Derek Jacobi - The Master

[PorthosShadow]

I don't know how likely it is but I would love to see Peter Capaldi and Derek Jacobi as The Doctor & The Master. I given that they are going to explain why The Doctor looks like two characters have seen already it might not be so impossible to get Derek Jacobi to play The Master again.

 

[Mr Light]

I absolutely LOVED Jacobi as the Master. Those ten brief minutes were some of my all time favorite moments of Who. It was such a tragedy that they immediately swapped him out like that.

 

[Sci]

I absolutely LOVED Jacobi as the Master. Those ten brief minutes were some of my all time favorite moments of Who. It was such a tragedy that they immediately swapped him out like that.

Yeah, but I don't think there was ever a realistic prospect of getting him to come back again, anymore than there was ever a realistic prospect of getting John Hurt to come back as the Doctor again, or Ian McKellen to come back as the Great Intelligence again. Those kinds of appearances are the sort that major acting A-listers aren't usually willing to repeat.

 

[Sindatur]

I absolutely LOVED Jacobi as the Master. Those ten brief minutes were some of my all time favorite moments of Who. It was such a tragedy that they immediately swapped him out like that.

Yeah, but I don't think there was ever a realistic prospect of getting him to come back again, anymore than there was ever a realistic prospect of getting John Hurt to come back as the Doctor again, or Ian McKellen to come back as the Great Intelligence again. Those kinds of appearances are the sort that major acting A-listers aren't usually willing to repeat.

Scream of The Shalka, The Master was a Robot and a Companion, that role would've been at least Recurring frequently, had it gone to Series. Did Jacobi's stock go up that much between his NuWho episode and his Scream of The Shalka appearance (Or did he slow down that much on jobs he takes?)

Yea, Jacobi was simply awesome, a Dream world would bring us more of him

I'd even love a Big Finish Audio with him playing The Master

 

[Mr Light]

Is Jacobi really that famous in the UK? He's basically been in a few bit parts in US genre movies (Golden Compass, Underworld Evolution...)

 

[Sci]

I absolutely LOVED Jacobi as the Master. Those ten brief minutes were some of my all time favorite moments of Who. It was such a tragedy that they immediately swapped him out like that.

Yeah, but I don't think there was ever a realistic prospect of getting him to come back again, anymore than there was ever a realistic prospect of getting John Hurt to come back as the Doctor again, or Ian McKellen to come back as the Great Intelligence again. Those kinds of appearances are the sort that major acting A-listers aren't usually willing to repeat.

Scream of The Shalka, The Master was a Robot and a Companion, that role would've been at least Recurring frequently, had it gone to Series. Did Jacobi's stock go up that much between his NuWho episode and his Scream of The Shalka appearance (Or did he slow down that much on jobs he takes?)

Filming a live-action series is a very different commitment from doing the occasional voice-over. Add to this the fact that we have no way of knowing if Jacobi would have come back as a recurrent Shalka Master or if this, too, might have been a one-time, pilot-episode-only appearance with the part later recast.

ETA:

Is Jacobi really that famous in the UK? He's basically been in a few bit parts in US genre movies (Golden Compass, Underworld Evolution...)

Sir Derek Jacobi is one of the most acclaimed and accomplished actors of his generation. He is primarily a stage actor, however, so the parts he chooses to take in film or television are not an accurate gage of what kind of career he's had; judging his career on the basis of Underworld: Evolution is akin to judging Sir Lawrence Olivier's career on the basis of Clash of the Titans.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Is Jacobi really that famous in the UK? He's basically been in a few bit parts in US genre movies (Golden Compass, Underworld Evolution...)

Sir Derek Jacobi is one of the most acclaimed and accomplished actors of his generation. He is primarily a stage actor, however, so the parts he chooses to take in film or television are not an accurate gage of what kind of career he's had; judging his career on the basis of Underworld: Evolution is akin to judging Sir Lawrence Olivier's career on the basis of Clash of the Titans.

lol. Very true. And he's done more than a few roles in the US that weren't genre films.

 

[Starkers]

As Sci says, Jacobi is a very well regarded, very famous actor here in the UK though it is his stage work he's most renowned for.

Suffice to say getting Jacobi as the Master for just a few minutes was a major coup, and much as Simm did grow on me, nothing compares to the chill I felt the moment Yana "died" and the Master returned. The look in Jacobi's eyes is just terrifying. That said much as I’d have loved it if Jacobi had stayed the Master, that moment is passed. I hope to see the Master again but it won’t be Jacobi playing him and I doubt it will be Simm playing it either.

Ideally I'd rather a Jacobi Master than another Simm style loon.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

On the flip side, Derek Jacobi is clearly willing to commit to television shows as shown by Last Tango in Halifax and Vicious, the latter with Ian McKellan, so the same can be applied to him as well.

 

[VDCNI]

Yeah I'm a bit mystified by the - they wouldn't come back, they are too big stars line. It's not like they are any more famous from when they originally did it and UK actors tend to switch around between film, theatre & stage a lot.

Jacobi in particular has had a pretty steady TV career over the years and if the script was right and it felt to him worth coming back I don't see why he wouldn't.

Plus to be brutal here for a lot of older actors they have to start cutting down on stage work when the memory/body starts to fade but they can keep going on TV and film - it's extremely unlikely that Maggie Smith for example will return to the stage.

 

[Starkers]

The trouble is, why would the Master degenerate back into Jacobi? It makes little sense. The only viable option is a pre-Yana version of him, before he used the fob watch. I don't believe he was found as a small child on the edge of the Silver Devestation anymore than John Smith grew up in Nottingham, it was part of his cover, but its more certain that insect girl had been hanging around with him for about 15 years, meaning a Time War era Jacobi Master would need to be considerably younger.

As for Simm, he's busy and from what I've heard doesn't have the best view of fandom so I'm unsure he'd come back, always assuming Moffat even asked. And even if he did come back I reckon it'd be just for the regenration.

Time to move on and cast a new Master. How about another of Moffat's supposed Doctor choices, Ben Daniels? Or Alexander Siddig, or Adrian Lester? There are heaps of actors out there who's make for a great Master.

 

[Sindatur]

Regarding Simm, didn't he say he'd be up for and enjoy returning as The Master, if he got to play him more traditionally, rather than Goofy?

 

[Starkers]

He told the Radio Times: "I do get a lot of Doctor Who. God almighty, I'll be so happy when that's gone from my life. They're lovely, I'm sure, but I won't miss it."

He added: "It's great to be into something, but for goodness' sake, really? I'm not the Master, I'm not that evil Time Lord who rules the galaxy, I'm just in Tesco with my kids. Leave me alone!"

Link

 

[Starkers]

Although...

 

[Australis]

Derek Jacobi had the lead in I Clavdivs. 'Nuff said.

 

[Sindatur]

He told the Radio Times: "I do get a lot of Doctor Who. God almighty, I'll be so happy when that's gone from my life. They're lovely, I'm sure, but I won't miss it."

He added: "It's great to be into something, but for goodness' sake, really? I'm not the Master, I'm not that evil Time Lord who rules the galaxy, I'm just in Tesco with my kids. Leave me alone!"

Link

Although...

Wow...I missed that whole story

So, did I imagine a story in the last 6 months where someone (maybe not Simm directly?) said he'd be interested in doing it again, but, not as silly an interpretation?

Was it maybe only Moffat, who said if he came up with a story that needed The Master, he'd be open to using Simm, but, it wouldn't be as silly an interpretation, rather than saying that's how Simm felt?

Something, somewhere along these lines?

 

[Timewalker]

Is Jacobi really that famous in the UK? He's basically been in a few bit parts in US genre movies (Golden Compass, Underworld Evolution...)

Watch I, Claudius. The whole thing, and see Derek Jacobi play a teenage Claudius all the way up to elderly, dying, and dead Claudius. He is superb.

And as a bonus, you get to see Brian Blessed, Patrick Stewart, John Rhys-Davies, and John Hurt.

 

[Sci]

Yeah I'm a bit mystified by the - they wouldn't come back, they are too big stars line. It's not like they are any more famous from when they originally did it and UK actors tend to switch around between film, theatre & stage a lot.

Jacobi in particular has had a pretty steady TV career over the years and if the script was right and it felt to him worth coming back I don't see why he wouldn't.

I just don't think it's probable that he'd want to come back and do a show like Doctor Who on a regular basis. Sci-fi action-adventure one-hour melodrama is a very different beast than doing a half-hour sitcom.

Plus to be brutal here for a lot of older actors they have to start cutting down on stage work when the memory/body starts to fade but they can keep going on TV and film - it's extremely unlikely that Maggie Smith for example will return to the stage.

Yeah, but doing an action-heavy show like Doctor Who is a very different prospect at that age than doing something like Vicious or Downton Abbey. Granted, I haven't watched either one -- but I somehow doubt that either involves a lot of running down hallways, getting shot, jumping around, or other stuntwork!