... according to Neil Gaiman.

Would have been an interesting choice

http://www.blastr.com/2013-8-5/wait-...h-doctor-first


Although Idris Alba (suggested within the link) would have been a good choice, perhaps Chiwetel Ejiofor (who played The Operative within Serenity 2005) could have been another good choice.

I don't want to know if it was Idris - I'd be depressed for ages.

Perhaps the guy from tv show Hustle? Adrian Lester.

Can't quite see him as the Doctor but he's a fine actor.

That quote is rather filmsy. He could have been talking about 11 or 10, not necessarily 12.

Hmm, Moffat says Capaldi was the ONLY choice. They didn't even hold auditions (which kind of worries me). Mind, Moffat lies about EVERYTHING these days. It would be slightly disrespectful towards Capaldi for Gaiman to come out and say someone else turned the role down first, whether they're black or white. It's a bit of a put down to Capaldi after all this fanfare if it turns out he wasn't first choice.

Well even if true, it's their loss whoever they are.

I don't think Gaiman is meaning the actor turned down the 12th Doctor. It was probably when they were casting the 11th.

Though it probably wasn't Chiwetel Ejiofor, not if this clip is anything to go by - http://youtu.be/lL0U650NYZs. He would be, without a doubt, a dream choice for the Doctor. I don't think colour even needs to come into it cause he's one of the best actors around, full stop.

I'd agree with this. I think there was a rumour of a black actor turning it down when Matt Smith was cast.

Ejoifor would be my dream casting. Sigh.

Danny John Jules?

I know I've just started watching him..Yep.

Waaa (cat style) if he turned it down..god help my wrath on him..

He just screams cool serious doctor, if it wasn't capaldi, it should've been DJJ! IMHO....oh yes

Well we already knew that Matt wasn't their first choice but then he won them over. It's interesting that Capaldi was cast in a similar way to both Eccleston and Tennant where no-one else was even considered.

Jenna has talked about reading with multiple actors so I'm guessing there were still auditions even if Moffat had Capaldi in mind from the start.


Though this was from a couple of weeks before the announcement so maybe she was just saying it not to give the game away.

Depends why the turned it down. If they could only commit to a series then it was the right call.

I don't know about no-one else being considered - Hugh Grant has said he turned down Nine apparently - but your certainly right about Matt being the only New Who Doctor to go through the traditional audition process...


... which is why you shouldn't worry Piipp.

Well Craig Charles openly did announce in some random interview or other he'd love to be the first black Doctor (and his acting skills improve the further into Red Dwarf you go...) so I'd like to see either The Cat or Lister as The Doctor tbh

With Danny John Jules in the lead role we'd get ever closer to the first Doctor Who musical episode though

Adrian Lester would be a very good Doctor.

And - gasp shock horror - this is another case of terrible reporting from t'Internet. Neil has confirmed on his Tumblr:


Linky: http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/5...e-role-for-the

Reading the original quote again there's *nothing* in there that says he's talking about the 12th Doctor. Nadda, zero, zip. It's just a typical piece of tabloid journalism by a web site that's desperate for hits.

Yeah my impression was that it was 9, 10 or 11 he was talking about.

Would love to know who auditioned!

What always annoys me is that the media insist on suggesting that there's a *****race barrier**** as if Doctor Who is being somehow racist by not casting a black man. This is ridiculous. Doctor Who has cast many black people in roles, two significant roles were that of Martha Jones and Mickey Smith. Why do they have make big deals out of something that doesn't really exist?

There is absolutely no problem at all in casting a black man. But not for the sake of it. Traditionally he's a white male with a British accent. My sister said on Sunday before Capaldi was announced when we were discussing the possibilities of a black actor or a woman playing the role "But that's like saying that suddenly Father Christmas is black!" She refused to acknowledge the casting of a woman scenario.

I would hope that should a black actor be cast, it's truly because he was better than anyone else who auditioned, and not because he was black.

That quote doesn't mean that a black actor was approached this time, just that one has been approached at some point for New Who

The quote doesn't say that a black actor turned down the role or was even offered the role. It says that Paterson Joseph didn't get the role, which is a very different thing entirely.

Also, this refers to the casting of the 11th Dr not the 12th.

Two black main characters in 50 years!!! That's really inclusive. I for one was hoping moffatt would consider someone who was not Caucasian and was very disappointed again!! Oh well I guess it's never going to happen because the quote.. Best actor gets the job... End quote.

The thing is, you have to put things in perspective. Black actors 50 years ago were very rare or non-existant. Until as recently as the 1980's you would see few black actors in leading roles.In the 1996 Doctor Who Movie I don't recall, other than the Chinese lad, one single black person. Realistically thinking, Doctor Who cast more ethnic roles than any other mainstream TV show. There is always a rich diversity of people in Doctor Who. The ratio between white and black people in Britain is still favouring the white population by a long way. So TV only reflects what is real. That said, attitudes of people have changed so much that nowadays we are debating that it is "time" for a black actor to play the part. I disagree. It's time for the best actor to pl;ay the part, regardless of colour. One fact we need to consider, is that it is always highly likely that far more white men will audition for the role than black men. Simply because there are more of them. And it doesn't mean they're better, just greater in number. I think we will see a black actor take on the role. Good for him. But all this "I want to see a black actor play The doctor" stuff is a bit political correct if you ask me. It's as if we want to force a black actor to take on a role just because he's black and to say "Woohee! A black man at last". Isn't that actually insulting to black men? A black man who auditions for the role and gets it has been given it because they're damn good. Not because they're black.