Casting the 11th Doctor Already?
Russell T. Davies, who is handing the Doctor Who series over to Stephen Moffat, has suggested that whenever David Tennant is done being the Doctor, the role should go to Russell Tovey.
The 26-year-old Tovey was seen in the most recent Christmas special as the young crewman, Midshipman Frame, left to pilot the sinking starship Titanic. He has also been on stage and screen in Alan Bennett’s The History Boys.
The creator, who leaves the show next year as lead writer and executive producer, said he thought Tovey was "going to be huge" and is "amazing".
In excerpts leaked throughout England for the forthcoming book Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale, Davis also floated the idea of JK Rowling appearing in a Christmas special and the author would work some sort of Doctor cameo into a Harry Potter novel. Tennant objected, feeling it was crossing a line.
"David doesn’t like the JK idea, he thinks it sounds like a spoof, so we’ve paused slightly, wondering whether to win him round or just abandon something that he’s not going to be happy with," Davies said in an e-mail excerpted in the book.
Personally, I think it would be nice to go back to a much older and perhaps more stoic Doctor after having had a younger, more effervescent one for years. It's a nice change of pace and is also traditional when you look on the Doctors of the past. If you have one that's too similar to the previous incarnation in terms of age, look or persona, you invite nothing but comparisons rather than letting them stand as their own incarnation.
Part of the thing that's made the new Doctor work, as well as defferentiate him from the previous series is the romantic aspect they've been able to put into the character. If you bring in an older actor and keep the companions younger, that gets a little creepy. One of the reasons Sarah Jane was such a memorable companion is she and the Doctor were so (visually, any way) close in age you got the impression they could have had a relationship. Baker's last scene with her really played that out, and the discussion between Rose and Sarah really pointed at the elephant in the room.Tovey does seem a bit too young to be able to pull off the air of gravitas the Doctor needs, but that's the challenge of an actor. I'd not worry about re-casting the Doctor yet. Davies has a habit of saying mad things just to get a rise out of people – this is the same guy who said he'd loved to have gotten Hitler to play the Doctor.
Davies also wanted Amy Winehouse as the Doctor. I don't really trust any suggestions he has anymore. I think Jo appearing in Doctor Who would be really cool, although I don't know if she should include it in a Harry Potter book.Hmm, maybe she could repay them for the cameo by writing an episode of Doctor Who? :) Neil Gaiman and JKR writing for the same series. That would be an amazing show.
Yeah I hope RTD is just joshing around or whatnot. I'm sorry but I can't really see Tovey as the Doctor. Or perhaps it is because I have grown very, very fond of David Tennant as the Doctor that I just cannot see another in the role. To me, Tovey does not strike me as anything fantastic or anything above mediocre, very sorry to say. David Tennant, on the contrary, the moment I first saw him, I was very entranced with his performance. While I miss CE and the others, something about David has always stuck with me. I also agree with the other commenters here, and that perhaps IF there was a next choice, perhaps someone more "seasoned" so to say, perhaps a bit older, etc. The companions would have to match in age of course to make it seem, as said before, not so "creepy". Ha, I know they're about the same age, but can you imagine Simon Pegg as the Doctor. Now THAT would be worth a watch. Excuse my rambling…I like the idea of JKR writing an episode instead of the whole starring in, and then her putting the doctor in a book, etc. I agree with DT that it is crossing a line. I think some think he is being rude, but I think he is just looking out for the integrity of the show. When I heard that rumor, I was not too thrilled, and thought that maybe they were… so to say… "jumping the shark" a bit. I hope we get to have David as our Doctor for quite a bit longer, a few more seasons at least. His portrayal of the Doctor is superb and I don't like the thought of who's going to be his replacement floating about. I haven't had my fill of the 10th Doctor; 3 seasons just isn't enough in my opinion. Thanks for reading!
How about Lara from Shipwrecked if it's a girl, Henry Lloyd Hughes if it's a boy?
They are amazing. Have you not seen Mark Donovan in Inbetweeners?