companion.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

That is an awesome idea.

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

Errol Flynn! (Okay, not English, but Australians had British passports until 1948, so he can totally sneak in there).

[selenak.livejournal.com]

*imagines Flynn!Doctor duelling Rathbone!Master*

[lilachigh.livejournal.com]

Oh please can I have Steve McQueen? I want to see him fight a Dalek! And smile at his companion as he did in Thomas Crown Affair!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

McQueen would make a great Alt!Three, I think. It would be the right era for him. Though could he do the silly side of the Doctor as well? (Then again, the man did start out with The Blob...)

[bimo.livejournal.com]

Mhm, let me think...

Early Peter Ustinov. Most other actors that come to my mind, are, while high in age, fortunately still alive ;-)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Isn't Peter Ustinov still alive as well? Though yes, young Peter U. would be an interesting choice.

No Alec Guinness from you is a bit surprising. Would he work better as a companion?

[kathyh]

How about David Niven? He'd be incredibly witty and charming on chat shows promoting the programme, could do the comedy and physical stuff but also wasn't a bad actor when he put his mind to it ("A Matter of Life and Death").

I suppose asking to resurrect Patrick Troughton is cheating :)

[eryaforsthye.livejournal.com]

I suppose asking to resurrect Patrick Troughton is cheating :)

Or Jon Pertwee... :P

Joseph Cotten. With Orson Welles as the Master and Trevor Howard as the Brigadier. Yes.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

It probably wouldn't work, because he played an iconic character all of his own, but: Jeremy Brett. And possibly Denholm Elliot. He would be the eccentric uncle kind of Doctor.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Now I'm reminded of that scene in Silurians where the Brig and the Doctor actually call each other Holmes and Watson.:) But yes, Jeremy Brett could have done it.

Denholm Elliot: remind me of films or shows?

[20thcenturyvole.livejournal.com]

I would have loved to see what Peter Sellers did with the Doctor, if he played it (relatively) straight.

[lilachigh.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! Why didn't I think of that. But I want him to play it in Dr Strangelove mode.

[cereswunderkind.livejournal.com]

Peggy Ashcroft?

And, of course, William Hartnell :)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

No actual Doctors allowed! Peggy Ashcroft, though, would have made an amazing female One...

[andraste]

Good game! I am going to be boring and say Ian Richardson, whose name used to come up periodically in casting discussions prior to his death.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, yes, I could see that. Though then I would want Ian McDiarmid as the Master.

[greenpear.livejournal.com]

My first thought was Professor Irwin Corey but a check shows he's still alive. He would make David look like a serious Doctor...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

In any case, I must confess I haven't heard of him. Who is he?

[kate-swynford.livejournal.com]

I was also going to suggest David Niven. Although Denholm Elliot sounds absolutley brilliant, too.

[silverweave.livejournal.com]

Absolutely have to go with Robert Stephens, who would have been a fantastic Doctor, with a nice slice of darkness in there. Also, Patrick Troughton could have given him advice on correct hand holding technique with companion.

On another topic, lovely to see youor collated fic post and all those recs over Christmas, lots to keep me sane when I return to work next week in the deadest time of year!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

OMG Robert Stephens yes. *treasures thoughts of his Aragorn on the BBC LOTR radio production, which I recently reheard*

Re: fic post - when I uploaded my DW christmas story, I realised there were so many stories, in many different fandoms, and a page where you could separate them by fandom could be useful. Plus I had some things on lj which I never posted elswhere. So I created something.

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be unorthodox and say James Dean. He's not British and he died around the same age as Russell Tovey (who I think is too young to play the Doctor) is now. But Dean had a presence that seemed out of time, in a way. He seemed much older than his years at times, while also having a childlike energy. As long as he reigned in the angst, I think he could have done some really interesting things with the character.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Agreed about Tovey being too young. As for James Dean - he could have pulled it off, BUT he would have needed a strong director all the time, and one he got along with. (I think that's one of the problems with Giants as opposed to the other two.)

[resolute.livejournal.com]

1. For the announcement, I have my fingers crossed for Patterson Joseph.

2. For the dead, Jean Hagen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0353405/) is my first choice. A brilliant actress, both comedic and dramatic. She played Lina Lamont in Singing in the Rain, she played Doll Conovan in The Asphalt Jungle. Later in her career she moved to television, with a prolific career. She could sing, she could dance, she could take a pie in the face, she could threaten a man with a broken beer bottle. Jean-freaking-Hagen.

3. I listened to "Fearmonger" yesterday, and it was great. Thank you so much for the recommendation!!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Jean Hagen! That's a brilliant idea, and yes, she could do comedy and drama both in fantastic ways.

Also, I'm thrilled you liked The Fearmonger. (And now you can say you know another companion-and-doctor combination.) The actress who played the slightly more fascist version of Margaret Thatcher, Jacqueline Pearce, is mostly known for having portrayed the main villainess in the other BBC sci fi cult show, Blake's 7. Servalan - said villainess - is my favourite Evil Overlady, and here are some of her scenes:

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Charles Laughton TOTALLY brilliant!

Also Thelma Ritter. And Margaret Rutherford. And Alec Guinness would have done interesting things.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

At last another Charlas Laughton supporter. I was beginning to fear it was just David Tennant and myself. :)

Alec Guinness would have done interesting things, but he'd also have complained about David Lean offering the role to Laughton first...

[spikewriter]

I would have loved to have seen Charles Laughton because he'd be so different from what we've had.

I'd also vote for Claude Rains, but then I think he was brilliant in almost anything.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

*is happy about another Laughton vote*

Claude Rains: he was. And had such a good voice...

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Oliver Reed or Terry-Thomas. Either would do nicely, in their own ways.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I'd be really curious about Oliver Reed's Doctor. *has Richard Lester films flashback*

[iblis-kukl.livejournal.com]

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I can see the appeal, and I love those two (still my favourite Van Helsing & Dracula), but actors who actually did play the Doctor aren't allowed, and Peter Cushing played him in the 60s tv movies!

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

Alistair Sim. I think he may even have been linked with the part in the press at some point.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Remind me of a few roles?

[coneyislandbaby]

(via who_daily)

I think I agree with everyone's choices but for some who haven't been suggested...

Patrick MacNee comes to mind immediately.

And how about Rex Harrison!Doctor with Jeremy Brett!Companion (and Audrey too) - I am very fond of My Fair Lady the film, yes.

Gareth Hunt (who I am sad to include in the list of passed on actors) would be interesting as well.

Alan Bates, too - I could have seen him as a modern era Doctor even.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Rex Harrison!Doctor - but then I'd want Jeremy Brett as the Master, not the Companion.

Alan Bates would be intriguing...

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about this, and for some reason no dead actors are coming to mind. Except that I don't know whether Harry Jones is alive or dead - he's not had a credit on IMDB since 2000 - and I think he'd have been a very good Doctor in a Troughton/McCoy mould: looks like an idiot but more powerful and dangerous than anyone thinks. So I was amused to find his face in this thread already, even if he was there supporting Servalan!

Of the living... not sure why that immediately puts me on to women... altariel once made the very good suggestion of Fiona Shaw (as in "a great actress who does a lot of crap so wouldn't say no on the grounds it's a kids' programme"). And I thought Melissa Jaffer's Noranti was very Doctorish, in that schoolmarm-turned-baglady-on-the-hippy-trail sort of way. Oh, and if I'm thinking of dead women, Mary Morris, who was such a stunning Number Two in The Prisoner.