The BBC recently announced that Matt Smith, who has been skillfully performing the role of the Doctor on
Doctor Who for the last four years, has decided to hang up his bow tie and fez at the end of this year.
I think that Smith has done a fabulous job as the Doctor, and I found that he brought a marvellous sense of reflective age to the character, an accomplishment made even more impressive by the fact that, at 26, he was the youngest actor ever cast in the role. But, as always, people move on, and the inevitable scrum regarding the choice for the next pilot of the TARDIS has begun.
Since the renewal of the series in 2005, there's been a lot of unnecessary secrecy involving casting for the part of the Doctor. Let's be frank, the future of Western civilization does not hang on preserving the security surrounding this process. However, it's an obvious opportunity to capitalize on the massive fan interest by turning it into an artificial media event, complete with code names, secret casting locations, and coy hints about the final choice.
I suspect that there's been less speculation about Jack the Ripper's real name or the possibility of a second gunman on the grassy knoll than about casting choices for the Doctor - honestly, people, as per William Shatner,
"It's just a TV show!" Because of that excessive scrutiny, I think that every possible candidate, no matter how unlikely, has been considered and evaluated. My god, it's possible that someone on an obscure forum somewhere has suggested that I take the job (I doubt I'd get it, they've been trending toward younger actors, but I wouldn't say no).
However, out of the myriad of names currently in the speculative hat, there is one in particular that I feel does deserve some discussion: Daniel Radcliffe.
The erstwhile wizard has been cheerfully managing his transition into mainstream adult acting since the last movie of the
Harry Potter franchise hit the big screen. He's not afraid of his connection with Harry - he's happy to make jokes about it, but he's also aware that it's what put him on the map, and as such I think he's maintained a good balance between acknowledging that debt and wanting to seek new challenges as an actor.
That quest to try different directions is very important for actors who have made their impact in genre films. The industry is full of people who, having been involved in a successful science fiction or fantasy production, were doomed to never escape from beneath the shadow of that entry on their resume.* As such, young Mr. Radcliffe might be understandably reluctant to undertake another iconic franchise. On the other hand, acting is a job like any other job. If you want to get paid, you have to work**, and it must be tempting to trade in on one's popularity with the fan community to get a high-profile role like that of the Doctor.
But in this case, I think that Daniel would need to take a moment and consider the possible consequences of a decision to sign on as the Doctor. I have this terrible mental picture of an international IT crisis as geeks around the world exploded or burst into flame or suffered from some other physical manifestation of nerdgasm as word spread that Harry Potter was going to play Doctor Who. Oh, the humanity...!
Ahem. Or not. I sincerely doubt that Daniel Radcliffe will pop up as the post-regeneration 12th Doctor - all other issues aside, their pattern is to choose successful actors but not necessarily high profile names. Logic says that like every other television show in the world,
Doctor Who has a budget, and in these troubled economic times, Daniel Radcliffe might well have too high price tag. The flip side of that coin (no pun intended) is that he might do it for fun, in the same way that Samuel L. Jackson begged George Lucas for a small role in a
Star Wars movie.
Ultimately - time will tell.
- Sid
* In the unlikely event that Mark Hamill reads this: Mark, I hope you get some screen time from Disney in the seventh movie.
** Patrick Stewart: fine dramatic actor, extensive resume in classic theatre, including a stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Did he initially thank or curse his agent for signing him up for
Star Trek: The Next Generation and then as Professor X, in the
X-Men?
