After months of speculating and bet taking, the time has finally arrived! In a live special titled ‘Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor’, the BBC unveiled who will be the new Time Lord and he is…
Peter Capaldi!
In what could be considered as a surprise casting move, Steven Moffat has chosen Peter Capaldi to take over the role of the Time Lord for the series ‘Doctor Who.’
Ever since the current Doctor, Matt Smith, announced his departure on June 1st, speculation ran rampant as to who would replace him. Capaldi’s name has been profiled quite a lot in the last couple weeks as the forerunner for the role right alongside Daniel Rigby and Aneurin Barnard and was considered as the shoe in, so much so, that betting was ceased days before the announcement was made.
Whovians will recognize the 55 year old Capaldi as he as appeared in the series during David Tennant’s reign as the Doctor in the episode ‘The Fires of Pompeii’ where he placed Caecilius. Capaldi was also in ‘Torchwood: Children of Earth’ in the not so likeable role of John Frobisher.
He is best known for his roles in the British television series ‘The Hour’ and ‘The Thicke of It’ and was most recently seen in Brad Pitt’ ‘World War Z’ where he played the W.H.O. Doctor. His next venture on the silver screen will be in the feature film ‘The Fifth Estate’ about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange which stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. Capaldi also finished filming on the Angelina Joie feature ‘Maleficent’, a retelling of the Sleepy Beauty fairy tale, where he plays King Kinloch.
In a press release regarding the announcement, Charlotte Moore, Controller BBC One says:
“Peter Capaldi has all the genius and versatility needed to take on the mantel of the great Time Lord and make the role his own. He’ll bring his own particular wisdom, charisma and wit to the Twelfth Doctor and take the show into an exciting new era.”
Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning says:
“We started thinking Peter Capaldi might be the right person to take on this iconic part a few months ago. But it was only when he did a secret audition at Steven’s house under the cover of darkness that we knew we had our man. He’s an extraordinarily talented actor who can seemingly turn his hand to anything. We can’t wait to premiere his unique take on the Doctor on Christmas Day and we are sure he’s going to become one of the all-time classic Doctors.”
Much like David Tennant, Capaldi is a HUGE ‘Doctor Who’ fan. He even wrote a letter to Radio Times at the age of 15 expressing his fandom. During a segment on ‘Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor’, Smith reminisced about seeing Capaldi after the episode ‘The Eleventh Hour’ had first aired and he told Smith, “Ah mate, well done. I watched your episode last night. It was brilliant!” That stuck with Smith as, at the time, he needed to hear that boost of confidence after having to deal with the onslaught of negativity that occurred after he took on the role. Smith also gave his stamp of approval on his successor stating that “he’s great!’
“Being asked to play The Doctor is an amazing privilege,” says Capaldi. “Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and delight. I can’t wait to get started.”
We’ll first see Capaldi as the 12th Doctor when Smith regenerates during this year’s Christmas episode. After that, the new Time Lord will take over the role full time when the series returns sometime next year (rumors point to August).
Capaldi’s casting is a bit of a throwback to the classic era when the Doctor was portrayed more as an older gentleman but, as it has been shown time and time again, it matters not the look of the Doctor, but how the person portrays him and we think he’s an excellent and surprising choice.
Congratulations to Peter Capaldi in this new adventure for him as the 12th Doctor!
