In the grand world of science fiction and fantasy, there are many fanbases who passionately follow their favorite universe through every move, iteration, and generation. There areTrekkies,Tolkenites,Star Wars fans, and then there are Whovians. Whether you’re an OG Whovian who’s followedDoctor Whosince it premiered on the BBC in 1963, or a newer fan of the beloved science fiction franchise since its regeneration in 2005, you have been whisked off to the delightful world of the time-traveling Doctor and their companions. We’re taking a comprehensive look at every actor or actress who has played the beloved Doctor throughout the past, present, and future.
After premiering in 1963, the original Doctor Who series ran for an impressive 26 seasons, finally going off the air in 1989. After a 1996 TV movie failed to launch a new series, the future of Doctor Who entered into a sort of development hell. Its future was uncertain through the rest of the ’90s and the early aughts until showrunner Russell T. Davies successfully pitched a new, streamlined Doctor Who series more suited for 21st-century television. The man from Wales, who fell in love with Doctor Who as a child watching the original series, would go on to reboot the series successfully and introduce a new generation to the Doctor and their Tardis.
One of the hallmarks of Doctor Who is the ability of the main character to regenerate upon death into what is essentially the same character in a different body. This makes it easy to keep the show fresh by occasionally recasting the lead. We’re looking at the chronology of the current generation of Doctor Who.
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Christopher Eccleston
The Ninth Doctor
Christopher Eccleston (2005)
Christopher Eccleston brought the role of Doctor Who back to life. He would be the first to play the Doctor in a television series since Sylvester McCoy in 1989.
After the 1996 TV movie, Doctor Who continued to exist in licensed novels and audio plays. Then, in 2003, after years of absence, the BBC announced a new television series, a direct continuation of the story that ended in 1989.
Russell T. Davies was chosen to lead the revival of Doctor Who for the 21st-century audience, with two-time BAFTA-nominated English actor Christopher Eccleston in the leading role. This revival introduced a whole new generation to the Doctor, the Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Tardis, famously bigger on the inside. The series, released to wide acclaim, saw Eccleston depart after just one season, driven by his concerns about being typecast, to pursue other projects.
David Tennant
The Tenth Doctor
David Tennant, one of the most beloved Doctors, catapulted into leading man stardom with his turn as the Doctor.
Matt Smith
The Eleventh Doctor
Matt Smith, widely recognized today for his work in the Netflix seriesThe Crownand HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoffHouse of the Dragon,took his turn as The Doctor beginning in 2010.
David Tennant’s departure brought another crucial change in the show. Showrunner Russel T. Davies would also be leaving, with Steven Moffat set to take the helm as head writer and showrunner. After Tennant announced his departure from the role of the Doctor, Moffat began auditions, and the search was on for the next incarnation. One of the earliest to audition, and the man who ended up getting the role, was English actor Matt Smith. He became the youngest actor ever to play the role and was thrust from relative obscurity into the intergalactic limelight of Doctor Who. Matt Smith stepped down in 2013 after three seasons, though he would go on to state in a 2016 interview that he wished he’d stayed longer.
Peter Capaldi
The Twelfth Doctor
With a return to a less obscure name, Peter Capaldi took up the role of the Doctor in 2014.
By the time Scottish actor Peter Capaldi was offered the role of the Doctor, he was already a multi-time BAFTA-winning and many-time BAFTA-nominated actor for his work in television and film. Capaldi’s history with Doctor Who is quite storied, as he was asked to audition for the role in 1995 while searching for a Doctor to star in the 1996 TV movie. He actually didn’t go, stating, “I didn’t go. I loved the show so much, and I didn’t think I would get it, and I didn’t want just to be part of a big cull of actors.” Years later, he actually played a character that appeared during one of David Tennant’s Doctor Who episodes in 2008.
Capaldi accepted the role and played the titular role for three seasons. His departure in 2017 would also mark the departure of showrunner Steven Moffat, which would give way to a new doctor that would end up making history in the role.
Jodie Whittaker
The Thirteenth Doctor
Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall teamed up again for Doctor Who after working together on Broadchurch, which starred David Tennant.
After Peter Capaldi’s turn as the Doctor, Steven Moffat also stepped back and passed the role of showrunner to writer Chris Chibnall. In another web of “everyone knows each other,” Chris Chibnall created and wrote the British crime drama series “Broadchurch.” The show starred David Tennant and ran from 2013 to 2017. English actress Jodie Whittaker had a recurring lead role in the show, so Chibnall was familiar with her work. Whittaker was his first choice for the Doctor during his turn as showrunner.
Jodie Whittaker’s run lasted three seasons before the search for the next Doctor began.
The Fourteenth Doctor
David Tennant returns to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who in a series of specials as the Fourteenth Doctor.
The BBC decided to pull out all the stops to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who. In the finale scene of Jodie Whittaker’s final episode, her version of the Doctor regenerated into a Doctor played by David Tennant. It was confirmed shortly after that this would not be the return of the tenth Doctor, but rather Tennant would be portraying the fourteenth Doctor, if only for a few hour-long specials.
Russel T. Davies returned to showrun the specials and put the band back together. The 60th-anniversary specials were a return to some beloved characters from seasons past as well as lore and villains from deep in the back catalog of Doctor Who.
Ncuti Gatwa
The Fifteenth Doctor
Ncuti Gatwa, most known from the Netflix seriesSex Education,takes up the mantle from David Tennant and continues on with showrunner Russel T. Davies as the newest Doctor.
Showrunner Russel T. Davies returns to Doctor Who with an eye set on the future and a pen unafraid to meld fantasy with science fiction. After a series of 4 specials celebrating the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa will take up the role of Doctor Who beginning with a special in 2023, with a regular series being ordered for 2024.
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Q: Why does the Doctor regenerate?
The beauty of regeneration
One of the most clever aspects of the Doctor Who science fiction universe is that the titular character, by way of powers bestowed upon him from being a particular type of alien known as a Time Lord, is able to regenerate into a new form upon death or fatal injury.
While days could be spent arguing the often conflicting canon of maximum regenerations per life cycle, how regeneration works, or what it can or can’t do, suffice to say there remains a mechanism through which one Doctor Who actor can be replaced with another. This helps keep the show fresh by constantly inviting new Doctors, who in turn take on new companions and create new dynamics for audiences to enjoy.
Part of the joy of Doctor Who is, when at its best, not taking itself too seriously. After all, the great complexities of time travel, timelines, and paradoxes were all boiled down to “A big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.”
Q: Who were the Doctors in the original run?
A look back at those Who came before
Credit and thanks must be paid to the actors who portrayed Doctor Who in it’s original run. Their work and that of the writers laid the groundwork for one of the longest-running and most adored science-fiction shows of all time. Let’s take a quick look at the Doctors of the past.
