The Eleventh Doctor - who else auditioned?

[Captaindemotion]

Those who saw Matt Smith on the Jonathan Ross show will have seen him explain how he landed the role of the Eleventh Doctor. He was invited to audition and initially did so in a not-particularly-nice hotel. He was then invited for a further audition and told he'd gotten the role.

When Chris Eccleston landed the role, my understanding was that he'd e-mailed Russell Davies, with whom he'd previously worked, and told him that he'd be up for the role if RTD thought he'd be the man for the job. When Eccleston left, the producers seemed to have had David Tennant - who had appeared in Casanova for RTD - lined up from the outset. But to replace David? While Smith is shaping up to be brilliant (and I've total confidence that they cast the right man), it's hard to believe that from day one, Moffatt et al had earmarked a youngand little-known actor to replace arguably the most popular Doctor ever (and quite possibly the most popular actor in the UK by the time of his departure).

Obviously actors don't like to boast that they auditioned for roles and lost them (kudos to Matthew Goode, who admitted that he auditioned for the role of Bilbo in The Hobbit - if he doesn't get it, we'll all know he failed). And there seems to have been total Omerta about the DW casting process, which is why Matt's landing the role took everyone by surprise. But have other names slipped out? Did the favourites like Paterson Joseph etc audition or was the pool limited to young and lesser known actors of Smith's stature?

Anyone know Who else might have been Who?

 

[Starkers]

Moffat's itimated that they were predominantly young, but he's also suggested there were some quite big names. It's possible we'll never know, or at least it'll be several years before it comes out.

 

[Piper]

Paterson Joseph came very close but wasn't picked in the end, a fact he has expressed intense disappointment about - there was an awkward interview with him on the BBC a couple of months ago where he was asked and it was plainly still something he wished very much he'd got. Very much looking forward to Matt Smith but I think Joseph could have been a very good Doctor.

 

[captcalhoun]

Moff's said he was determined to cast someone older, so they weren't all young.

 

[Australis]

Adeola/Martha aside, when Paterson Joseph was in BW/PotW, he did his dash. They'd never cast a Doctor from a male who'd previously had a guest role. I'll qualify that, just to be sure: they'd never cast a Doctor today who'd previously had a guest role.

Besides, PJ really didn't impressed me. I've heard he was good in the Neil Gaiman thing, but we never got that out here.

 

[Classic Fan]

Adeola/Martha aside, when Paterson Joseph was in BW/PotW, he did his dash. They'd never cast a Doctor from a male who'd previously had a guest role. I'll qualify that, just to be sure: they'd never cast a Doctor today who'd previously had a guest role.

True, in the case of Colin Baker, i suppose that it was due to the internet free zone of the 80s and the fact he was only a walk on part and they liked him, and asked him back for The Doctor and mostly went along un noticed as a previous guest due to the infancy of video recording/vhs releases, or maybe the few select eagle-eyed Who fans back then.

Where as nuWho today is picked apart and digested all the time online and in the official mag and other media, so casting a previous guest actor as the lead in the same show today may not have worked in the same way as it did back then.

According DWM a few issues back, Moffat stated that Smith walked in and they instantly thought he was way too young, until his script read and his eccentricity and that, well, face of his.

Then moffat signed him off, the complete opposite of what the crew were looking for.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

When Chris Eccleston landed the role, my understanding was that he'd e-mailed Russell Davies, with whom he'd previously worked, and told him that he'd be up for the role if RTD thought he'd be the man for the job. When Eccleston left, the producers seemed to have had David Tennant - who had appeared in Casanova for RTD - lined up from the outset.

You make it sound like Eccleston and Tennant were the only choices for Nine and Ten. But we know that Hugh Grant and Bill Nighy both turned down the role before Eccleston was offered it, and there were apparently other actors considered in case Tennant turned down the role (though, to be fair, he was Davies' first choice).

 

[23skidoo]

I've nothing against Patterson Joseph but it once again must be a case of someone being better known in one country than another, because I'd never heard of the guy except for his appearance in the Eccleston episodes and I thought he was just a standard guest star. Nothing really stood out, certainly not when he shared scenes with Eccleston. I don't think he would have made a good Doctor.

The whole "should the Doctor change color" argument notwithstanding, a better candidate had they gone that route would have been Adrian Lester, who truly dominated Hustle and was also very noticeable even in small roles like he had in the Emma Watson TV movie, Ballet Shoes. Another one I'd think would do well is Gary Beadle, though he'd already appeared in a Sarah Jane Adventures story. My third choice would be Lennie James of The Prisoner and Jericho.

Some of the best choices in Doctor Who have been made by thinking outside the box. Apparently Tom Baker was far from the leading candidate either. And they chose McGann after considering a veritable who's who of top-name candidates (including Tony Head). Moffat has the instinct for what works in Doctor, and he's a fan, so I have complete faith in his choice and certainly that Vampires clip and the trailers, plus the interviews we've seen suggest he's made a good call.

Alex

 

[davejames]

It would definitely be cool to see those screen tests some day, to see all the different interpretations, and all the Doctors who "could have been."

 

[Piper]

I would have loved to have seen Joseph take the role - he's a deceptively good actor. I was surprised when I saw him in a Shakespearean production how utterly different he was from Johnson, his role in Peep Show, and the guy just commanded the stage. Seeing him in that, and his real life interviews, he has a real Doctor-ish quality that I think could have been great.

That said, it seems he wasn't even offered the role, as he wouldn't have turned it down. I've seen quite a few rumours, however, that Smith was not SM's first choice, that indeed it was offered to at least one other person if not two and they declined.

Having seen Matt on Jonathan Ross, though, it's easy to see why he was near the top of the list, so fingers crossed it's all worked for the best

 

[Joy]

My third choice would be Lennie James of The Prisoner and Jericho.

OMG, Lennie James would be *awesome* as the Doctor. So, so awesome.

 

[StCoop]

Russell Tovey has said he auditioned as did (I think) Martin Freeman.

 

[Captaindemotion]

When Chris Eccleston landed the role, my understanding was that he'd e-mailed Russell Davies, with whom he'd previously worked, and told him that he'd be up for the role if RTD thought he'd be the man for the job. When Eccleston left, the producers seemed to have had David Tennant - who had appeared in Casanova for RTD - lined up from the outset.

You make it sound like Eccleston and Tennant were the only choices for Nine and Ten. But we know that Hugh Grant and Bill Nighy both turned down the role before Eccleston was offered it, and there were apparently other actors considered in case Tennant turned down the role (though, to be fair, he was Davies' first choice).

Well, you'll notice that I said 'my understanding is' and then 'seemed to.' I'm not claiming to have definitive knowledge of either casting process. But I have a definite recollection of seeing Eccleston give that account in an interview, possibly on DW Confidential. As for Tennant, all I know is that more or less as soon as it was revealed that Eccleston wasn't hanging about for series 2, his casting was announced. There may have been other names under consideration but there was hardly a long, drawn-out series of auditions.

I find it unlikely that a movie star like Grant was approached to play the lead in what at the time was viewed as a revival of a much-derided tv cancelled series - no-one expected DW to be the hit that it's become. Also, given that RTD by-passed Paul McGann, I can't see him asking someone who played The Doctor in the spoof 'Curse of the Fatal Death' to play the Doctor. And with RTD's constant refrain that he would never cast an older man as the Doctor, I'm also sceptical of the claim that Nighy was asked. But even if he was, my basic point that 11 seems to have been the first Doctor in recent times to be cast by audition, rather than invitation, stands.

As for Paterson Joseph, I like him a lot in Peep Show but didn't think much of his DW performance and thought he was dreadful in Jekyll. With his having been in DW and having prominent roles in Jekyll and Survivors, two of the Beeb's biggest genre series in recent years, I think he might have been too over-visible to play the Doctor.

Martin Freeman? Interesting. But only if they got Mackenzie Crook as The Master and Ricky Gervaise as Davros. I'd love to see The Master finding his sonic screwdriver encased in jelly or being asked 'if a gay jumped on your back, would you let him stay there or would you pull him off?' And when Davros would be outlining his diabolical masterplan, the Doctor would be looking at the camera with an expression that basically says 'You know I don't believe any of this shit, right?'

Perhaps it's as well I'm not Steven Moffat ...

 

[StCoop]

I find it unlikely that a movie star like Grant was approached to play the lead in what at the time was viewed as a revival of a much-derided tv cancelled series - no-one expected DW to be the hit that it's become.

He has not only confirmed that he was offered the part but said that after seeing the series he massively regrets not saying yes.

A quick Google finds the quote:

"I was offered the role of the Doctor a few years back and was highly flattered. The danger with those things is that it's only when you see it on screen that you think, 'Damn, that was good, why did I say no?' But then, knowing me, I'd probably make a mess of it."

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Um - have you seen the sort of articles that are telling that story? All celebrity magazines and general purveyors of questionable rumours. They all hail from about 3 years ago and all say that he's going to guest star in the series. So, er, what happened to that guest appearance then? Or the claim that he's going to star in a big screen version of DW, which my google search also threw up?

When I hear it from RTD or someone involved in the show, then I'll believe it.

 

[Starkers]

Moff's said he was determined to cast someone older, so they weren't all young.

Sorry but Moffat clearly said during the show where they announced Smith that while his prefered chojce was for someone around 40ish, he was slightly dismayed with the preponderance of younger actors on the list. He did actually make it sound like he didn't have a huge say in who auditioned, but clearly did in who was cast.

It's hard for anyone who didn't watch Neverwhere back in the day to understand just how bloody cool Joseph could have been as The Doctor. I like Adrian Lester (and Hustle is so much better with him back) but I don't see him as the Doctor.

I love the notion that a movie star like Grant couldn't have been approached to play the role (unlike movie star Christopher Eccleston obviously?) It would be fair to say that by 2005 Grant's real top drawer movie star days were behind him. Grant in the 90s would have been way too big for Who, but by 2005 I think his star was waning enough to make it plausible.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^Eccleston has never been as near as big a box-office draw or movie star as Grant. Sure, he's at least as talented (to put it mildly) but he's never had anywhere near the same sort of name recognition, certainly he didn't in 2004 - 5. Grant gets top billing in big budget movies, presents awards at major ceremonies, etc. Eccleston doesn't. And Eccleston has done tv before - Our Friends in The North, Cracker, Bloody Sunday, etc while Grant hasn't, at least not for years.

You're confusing being an actor who occasionally appears in movies - usually as a supporting actor - with being a movie star. And like I say, my understanding is that it was Eccleston who approached Davies about the role.

 

[Starkers]

^Eccleston has never been as near as big a box-office draw or movie star as Grant. Sure, he's at least as talented (to put it mildly) but he's never had anywhere near the same sort of name recognition, certainly he didn't in 2004 - 5. Grant gets top billing in big budget movies, presents awards at major ceremonies, etc. Eccleston doesn't. And Eccleston has done tv before - Our Friends in The North, Cracker, Bloody Sunday, etc while Grant hasn't, at least not for years.

You're confusing being an actor who occasionally appears in movies - usually as a supporting actor - with being a movie star. And like I say, my understanding is that it was Eccleston who approached Davies about the role.

I accept that, but you have to admit that however big Grant had been in the 90's, by 2005 was he still as big a draw? In fact since Bridget Jones 2 in 2004 (in which let's remember he isn't even the male lead--although he is brilliant) his films seem to have dissapeared down the drain as soon as they came out. I'm not saying it wouldn't have been a coup, but it would have been a believable one.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^Not out of the question, I suppose - but I still say it was unlikely. He hasn't been as big a draw lately because he chose to work less; maybe DW would have been a welcome break from romcoms but would he have been interested in that sort of schedule?

Besides, IIRC, Eccleston was cast in 2004. Over the past 3 years, Grant had had 3 successive big British hits with Bridget Jones 2, Love Actually & About A Boy and had also made 2 Weeks Notice, which was a hit (co-starring Sandra Bullock). That was still some ways above tv level stardom, IMHO.

But leaving that aside (as it's all speculative), is there any evidence that he was actually offered the job?

 

[Starkers]

I don't know